FROM
THE EDITOR
Some new features introduced by online dating services
really help add new dimensions to the online dating
experience. For example, when keyword search was added
to several online dating services, it allowed people
to quickly find others who shared interests. Taking
personality quizzes was also an innovative way to meet
compatible people.
Every
once in awhile, however, an online dating service introduces
a bad idea into the
marketplace. Enter True.
This
week, True announced
a new service. With the click of one button
it will send out 20 "winks" to
people compatible with you or vice versa. That's right
- True has
come up with a way to truly depersonalize the online dating
experience. Imagine receiving a dozen more
winks a month from people who may have never viewed your
profile and may not have a genuine interest in you. You
could end up spending hours writing "thank you for
the wink" emails and never getting a response.
Winks,
smiles, and flirts have always been a great way to let
someone
know you were interested in them after reading
their profile. Now, True has
found a way to turn it into "virtual
spam". But really, that shouldn't surprise anyone.
True started
off as a great online dating service that has been drastically
going downhill this year. True claims
to promote a safe dating experience while
using provocative ads to advertise its service. True even
makes the user experience more unfriendly by forcing you
to call the company
on the phone to cancel your account. It seems that every
week True is
doing something new to alienate another segment of their
user base. And that's truly sad for a service
that once held out hope of being a quality option.
Online
dating services should work on making the user experience
more "real" and more "personal".
Creating new "spamming" methods does nothing
for the innovation or evolution on the online dating
industry.
Keep your user experiences personal,
Joe Tracy, editor
Online Dating Newsletter
