LoveNest: A New Online Dating Model

Online Identity and Persuasive Technology

With so many online dating sites available, it is hard to evaluate which one is most effective. Each dater must try to attract desirable matches and screen the undesirable matches; new ways of evaluating the success of the dater must be explored because the dynamics of online dating are different than offline dating. 

Tools: Photoshop, Flash, Actionscript
Collaborators: Arvind Ashok, Christian Beck, Matt Henry

Objective  My team wanted to provide online daters with a richer online profile search experience.  We used what we could learn about the differences between offline and online dating to make the online date screening process uniquely fulfilling.  

 

Concept  When the dater has a primarily online representation, the selection process becomes less instinctual.  Experiencing the chemistry that excites offline daters when they first meet is impossible to simulate with the current text-based online dating model. We suggest a new way to represent an online dater; we believe it can better simulate offline dating dynamics and allow the dater to attract more desirable mates.   The Lovenest is a virtual room that contains elements of information

about a dater.  This room can replace or augment the traditional text-based profile of online dating sites.

Method  After conducting initial paper prototype tests on three different conceptual dating environment models, a traditional text-based model, a "neighborhood" social network model, and a personal "room" model. We found that the room provided a level of engagement and enjoyment that the other models did not.  Although the text-based room provided more "cold-hard facts" about a person, the room sparked a greater curiosity and interest in the person.  A neighborhood model presented information about the person based on comments of friends and family. This information was viewed as interesting, but not as compelling as the information provided in the room.  Users expressed a desire for more detailed information in the room, so we decided to incorporate more textual information in the room, such as a journal, in the next design iteration.

 

Design   Our  room-based profile  allows the  dater to  decorate and stock the room with objects that reflect personal interests, talents and relationships.  For instance,  There is a photo album on a coffee table in the room.  Also,  a bookshelf in the room allows visitors to look through the daters favorite books and read favorite passages.  A music player allows visitors to listen to samples of favorite music.  A journal on a nightstand  contains entries about the dater's dreams and aspirations.  In some cases, there is musical instrument propped against a wall that allows visitors to sample

the dater's musical talents.   Currently, the room is a

Flash application.  In addition to providing a more  comprehensive picture of the dater, the experience

of being invited to view locked content in the room

creates a new level of intimacy between the dater and the visitor.

 

Test  Our initial test suggested that this model of online representation is more attractive in a romantic sense and elicits more interest in an offline date.  So, we saw the potential of the Lovenest as a tool of persuasion for an online dater; a profile that persuades people to want to know more about the dater by representing the dater in an exciting, engaging way.  For our next test, we want to test how accurately this model depicts the dater.  For this test we will ask 4 daters to create their own room-based profiles.  We will have participants look at a room, write a description of the dater based on the room, and then ask the daters if the the description is accurate and favorable. 

 

Please feel free to contact me to see the Lovenest prototype:

:: technosugar@gmail.com