Wow - it might be working!

So there is a free online dating site called okcupid (http://okcupid.com) that has multiple choice questions you answer for *your* answer and for what you'll accept in a match's answer.  The questions are submitted by the members, and there are a zillion of them, so you can just skip questions that you don't want to answer.  The questions/answers are how the site determines if you are a match.  It's pretty neat, and it's very geek-centric for my population base in silicon valley.  In fact, I think there might be more men on it than women!

So the folks who created the site are taking anonymized (is that a word?) data and munging it to get some very interesting insights into online dating, which they post to a blog (http://blog.okcupid.com/).   They have looked into what sorts of photos get the best results, how long a first message should be (short!), the amount of dead accounts you get matched with at paid sites, how people lie in online dating, etc.

My take-away from reading all their blog entries:  be briefer.  I have trimmed my profile prose quite a bit, and I am sending briefer messages.  I was reminded (indirectly) how dating is like looking for a job.  The point of a cover letter and resume is to get an interview.  The point of a profile and messages is to get a response.  There are going to be a LOT of "No's" -- you are looking for a mutual fit, just like in a job search.

My profile - too long.  My messages - too long.  Not to me - I type fast and I read fast.  But it's like having a resume that's too long - NOT a good thing.

So it's only been about a week since I edited it ... and I got a nibble.  Odds are that it won't pan out, but you don't land a job without interviews.