Ellen Gamerman at the WSJ wrote an article about rating, reputation (reg req’d) and online dating.
More and more dating sites are integrating reputation and testimonial features, including Engage.com (one-time client), Consumating and JDate.
The result is an emerging caste system, where highly rated daters see a lot of action, and others are deemed undateable. The online romance industry doesn’t talk about the folks in the latter category, but they’re out there. They’re singles with seemingly innocent attributes that are setting off digital flags signaling they’re unfit to date, or maybe just slightly less fit than others. A forgetful dater who fails to return an email on Engage.com, for instance, could be branded as rude. Simply living in the wrong ZIP Code can push unlucky members of JDate to the bottom of the queue. Even at sites that haven’t adopted a ratings approach, a growing cliquishness, combined with the viral nature of the Web, means an offhand comment to one person can come back to haunt you when you meet someone else just a few weeks later.
I spent a considerable amount of time with Ellen on the phone talking about dating and reputation, only to have my choice quotes end up in the trash. Such is the life of a media contact. All the work and never enough glory. I’m not complaining, believe me. I work with identity and reputation startups as well as dating and social networking companies, and I expected the article to be more about emerging companies, mashups with sites and how powerful authentic testimonials can be.
Technorati Tags: reputation
