PDANet from JuneFabrics. Poor customer support service! [Fail]

OK, this is not a dating related article, but I figured I'd post it here to help any other wandering souls. I am sure many are doing the same fruitless searches I've been doing (related to PDANet not working on iOS5) for the past couple of days and not finding anything on the above topic. So here it goes...

Couple of days ago, redsn0w was released to allow for untethered jailbreak on iOS5. After many months of anticipation, I decided to finally upgrade my iPhone4 GSM from 4.3.2 to 5.0.1. The upgrade process was seamless and there were no snags. I then used redsn0w to jailbreak the device and things were running as smooth as anticipated.

Then I went ahead to install PdaNet from Cydia, which is a 3rd party app allowing you to tether to your PC, iPad or use it as a hotspot. I had previously purchased this application, which by the way is a wooping $15. The installation was a painful process. First the repo wasn't working, then there were URL issues, but finally, after two days of unsuccessful attempts, I finally got it installed.

I rebooted my phone and went ahead to activate the WiFi Hotspot. Unfortunately, it did not work. The option just kept returning to the off position and no matter how many times I tried to turn it on, it did not work.

I've searched for help on the internet and can't seem to find anything. I've sent emails to JuneFabrics and still nothing. For an app that is $15, one would think there is a better customer support. There is nothing in their forums, nothing in their help, and I am just left speechless.

If anyone has had the same issue, please comment below.

Apple Sends Match.com’s App To The Dog House For Untaxed Subscription Payments Josh Constine

Those look­ing for love won’t find it in the App Store. Apple has removed Match.com‘s iOS app because it allowed the lone­ly to pay for Match sub­scrip­tions with a cred­it card through an exter­nal link rather than using the in-app pur­chas­es sys­tem. That meant Apple wasn’t get­ting its 30% cut. In June Apple revised its pol­i­cy to state that “Apps can read or play approved con­tent that is sub­scribed to or pur­chased out­side of the app, as long as there is no but­ton or exter­nal link in the app to pur­chase the approved content.” Apple and Match.com are now nego­ti­at­ing how the app must change before their rela­tion­ship can be rekin­dled and they can have an earth-shattering make­up rev­enue split. You may remem­ber the con­tro­ver­sy back in Feb­ru­ary when Apple unveiled its orig­i­nal sub­scrip­tion pol­i­cy which required apps to offer their web­site sub­scrip­tions through the in-app pur­chas­es sys­tem at an equal or lower price. Match.com appar­ent­ly dodged the 30% tax on in-app pur­chas­es by dis­play­ing a but­ton to pay them direct­ly. This was the exact type of behav­ior Apple banned with its June pol­i­cy revi­sion, but I guess it took a while for it to notice Match.com was mess­ing around on the side. Match.com’s app pri­mar­i­ly serves as a mobile access point to its subscription-based web ser­vice. Those who’ve already down­loaded it can con­tin­ue look­ing for their soul­mate through the app. Still, new users could cre­ate an account and start pay­ing with­in the app, so the removal may be tak­ing a small toll on Match.com’s onboard­ing rates. That’s a prob­lem since they have high churn rates.  See, any suc­cess­ful match­mak­ing ser­vice per­ma­nent­ly solves the prob­lem it address — mar­ried peo­ple don’t need mar­riage apps. Even a tem­po­rary removal from the App Store can also have a last­ing impact since it caus­es an app to fall off the leader­boards, reduc­ing dis­cov­ery poten­tial. Match.com will have to decide whether to stop allow­ing users to signup and pay through the app, or agree to pay Apple’s 30% tax. The for­mer seems more lucra­tive.  If you’re set­ting up your Match.com pro­file on the go, you’re prob­a­bly not putting your best foot for­ward, you won’t meet peo­ple, and you’ll stop pay­ing any­ways. Even bet­ter, Match.com could pro­vide lim­it­ed func­tion­al­i­ty in the app and only offer the full expe­ri­ence if they’ve paid online, but not offer any link or but­ton to its web pay­ment sys­tem. This way it could still hook up with new users through the app, but be free to col­lect 100% of their sub­scrip­tion fees. You could call it an open rela­tion­ship.

