I want to give OmniDate a fair shake. I looked at several other Flash-based casual environments and wanted to compare them to the OmniDate experience. Obviously the other sites are not dating-specific, but it’s a good idea to compare and contrast services to understand where this section of the online dating market is headed.
I waited 3 minutes for my date, then several more for the Flash to load, at least I think that’s what’s happening because I have no idea what’s going on. She’s nowhere to be found. Not a great start. Obviously it could be the connection here at the coffee shop, or she is on dial-up in Montana or something. But here I am, in limbo, waiting for my lady friend. I begin to pout.
Is she upgrading Flash? In the bathroom? Heavens, perhaps she is battling a thug during a home invasion? The problem is that I have no idea. Now it says she is no longer connected and I’m being asked to rate my date. WTF?
This was not supposed to be a review of the site. I was sitting here cleaning out my inbox and I received an email from OmniDate that I had a message. The woman was online so I attempted to start a date with her.
10 minutes later, time that I will never get back, and she’s gone and I am supposed to rate her. Huh?
Let me tell a few truths, which have nothing to do with Omnidate specifically. The concept of graduated communication appears sound and I agree with with 100%. The execution at Chemistry, eHarmony and Omnidate remains flawed. But this is a process, we’re not going to get it right the first time and nobody in the industry expects that, but those pesky paying customers, they want everything perfect.
Meeting up in a fun online environment before going on a physical date is going to work for a certain percentage of people out there. Nobody has any idea who or how these services will be used.
In order to become the first company to offer a well-adopted virtual dating service, Omnidate needs a usability expert to go through the system. If this is what’s being pitched to dating sites they want to parter with, I’m not surprised at the overall lack of enthusiasm (that has been shared with me, not accounting for all the happy partners and soon-to-be partners I no doubt expect to be signing up).
Selling a hot concept and tracking poorly on execution is frustrating for all parties. Here’s to Omnidate learning what other companies are doing in the avatar space and implementing best practices.
