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How Races and Religions Match in Online Dating

blog.okcupid.com

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Re: How Races and Religions Match in Online Dating

#3

Post by showerst »

jacquesm wrote: post #2

Non-hacking, race & religion in one article, that's got to be a record for flamebait.

I'd argue that it's quite a hack -- Trying to discern an algorithmic approach to attraction via a large data set, and create a recommendation engine to a very fuzzy problem. =)

Re: How Races and Religions Match in Online Dating

#4

Post by potatolicious »

showerst wrote: post #3
jacquesm wrote: post #2

Non-hacking, race & religion in one article, that's got to be a record for flamebait.

I'd argue that it's quite a hack -- Trying to discern an algorithmic approach to attraction via a large data set, and create a recommendation engine to a very fuzzy problem. =)

I'd argue that it's not at all a "hack" (I really dislike HN's tendency to equate everything to a hack), but nonetheless of significant interest to those of us interested in statistical trends in large web systems and social networks.

This kind of statistical kung-fu is well worth a look even if your own interests do not lie in dating sites.

Re: How Races and Religions Match in Online Dating

#5

Post by jacquesm »

showerst wrote: post #3
jacquesm wrote: post #2

Non-hacking, race & religion in one article, that's got to be a record for flamebait.

I'd argue that it's quite a hack -- Trying to discern an algorithmic approach to attraction via a large data set, and create a recommendation engine to a very fuzzy problem. =)

Yes, but these are the results of the hack, not the hack itself. OkCupid has a nice thing going but this is not about their software, this is about trends they've picked out of their database of dating profiles.

And it's not like we haven't been here before:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=822782

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=803603

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=66129

Re: How Races and Religions Match in Online Dating

#6

Post by shalmanese »

One possible explanation for the low Hindu-Hindu match is that there are many websites dedicated to specifically Hindu dating which means that the Hindus using OkCupid are those who are specifically not looking for a Hindu date.

For other religions, such sites aren't nearly as prevalent.

Re: How Races and Religions Match in Online Dating

#7

Post by sharpn »

I liked this on a few different levels:

-Hacking data to reveal the answers to important difficult questions.

-Exploring contentious issues in a neutral & intelligent way.

-Great example of how to attract potential customers by providing valuable information that also gently demonstrates competence related to your service & differentiates your offering from competitors.

I enjoyed reading this, I learnt something, and I thought favourably of the website based on this. No idea how good they are, but that post was a good marketing lesson.

Re: How Races and Religions Match in Online Dating

#9

Post by alanthonyc »

shalmanese wrote: post #6

One possible explanation for the low Hindu-Hindu match is that there are many websites dedicated to specifically Hindu dating which means that the Hindus using OkCupid are those who are specifically not looking for a Hindu date. For other religions, such sites aren't nearly as prevalent.

Not really.

The matches are based on answers users give to questions (both site designed and user designed).

When the blogger says they don't match, it means:

  - Person A: I like X

  - Person B: I don't like people who like X
Where X could mean ice cream, god or tooth-brushing. It has nothing to do with people selecting the race or religion of the people they think they want to date.

Re: How Races and Religions Match in Online Dating

#10

Post by ecuzzillo »

alanthonyc wrote: post #9
shalmanese wrote: post #6

One possible explanation for the low Hindu-Hindu match is that there are many websites dedicated to specifically Hindu dating which means that the Hindus using OkCupid are those who are specifically not looking for a Hindu date. For other religions, such sites aren't nearly as prevalent.

Not really. The matches are based on answers users give to questions (both site designed and user designed). When the blogger says they don't match, it means: - Person A: I like X - Person B: I don't like people who like X Where X could mean ice cream, god or tooth-brushing. It has nothing to do with people selecting the race or religion of the people they think they want to date.

Yeah, but if Hindu men like ice cream, and I don't want Hindu men, I might not like men who like ice cream either because a) it's what Hindu men do, or b) I don't like people who like ice cream to begin with, and I don't like Hindu men for that reason.

So it's not totally unrelated.

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