Teacher Runs a Porn Site on School Equipment

Heidi Kaeslin, a special education teacher from Lincoln High School in Stockton, California is on paid leave for potential ethics violations after school officials discovered that she had been running a cadre of porn site on a school-issued laptop. Free Online Dating More »

Judge Orders Divorcing Couple to Share Facebook Passwords [WTFriday]

I hate you; you broke my heart; I never want to see you again. Oh, and can you check my Facebook while I'm at yoga to see if my sister got back to me? That's what a Connecticut couple's doing after a judge forced them to share Facebook and dating website passwords. More »

Can Sex Literally Blow Your Mind?!

Could Sex have adverse side effects on your memory? Livescience tells the story of a woman who, an hour after having sex, began experiencing an episode of temporary global amnesia.
Stephanie Pappas writes that people in their 50s and 60s can suffer bouts of amnesia after intense physical activity. In this case, first reported by The Journal of Emergency Medicine, the woman was 54-years-old, and by the time she had left the emergency room, her symptoms had cleared. So what triggered the amnesia specifically? It could have to do with a lack of valves in the jugular vein, which allow deoxygenated blood to flow back up into the brain.

The best guess for what might be happening is that patients unwittingly trigger the transient global amnesia by raising the pressure inside their abdomens. This is called the "Valsalva maneuver," familiar as the "bearing down" people might do when lifting weights, defecating or even having sex. The increased pressure increases the resistance to blood flowing down the jugular veins, and insufficient valves may allow deoxygenated blood to push back up the neck. Oxygen-poor blood then "piles up" in the veins draining the brain, especially in central brain regions that are key to memory formation. The result could be transient amnesia.

If there was ever a tasteful reason to be opposed to the idea of old people having sex, this would be it. [LiveScience]

L.A. Unified to consider expanding anti-dating violence programs

The proposal comes in the wake of a fatal stabbing in which a high school girl was allegedly attacked by her ex-boyfriend. If approved, it would teach students to recognize when a relationship is becoming abusive.

How I Was Nearly Seduced by Grouper, the Biggest Sham in Online Dating (Updated) [Dating]

This is a great article by Sam Biddle and why entrepreneurs shouldn't lie. 

A month ago, I was approached by Jerry Guo, ostensible Silicon Alley wunderkind who'd turned $400 in transit money into Grouper, a profitable dating startup. He guaranteed me a great time with "3 real girls." Update: Guo apologizes (sorta) More »

JustHookup.com Review [Updated]

Recently we were given the opportunity to review JustHookup.com. This
review was conducted as an independent study with funds provided by
the reviewer and was not in any way promoted or influenced by the web
site owner or anyone affiliated with the business.
Initial thoughts were that the site was fun to be on and can keep you
involved. Really involved to be precise! The site is in no way free.
In order for a member to read messages, see who winked at them, or see
who viewed their profile, they need to pay a membership fee.
In no time after our initial successful registration, members started
viewing our profile. What struck us as an interesting coincidence is
the fact that the members visiting our profile were the same members
we had recently viewed. Visits to our profile started pouring in.
Suddenly, there was a huge amount of emails in our mailbox. Don't
forget, we couldn't read emails or see who visited us, until we become
a paid member, so we paid for our monthly membership and to satisfy
our curiosity.
We contacted a few profiles belonging to people living in a 50 mile
radius from us. We also replied to some of the members that had
previously contacted us. Response ratio was 0%. A few other members
however contacted us, but when we replied, we never heard from them
again. A common element we noticed with all the people who contacted
us, visited us, or winked at us was an icon in their profile
resembling a little Cupid (update April 11, 2012 - the icon has changed to a VC in a graphical appearance). This was very suspicious!
We started digging through the site's Terms and Conditions and we
discovered something called Virtual Cupids. Turns out that all these
profiles were fake / automated profiles intended to keep members
involved. They visit your profile a few seconds after you visit
theirs. They also have the ability to contact you. Don't forget, they
start doing all this while you are still unpaid member, trying to
influence you into purchasing a membership.
Whenever we searched for members near us, all profiles that were
returned as results, were Virtual Cupids. We decided to experiment, so
by using a proxy server, we logged in to the site, pretending to be
residing in Los Angeles, California. Low and behold, all these
profiles that were virtual Cupids in New York, had now mysteriously
shifted their locations to within 50 miles from LA. What a scam this
is!
Conclusion. The site uses unfair practices to incentivize new members
into purchasing membership. Don't be mislead and don't pay for
membership!

