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Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

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Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#161

Post by 9530jh9054ven »

Razengan wrote: post #108
Beaver117 wrote: post #3

Of course, also Tinder's profit is directly dependant on you not finding a partner, so you continue to use their service.

Dating, matchmaking, or even just finding friends, is a perfect problem space that is just ripe for a free service to come and try to solve. Why isn’t there a free platform for dating? (not counting the subreddits and FB groups for that, because they’re retooling something else, not built from the ground up to solve problems specific to this space). It’s one of the biggest social issues imo, especially in cultures th…

Two problems I can see right off the bat.

1) Why would someone build software that sophisticated and not expected to be rewarded for their time and effort? The the amount of skill needed to determine an algorithm good enough to connect people that might be a good match for each isn't a trivial thing that one can pull a library from npm for.

2) How do you attract a large enough user base to make it effective in the first place?

Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#162

Post by mattalex »

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #116

I seem to remember articles from lots of sources, I believe Stratechery was one, about a decade ago advocating for this kind of pricing scheme of using analytics to figure out the price that people will pay and charging them that. A lot of the examples was based on income level which of course made me think, hey here I've struggled all my life to get into the middle class and now they want to change up how you pay fo…

Arguably this is already illegal under article 21 of the EU's charter of fundamental rights https://ec.europa.eu/info/aid-development-cooperation-fundam...

Specifically the social origin, genetic features, and property should cover this.

Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#163

Post by Beltalowda »

baobabKoodaa wrote: post #160
Beltalowda wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having looked a bit at male profiles, I have to say that a lot of profiles really are quite bad. For whatever reason, the "average quality" is worse.

Are they so bad that the average male profile is somehow below average?

If half the profiles are just a no-brainer "no" then the "real average" is only over the top 50% rather than the full 100%.

I don't deny that using these apps as a man is a more difficult experience in actually landing a date, but many women are also frustrated by the tons of crappy/creepy men out there (e.g. "dickpics" and such). Being in the "top 30/20%" is easier than you'd might think.

The biggest challenge is that Tinder can be an emotional rollercoaster and really screw over your self-esteem.

Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#164

Post by Razengan »

9530jh9054ven wrote: post #161
Razengan wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dating, matchmaking, or even just finding friends, is a perfect problem space that is just ripe for a free service to come and try to solve. Why isn’t there a free platform for dating? (not counting the subreddits and FB groups for that, because they’re retooling something else, not built from the ground up to solve problems specific to this space). It’s one of the biggest social issues imo, especially in cultures th…

Two problems I can see right off the bat. 1) Why would someone build software that sophisticated and not expected to be rewarded for their time and effort? The the amount of skill needed to determine an algorithm good enough to connect people that might be a good match for each isn't a trivial thing that one can pull a library from npm for. 2) How do you attract a large enough user base to make it effective in the fi…

> Why would someone build software that sophisticated and not expected to be rewarded for their time and effort?

How are the people who built HN, Reddit, Facebook, Google, Instagram, TikTok etc. being “rewarded for their time and effort?”

Why can’t the same be done for dating?

Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#165

Post by Dracophoenix »

Razengan wrote: post #164
9530jh9054ven wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two problems I can see right off the bat. 1) Why would someone build software that sophisticated and not expected to be rewarded for their time and effort? The the amount of skill needed to determine an algorithm good enough to connect people that might be a good match for each isn't a trivial thing that one can pull a library from npm for. 2) How do you attract a large enough user base to make it effective in the fi…

> Why would someone build software that sophisticated and not expected to be rewarded for their time and effort? How are the people who built HN, Reddit, Facebook, Google, Instagram, TikTok etc. being “rewarded for their time and effort?” Why can’t the same be done for dating?

Reddit, Meta, Tiktok, and Alphabet have investors and make much of their own revenue from ads. HN isn't a meet-and-greet site but a discussion forum hosted at the benefaction of YC.

What you're looking for takes enough intelligence to solve and code a solution to the optimal stopping problem, enough money to perpetually host such a system, and enough legal training and patience to comply with the legislative demands of 200 countries. Why shouldn't such a company want to be rewarded in hard currency and no just likes or gratitude?

Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#166

Post by jandorn »

Based on EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited.

Is this then legal?

Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#167

Post by mushyhammer »

williamscales wrote: post #139
climb_stealth wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny you say that. When I was using Tinder I assumed that sexy photos and no profile description or bio were bots or scams. I completely ignored them. Also, if someone can't be bothered to even write a single word. Meh.

You must consider, it does telegraph a certain desperation to bother to write a bio. Tinder is 100% about looks.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s 100% about looks. I skip women without a bio because they’re usually the most boring.

Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#168

Post by baobabKoodaa »

Beltalowda wrote: post #163
baobabKoodaa wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they so bad that the average male profile is somehow below average?

If half the profiles are just a no-brainer "no" then the "real average" is only over the top 50% rather than the full 100%. I don't deny that using these apps as a man is a more difficult experience in actually landing a date, but many women are also frustrated by the tons of crappy/creepy men out there (e.g. "dickpics" and such). Being in the "top 30/20%" is easier than you'd might think. The biggest challenge is th…

> If half the profiles are just a no-brainer "no" then the "real average" is only over the top 50% rather than the full 100%.

You're doing a lot of mental gymnastics to redefine terms like "average". Ah yes, it is perfectly fine for women to consider 80% of men to be below average in attractiveness, because those 80% are just a no-brainer "no" because they are not attractive and math is hard.

> I don't deny that using these apps as a man is a more difficult experience in actually landing a date, but many women are also frustrated by the tons of crappy/creepy men out there (e.g. "dickpics" and such). Being in the "top 30/20%" is easier than you'd might think.

Perhaps you are in the top 20% of men so you feel that it is easy to be in the top 20% bracket, but men who are not up there don't really have a path to get there. You imply that men should simply stop sending dick picks (and stop doing other, very obviously bad things), but the proportion of men sending unwarranted dick pics is vanishingly small.

Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#169

Post by Beltalowda »

baobabKoodaa wrote: post #168
Beltalowda wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If half the profiles are just a no-brainer "no" then the "real average" is only over the top 50% rather than the full 100%. I don't deny that using these apps as a man is a more difficult experience in actually landing a date, but many women are also frustrated by the tons of crappy/creepy men out there (e.g. "dickpics" and such). Being in the "top 30/20%" is easier than you'd might think. The biggest challenge is th…

> If half the profiles are just a no-brainer "no" then the "real average" is only over the top 50% rather than the full 100%. You're doing a lot of mental gymnastics to redefine terms like "average". Ah yes, it is perfectly fine for women to consider 80% of men to be below average in attractiveness, because those 80% are just a no-brainer "no" because they are not attractive and math is hard. > I don't deny that usin…

All I'm saying is that "average" isn't really all that meaningful here (as it isn't in many cases). For example, the number of men who have just one or two badly lit photos from their webcam is staggering. That's just a no-brainer.

> you are in the top 20% of men

Not at all.

Re: Tinder’s pricing algorithm can charge users up to 5x more for same service

#170

Post by baobabKoodaa »

Beltalowda wrote: post #169
baobabKoodaa wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If half the profiles are just a no-brainer "no" then the "real average" is only over the top 50% rather than the full 100%. You're doing a lot of mental gymnastics to redefine terms like "average". Ah yes, it is perfectly fine for women to consider 80% of men to be below average in attractiveness, because those 80% are just a no-brainer "no" because they are not attractive and math is hard. > I don't deny that usin…

All I'm saying is that "average" isn't really all that meaningful here (as it isn't in many cases). For example, the number of men who have just one or two badly lit photos from their webcam is staggering. That's just a no-brainer. > you are in the top 20% of men Not at all.

> All I'm saying is that "average" isn't really all that meaningful here (as it isn't in many cases). For example, the number of men who have just one or two badly lit photos from their webcam is staggering. That's just a no-brainer.

You're missing the point. The major finding in that OkCupid post was that (according to that post) women have an unrealistic expectation of the attractiveness of men. They demonstrated this by showing that the majority of women consider the majority of men to be below average in attractiveness. This claim is not refuted by your observation that some men send unwanted dick picks, and it's not refuted by your observation that some men use badly lit photos. I don't know why you feel like these observations somehow refute this claim? Even if 100% of men were sending dick pics and 100% of men were using badly lit photos, this still wouldn't change the fact that 1+1=2, or the fact that top 50% of men in terms of attractiveness are above the median in terms of attractiveness. If a person holds a world view to the contrary, their world view is factually incorrect.

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