So I’m getting my daily dose of BoingBoing, watching the Porter Report video of beatbox impressario Beardyman, and the interstitial advertisement for Cisco kicks in, asking how would online dating be different if profiles included video. Check out the comments.
Many dating sites have tried to add video profiles. I have a whole category dedicated to speed dating and video. Video profiles are a great idea for certain types of people, but it’s not for everyone. For starters, not everyone has a webcam, although I’m sure Cisco would like to change that.
Then there is the problem that most people freeze up and sound wooden, because speaking into a camera is more difficult that it seems. If you are sexy, you get responses, if you’re not, you don’t. Harsh reality.
Policing photos and text is difficult for dating sites, how are they going to review thousands of videos?
Video profiles are a long way off for mainstream dating. Several dating sites that have video, but they have a ways to go before more mainstream people start looking into the webcam and saying, “I can’t believe I’m doing this, I’m just as comfortable in jeans as I am in a little black dress.”
WooMe and SpeedDate are solid interim solutions for the younger generation, receiving approximately 200,000 visitors monthly.
I wonder what Cisco has up it’s sleeve? Video-based identification services?