Update: December 20, 2011 - The virtual cupids have been replaced with VC icons. Don't be tricked into a conversation with these profiles. Their intent is to lure you into paying for your membership and they are not real people.

DuoDater Wants To Make Online Dating More Social And Less Awkward (Invites Herein)

DuoDater Wants To Make Online Dating More Social And Less Awkward (Invites Herein)

TechCrunch

Last month, Nick Paumgarten penned a lengthy article for The New Yorker detailing the rise of online dating and the effect it's had on web culture. Among other things, Paumgarten alludes to some eye-opening statistics about the industry, including the fact that fee-based dating sites have become, collectively, a billion-dollar industry, that "one in six new marriages is the result of meetings on Internet dating site", and that online dating is now the third most common way for people to meet.

While much of the early blush (or stigma) around using an online platform to pursue a relationship is wearing off, some of the same friction that has always been there still exists: From the awkwardness of online-to-offline interaction, the potential danger of meeting an an eStranger, relying on algorithms to find your "match", etc. And, somewhat ironically, for being socializing facilitators, most online dating sites seek to connect users with new people while remaining disconnected from their actual social life. As Paumgarten points out, online dating still is still inherently isolating.

Michael Parikh and Andrew Flachner, the co-founders of a new dating site called DuoDater, agree that there are still some very fundamental problems with current approaches to online dating (and, well, dating in general). Creating an online dating profile can be difficult; it's hard to find the right things to say about yourself that will help the site, whether algorithmically-based or not, help match you with the right person, the co-founders said. Not to mention the facts that messaging a stranger can be a somewhat stressful process, and meeting them in person without much in the way of background is awkward, and sometimes unsafe.

So, the San Francisco-based startup is offering a platform that aims to be a bit more social and perhaps less intimidating that the model championed by current dating sites: Double dates. DuoDater is aimed at men and women in their 20s and 30s who are looking to socialize and meet new people — with the help of a co-pilot. The co-founders think that, by allowing users to have a friend by their side while on a date, the interaction can be more natural and (hopefully) less awkward way to socialize and make friends.

DuoDater is also structured in such a way as to make the creation of a dating profile a less nerve-racking process. The site offers "Duo Profiles" that only require users to write a few sentences about themselves individually, so that the main attraction is turned to creating a joint description that the pair of daters can work on together to fill out. Flachner said that, so far, DuoDater's users have found this a less problematic and more enjoyable approach to dating profiles.

The founders also think that their model provides a higher level of accountability than is typically inherent to solo dating, as users are less likely to use trick photo angles and exaggerated or romanticized descriptions when they know a close friend will see it and may call them on it.

DuoDater also adds "featured date" ideas, so that new users can get off and running more easily and get out there and test out the model.

When I asked the founders whether they had considered a group dating option, they said that their market research and due diligence had shown that users prefer double dating to the latter because it still provides a level of intimacy that makes the experience feel like an actual date, rather than a loose, social gathering.

The founders said that, while there are a few successful group dating sites, group profiles take the focus off individuals and organizing an outing for a large group of people can be a hassle — something many are familiar with.

Of course, the inherent risk to DuoDater's model is that one of the large players in the dating space, like Match.com, eHarmony, PlentyOfFish, and OK Cupid, could establish their own double dating service and quickly have the startup beat in terms of user base. But Flachner said that he thinks DuoDater is well-positioned as an alternative because it focuses on the casual atmosphere of double dating and is centered around events and experiences, rather than relying on an algorithmic model (a potentially less "human" approach) to connect actual people.

DuoDater offers an interesting spin on traditional dating models and, really, it's a wonder that this model isn't something that's been implemented on a large scale. Of course, that could be for good reason; without a fee-based model, it's hard for dating sites to make money, and double dating does intrinsically bring its own challenges.

