Written by Ken Yarmosh, a Read/WriteWeb
Guest Blogger
On average, I hear a
Match.com commercial on the radio about once a day. In referring to their user base,
their catch phrase goes something like, “there are over 15 million reasons to use
Match.com.” Well, they may want to re-think this selling point because MySpace has
over 90 million potential reasons to use their site.
No, MySpace is not an official dating site but it often unofficially acts as
one (MySpace does have a craigslist like “Personals” under its Classified section that is
quite classless). There are plenty of MySpace relationships – I know because I’ve seen
them firsthand. MySpace has become more than just “a place for friends”.
The Five Reasons
There are five reasons why I’d consider MySpace the almost premier dating
site. It has nothing to do with Dr.
Phil, 29
Dimensions of Compatibility, or doing fun activities together (more
on that later)…so, here we go:
1. It’s Mega Popular
There are just over 90 million people on MySpace. And it’s still growing, supposedly
at a rate of 250,000 new users
per day. In the world of dating sites, people are currency. You can have a stellar
dating platform but without a network of daters behind it, the technical mumbo jumbo
doesn’t matter. The Field of Dreams mentality does not apply… if
you build it, they won’t necessarily come.
2. It’s Free
The price of dating today is not cheap. No matter what dating site you plan on
joining, bring some plastic with you. At prices ranging from $7.99 (MatchActivity) to
$59.95 (eHarmony’s One Month Plan) per month, you’ve got to be prepared to invest money
just to try and meet that special someone. Although to be fair, MatchActivity
actually doesn’t charge users for most features on the site – the $7.99 is for its
premium membership.
Making any financial investment doesn’t add up when MySpacers can browse profiles for
free. With what seems like endless connections of the 90 million plus MySpace network,
interested daters get more than their money’s worth.
3. It’s Low Pressure
People who meet in a bar are in a relatively low pressure environment. They might have
gone with the hope or intent to meet someone and at the same time, they could easily have
as much fun just talking with their friends. That’s very different than say a blind date
or a night at a speed dating event, where motives are a bit more obvious.
MySpace presents a low pressure bar-like atmosphere. It’s not a Match.com
I-want-to-date-someone-now place – “it’s a place for friends”, but it may also double as
a way to meet significant others.
4. It’s Very Transparent
Someone once told me that they answer the e-mails of those they know first. Those
that they know they trust. MySpace has a system of trust built into it. Those on
your “Friends” list are associated with you. You know them in some way and have approved
them as your “Friend”.
Engage.com, which just received $5 million
funding, takes advantage of trust in their dating system. “Matchmakers” have to pitch
daters to other singles. That sort of trust is implicit in MySpace. If I were to receive
a message from a girl I did not know, I would be more likely to respond to her if she was
somehow connected to one of my Friends.
Thus, the network of MySpace brings a tremendous amount of transparency with it. Not
only can I read a person’s profile on MySpace, I can also see all the comments of their
Friends. If I really want to learn more about them, chances are they’ve left comments on
the profiles of their Top Friends. In the end I can read what they say about themselves,
what others are saying to them, and what they are saying to others. That doesn’t occur on
normal dating sites.
5. It’s Fun
MySpacers spend countless hours browsing through profiles and leaving comments on
their Friends’ site. Unlike traditional dating sites, MySpace is much more social, much
more engaging. Considering the customization and relative freedom available to
personalize profiles, it’s a more fun way for people to express themselves while
connecting with others.
Concluding Thoughts
So with all of these points in MySpace’s favor, why are they the almost
premier dating site? You might not like the answer, but I think that’s actually a very
valuable title to hold. Making it a true dating site would damage its chemistry. It would
make it more like the “speed dating” environment and so just like every other dating
site.
Still, MySpace can foster a better dating scene – they just need to be much more
subtle and creative in doing so. They can introduce features like those of MatchActivity, which allow users to do “activity
based” dating. While MatchActivity suffers from a terribly small number of users (e.g., I
can’t find anyone within 50 miles of the Washington D.C. area), MySpace could leverage
such a tool with its widely dispersed yet huge user base.
Last year, online dating subscription revenues generated $516
million. If they are smart, MySpace will pay much more attention to the dating
element of the site. They already have “the data” – now they just need to do something
with it.
Ken Yarmosh blogs at Technosight,
is the Editor of the Corante Web Hub and is an
Internet/web consultant.