DuoDater is currently free to use, and as the startup is bootstrapped at this point, it will rely on its beta to test the waters to see if this approach is truly viable and can scale. A fee-based premium service could be on its future roadmap, too, which will likely include the ability to form more Duos, post more pictures, etc. Or having featured DuoDate ideas from restaurants, concert venues, and other businesses that pay to be featured on the site is also an option.

For readers looking to do some early testing of the double dating platform, click over to DuoDater.com and enter the "TECHCRUNCH" invite code for access.

Let us know what you think.

How men and women socialize.

Getting Married By a Computer Is How Weddings Should Be Done [Genius]

from Gizmodo by Kwame Opam

Sweethearts Miguel Hanson and Diana Wesley got married yesterday. By a computer program Hanson programmed himself. Honestly, I don't even consider that a big deal. In fact, I want to get married this way.
The newlyweds said their vows in front of a friends and family as Hanson's parents' home in Houston. The officiant was a 30-inch monitor with a robot voice. There is nothing wrong with this. Weddings are expensive, so you can understand why eschewing a more lavish wedding is really attractive. Keeping things small is great—do you really want to deal with the Facebook invites? And having a self-programmed robot preside over the ceremony is the perfect way to seal the deal.

Think about it. A wedding pact is a sacred covenant between two people, as observed by those closest to them and by the whole community thereafter. You don't need a church to know that, even if you're not one to put much stock in the institution. Writing your vows is one thing. Programming the priest/reverend/whatever puts the whole thing in your hands. You and your betrothed can control the whole tone of the event, going with the more traditional understated joy of the occasion, or with a more farcical, tongue-in-cheek approach—totally my wedding—that still conveys the weight of your commitment. It's completely up to you.

Of course, the pact isn't legally binding until the new spouses see a justice of the peace and get their license. But still. The future! [NBC DFW]

"

Sexting

Sam Biddle —

It goes like this: horny teenagers have always been horny. Then they got cellphones, and used them to exchange raunchy pics with each other. Horrified parents demanded an explanation, and "sexting" was born. But what does that mean, exactly? This.

"Sexting" has become as nebulous as it is overhyped. And this is problematic, because the definitions in use are as ambiguous as they are many. Some say a sext is just a naked pic. Some say it's flirty. Some say it's sexually-suggestive or sexually themed. "Sexually-themed" being one of those wonderfully American catch-all danger words. It can be kissing! It can be nudity! It can be—sex. Is saying "I wanna make out with you" a sext? What if I include a picture of my penis with that message? What if it's just the picture?

Nobody seems to agree—and that's a problem. We're swept up an exciting new word that has the potential to help unseat politicians, but we're not exactly sure what we're talking about.

With every wave of technology, we accumulate new words. Upload. Delete. Google. These are fine, because their meanings are technically clear, and innocuous. But sexting is something one's accused of—an act with some degree of shame accompanying it. It might be a lot of fun (I mean, right?), but you wouldn't want to talk about doing it over Thanksgiving dinner.

So let's set things straight right now.

Sexting is a portmanteau of sex and texting. Agreed? Good. We'll stick with that. It's not sexual texting, or sexually themed texting—it's sex texting. Texting as a simulacrum of doin' it. Remember cybersex?

There wasn't any confusion about cybersex. Like phone sex before it, cybersex was the acting out of sexual performances via internet. Sexting is the same thing. If I tell you I want to make out via text, I'm not sexting. If I say I want to rip off your pants and push you up against a wall (in a sweet way!), I'm probably sexting. If you send me back a naked picture with a reply to that effect, now we're both sexting.

If I just send you an unsolicited cell snapshot of my junk, I'm not a sexter—I'm a pervert. If you're my girlfriend and I do it, I'm still not sexting—there's no message, no action—just "Here, look at my blurry genitals."

So let's stop being confused. And moreover, let's stop being afraid! It's a little dystopian and indicative of an alienated and repressed society, but pretending we're having sex with electronics can be a lot of fun! So open up your phone, scroll down that contact list, and say some freaky shit. Dong shot optional.

Photo: Poulsons Photography/Shutterstock

Couples In a Relationship Like To Snoop On Each Other [Survey]

Face the facts. People can't resist the urge to snoop on each other. It doesn't matter whether you're married or dating. If you're in a relationship, you have probably looked at your mate's personal information without them knowing. More »

This Woman Will Give An iPad Or $500 To The Person Who Finds/Becomes Her Soulmate

This Woman Will Give An iPad Or $500 To The Person Who Finds/Becomes Her Soulmate

Redmond Pie

Téa Smith, a lady from Australia, has announced that she is willing to giveaway an iPad on $500 in cash in exchange for a soulmate.

Free Online Dating :: www.sozila.com - Personals, Matchmaking

Free Online Dating :: www.sozila.com - Personals, Matchmaking

What Online Dating Studies Don't Tell You [Science]

A new study shows online daters tend to message people in their attractiveness 'league.' But can online dating studies really tell us about love? More »

Race And Craigslist Dating: An Experiment [Identity]

Race And Craigslist Dating: An Experiment [Identity]

Gizmodo

I'm a tall, half Asian woman. I'm a performing artist and a healer. I dance in nightclubs, as well as talk to people about their problems. I have tattoos. I dress in black and chrome a lot. I'm Buddhist. I speak Texan fluently. All of these could be qualifying or disqualifying factors depending on who you're talking to in the online dating world. All of this swirls together into a bewildering racial and cultural stew that defies straightforward presentation. More »

The Science of Gaydar: How Ovulation and Sexy Stories Sharpen Sexual Perception

Curtesy: Popular Science

The results from a recent study show that straight women are better at judging men's sexual orientation when they are unconsciously motivated to do so, either by hormonal fluctuations or by the power of suggestion.

Nicholas Rule, a psychologist who studies social perception and cognition, and colleagues ran three sets of experiments to test women's gaydar. In the first, Rule showed 40 heterosexual women pictures of 80 self-reported gay and straight men on a computer screen. The black-and-white face shots were devoid of adornments, such as jewelry and facial hair, that could throw off the game. After the women guessed whether the subjects were gay or straight, they reported the date of their last period and the typical length of their cycles, from which the researchers extrapolated how close they were to ovulating. The nearer the women were to ovulating, the more accurately they guessed.

'Evolutionarily speaking,' Rule explains, 'when women are most fertile they should be more motivated to find the partner that will be most effective at helping them succeed in conceiving a healthy offspring. Naturally, straight men are better-suited to their needs than are gay men, as they are more likely to collaborate on achieving that goal.'

To test whether women simply become more attentive overall near ovulation, the researchers next asked a different group of straight women to guess whether 200 women were gay or straight based on their pictures. This time, no correlation was found between the women's fertility and their ability to guess the subjects' sexual orientation. This suggests that, for straight women, gaydar is more finely tuned close to ovulation when it's relevant - i.e. when a potential mate is on the scene.

Sexy stories also make sexual orientation more relevant. In a third study, straight women who read a 'romantic' story before guessing male sexual orientation were more accurate than those who hadn't read the story, regardless of where they were in their cycles. (Again, no correlation was found when the researchers ran the same study using pictures of women.) Thus, it isn't just hormones that heighten women's perception of nonverbal clues, but rather a more general disposition toward mating brought about in different ways, such as thinking romantic thoughts. 'These data provide information about how subtleties that we often overlook can meaningfully influence our thoughts and behavior without our even realizing it,' Rule says. (I wonder if a nagging mom counts as subtle.)

Rule says we still don't know exactly how women sharpen their gaydar. He theorizes that they're unconsciously allocating more mental resources toward making the judgments. 'They may be more vigilant and attentive to cues to who will be a successful partner,' he says. The same may be true for gay men. Previous studies have shown that gay men are better than straight men at judging whether subjects are homosexual or heterosexual, which could be because they are more attentive to differences in sexual orientation or because they have more experience making these judgments.

But just how can a person tell gay from straight by looking at a non-descript black-and-white picture? A study Rule published in 2008 found three key facial features involved in accurately perceiving men's sexual orientations: hairstyle, the eyes (with or without eyebrows) and the mouth. 'Without those, people can't make the judgments; with any one of them, people can,' he says. We still don't know, however, what it is about these features that gives it away.

I asked Rule why the researchers asked the participants to self-report their cycles, rather than using a more reliable ovulation test. (I know that whenever my doc asks me when my last period was, I'm guessing to a certain extent.) He says they would have loved to have more precise hormonal measures but that at the time it wasn't possible. 'That said, given that we're relying on self-report, it is all the more impressive that we find the effects that we do,' he says. 'One can only imagine that our effects would have been stronger if we had more precise measurements.'

Jennifer Abbasi is a science and health writer and editor living in Brooklyn. She has seen every episode of The X-Files. Have a question about the science of sex? Email Jen at popsci.thesexfiles@gmail.com.

Photoshopping Your Dating Profile Pictures Is Always a Bad Idea [Photoshop]

Two weeks ago I learnt that some people hire professional writers to create their online dating profiles. Why do that? That would be almost like having your pictures photoshopped: Completely stupid. Unless you live in Russia, like these women. More »

Still Trying To Get It Up. FriendFinder Reports $3.7 Million Loss After IPO

FriendFinder Networks, which bills itself as an social networking and video sharing technology company but is basically a porn and dating site network operator, has just reported its first results for the quarter since it’s (not so hot) May IPO, which raised $50 million.

It’s a mixed bag. Income increased nearly 52 percent year-over-year to $19.7 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased a decent 33 percent to $27.2 million in the same time span.

Revenue for Q1 2011 was $83.5 million, but the company is still in the red overall: net loss for the first quarter of 2011 amounted to $3.7 million, admittedly down 55 percent from the $8.3 million net less FriendFinder booked in the first quarter of 2011.

FriendFinder went public last May, raising $50 million in its initial public offering.

However, the net proceeds of the IPO were mostly used to repay a portion of its existing debt, which is considerable in size.

As of March 31, 2011, FriendFinder had an outstanding debt load of $543.5 million, which was reduced to nearly $500 million after the company went public on NASDAQ.

The company, which operates such websites as FriendFinder.com, BigChurch.com, Amigos.com and MillionaireMate.com, in 2010 offered to buy Playboy Enterprises for $210 million. However, in early January this year, Playboy Enterprises said it has agreed to a $6.15 per share offer by its founder Hugh Hefner to take the company private.

FriendFinder originally filed a registration statement with the SEC in December 2008, hoping to raise $460 million in at the time (this was later adjusted to $220 million).

It cancelled subsequent IPO plans in February 2010, citing poor market conditions.

You're Statistically Most Likely to Get Laid on Wednesday Night [Factoid]

Nate Silver, stats wiz and predictor-extraordinaire, has set his mathematical mind on something a little sexier than the electoral college: sex. His findings? If you want to do that (sex), go out on a Wednesday. Why? Data explains! More »

How to Survive the Modern Day Breakup [Etiquette]

Breaking up is painful and most of the time it sucks. It's complicated, and makes you listen to sad music and watch melancolic movies. And technology—Facebook, texting, email—only makes things more complicated. So how do you navigate 21st-century heartbreak?

Gizmodo talked to some experts to find out. More »

Single? Married? It’s Complicated? Wear Your Relationship Status With Buump

Facebook may have over 600 million users but there's still one problem: all the info is online!  How on earth are you supposed to know if that cutie you just met is single or married without access to his or her profile?! Ok, yes, you could just ask - but that's not very tactful now, is it? So, rather than having to muster up any courage and attack the subject head on, we could all just wear our relationship status and make it easier for everyone. At least, that's what Buump thinks we should do. The company sells colorful plastic bracelets featuring the 5-different relationship status options in English for €5.99. There is also an additional pack with the 5 "looking for" options sold for the same price. And you can buy all 10 bracelets for €10.99 (the site also lets you buy in bulk and customize your own bracelets for orders of 1,000 or more).

How to Take Spiffy Self-Portraits

If you really must take a picture of yourself, try turning the camera upside down or mug in front of a mirror.

Can't Hack Marriage? Try Quantum Entanglement Instead

Wired Top Stories

In his latest science-themed prank, concept artist Jonathon Keats will marry anyone -- or anything -- using quantum entanglement as the tie that binds

Ouch! 8.5 billion for a non-profitable Skype

Did Microsoft overpay for Skype? I know they are desperate for an
online presence brand in addition to Bing, but is Skype worth the 8.5
billion Microsoft paid? Microsoft's plan to deeply integrate the
product into their operating system is a risky one and it may pay off,
but it may also backfire. Let's wait and see.

Argh, I am sick of the House Wifes

Once again, it is Monday and I am laying down in bed. I am suffering
the consequences of my broken leg and feel completely useless. I feel
bad for my wife for taking much of the pressure of our daily
activities on her back and I am trying to please her as much as I can.

However, she wants to watch the House Wifes and I am once again stuck
at watching that dumb show. Pretentious people fighting about anything
and everything. This show makes no sense and it is a complete waste of
time: mine and my wife's, but there is nothing I can do. I am at her
mercy.

Zin.gl Mines Social Network Data To Help Singles Find Their Perfect Match

via TechCrunch

The online dating industry majors rely on a fundamentally broken model, which may be good for their short-term balance sheets and providing people with meaningless entertainment but, as matchmaking service providers, severely limits them in offering people a genuinely optimal way to find that special someone, Zin.gl founder Alexander Dresen told me in a recent meeting.

In that meeting, I was given a preview of the new version of Zin.gl (now live), Dresen's take on the perfect online matchmaking service. Zin.gl was designed not to appeal to masses of users, most of whom sign up for online dating sites only to get disappointed by those services when they fail to find a genuinely good match anyway.

Zin.gl instead aims for quality, not quantity, having developed a way to mine existing social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Foursquare for valuable 'dating information', and then feeding that wealth of data into its 'social matching' systems, all in an effort to connect singles with others when they have common interests, live nearby, and so on.

The company says this is all done securely and with utmost respect to user privacy, but obviously this approach isn't for everyone. I, for one, find Zin.gl interesting as a concept, and potentially one that could help solve a real problem faced by many worldwide.

Dresen says he and his team have developed technology that enables people who sign up for Zin.gl to find only truly compatible dating partners, with unquestionable real identities (something that he says is extremely rare with traditional online dating sites).

In other words, no questionnaires to fill out, no psychological tests to be carried out, and a minimum of lying upon profile creation. Dresen says a lot of information about people is already out there, and can be mined to find qualified matches for singles.

That is, of course, an easy thing to say but a much harder feat to actually accomplish, so the proof of Zin.gl will be in the pudding. Be sure to let me know if it works for you, or not at all.

Zin.gl was founded by Dresen, who previously started place.to.be, the first chat site in Belgium, as well as its first social network, LookNMeet, and Brice Le Blévennec (founder of Belgium's largest Web agency, Emakina).

The company has raised $600,000 from angel investors, including Fred Destin from Atlas Venture.

CrunchBase Information

ZIN.GL

Information provided by CrunchBase

How did you organize your iPhone screen?

Cloud Girlfriend Launches As A Dating Site, NOT A Virtual Girlfriend Service

TechCrunch

Cloud Girlfriend, service that created a lot of buzz by promising users that it could create the illusion of perfect girlfriend by setting up dummy profiles that would write on your Facebook wall and fool your friends into thinking you had a social life, has launched to the public today. However the site as is is not what it was originally conceived to be, unsurprisingly.

Described by founder David Fuhriman as a combination of Match.com and Second Life, the new Cloud Girlfriends lets you flirt as a fantasy character setting up Chat Dates with others who also are role playing. "We allow people to define their ideal self, find their perfect girlfriend or boyfriend and connect and interact as if that person existed. It can help in learning how to manage a real relationship, and they then take it into the real world," says Fuhriman.

Fair enough. Fuhriman's original idea of creating fake Facebook profiles would have rubbed many people the wrong way as personal Facebook accounts have to belong to an actual person according to the TOS. As it stands now the service uses Facebook Connect to verify the gender and language of its role players which Fuhriman thinks is a safety precaution. Fuhriman also thinks that people will eventually choose to interact as themselves with their Cloud Partners and eventually reveal themselves through their actual social profiles.

Fuhriman plans on monetizing the site by selling virtual goods, users can send each other Cloud Flowers, Cloud Diamonds or go on a Cloud Vacation. While the idea is admittedly far-fetched, I've been on the site for five minutes and already have a date.

Male TechCrunch readers interested in checking it out can use the code "techcrunch" up to the first 500. Women do not need a code. Unfair, I know.

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Your hands give away your hotness [Hormones]

The ratio of length between a man's second and fourth fingers (2D:4D) is thought to be linked to the amount of testosterone he received in the womb. According to new research, it also shows something else: How attractive a man's face will be to women. More »

Why Twitter Might Be Ruining Your Love Life [Twitter]

A new series of studies out of OKCupid's data-crunching love labs reveal daily Twitter users have shorter relationships than those who don't—five to ten percent shorter. This makes sense. Twitter might turn us into more annoying, vain mates.

Across all ages, the data—sampling over 800,000 OKC users—saw appreciable dips in relationship length among avid tweeters. So what's behind this trend? Does a fast-paced, wham-bam see ya never lifestyle just jibe with the 140 character interlocutor? Is it as simple as OKCupid cofounder Christian Rudder's assessment that "People who Tweet live their life in shorter bursts"? That's part of it. But it's not enough.

Yes, the internet is probably ravaging our attention spans, and those used to expressing themselves (and absorbing the thoughts of others) in tiny fragments might prove to be statistically more frustrating partners than those who, I don't know, write long letters to each other? But there's more to the story of Twitter's finger in the eye of the average love life. Anything you use every day transforms you—gradually, slightly, yes—but profoundly.

Twitter is, though at times a phenomenally useful tool, largely a society of vanity and attention-mongering. We tweet into an abyss, hoping, manically, to be noticed. To be retweeted. To be followed. The scoreboard effect of quantifying our popularity and influence on Twitter only makes it more addictive. The more self-affirmation we want, the more we crave—more followers, more retweets, more mentions, more attention. And so we continue to dump throwaway witticisms and rapid-typed quips, radiating them outward to an anonymous mass, just hoping to be noticed and appreciated in the most superficial manner. The genuine, personal, engaging conversations that occur on Twitter are the exception—naked self-affirmation and preening is the rule. Just ask John Mayer, who was reportedly axed by Jennifer Aniston over his incessant tweets.

So should it surprise anyone that 800,000 people who've taken to this habit might be training themselves to be worse boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, and friends with benefits? What do we want in a partner? Reciprocity. Mutual attention, mutual respect, mutual appreciation, and dialogue. Twitter is, for the most part, the antithesis of these things—unidirectional, cold, and vain.

Now, let's not get carried away. Twitter isn't going to wreck your relationships on its own. And the relationship difference between those who chase the hashtag and those who don't was only 10% tops. But as more and more of us use this technology more and more, it's important that we think of how it's shaping our brains—because really, results like this are unsurprising by now. [OK Cupid via DailyBeast]

Facebook Sues FriendFinder, Peeved Over FacebookOfSex.com

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Match.com Will Begin Screening Its Users Against Sex Offender Registry

Online Personals Watch

ASSOCIATED PRESS - Apr 17 - Match.com will begin screening its users against the national sex offender registry after a woman filed a lawsuit against the company saying she had been assaulted by someone she met through Match.com. Mandy Ginsberg, president of Match.com, said the company had considered such screenings for years, but "their historical unreliability has always led us to conclude against it." "We want to stress that while these checks may help in certain instances, they remain highly flawed, and it is critical that this effort does not provide a false sense of security to our members", she said. Match said it expected to be able to implement the policy in 60 to 90 days.

See full article at Washington Post

See all posts on Match.com

Mark Brooks: This is MAJOR NEWS for the internet dating industry. The industry has only been considering background checks for the last 7 years, since TRUE launched them in 2004! 7 years! on Match is finally drawing a line in the sand.  Other dating sites will need to step up to the line. Free dating sites and social networks won't be offering background checks. Paid sites will need to in order to compete with Match. Your comments please..