A Quick Guide to Computer Dating Services
A Quick Guide to Computer Dating Services It may surprise you to discover that the first computer dating services sprang up in the 1960s (the first was in 1957), long before the age of the internet.
Back then, these computerized matchmakers relied on exhaustive profiles put together in each dating company’s offices. Later, these may have included extra features like videotaped interviews or messages to be shared with matches that were interesting.
For their time, such services were on the technological forefront. Imagine how advanced it seemed back before the web came along: everybody answered the same series of questions, those were in turn fed into a huge computer, then the computer went to work and after making all kinds of computations it spat out a list of those who were likely to be the most compatible with each other. It was magic…for its time.
While it may have seemed advanced and mysterious, the reality is that most such computer dating services used simple matching formulas. Without most of the questions really mattering at all but added to make things look more thorough.
The computer was the gimmick that brought people in. A computer does not let emotions cloud its judgment. It just uses logic. Of course, it is easy to look back with a comical reverence at these early attempts at electronic matchmaking.
Especially now that everybody has access to a computer with an internet connection.
So how did those old computer dating services evolve? Today they most frequently take the form of web-based dating services.
Chances are that you have heard of a few of these, as they are nationally advertised. These modern incarnations make the same claims, and to be run in an equivalent manner. But there are differences.
For one thing, in the “old days” you would have to go to the offices of the computer dating service to fill out their questionnaire, but now you can do it online, right from the comfort of your own home, whenever it is most convenient for you. (“A Quick Guide to Computer Dating Services – Date UK”)
However, the differences between the old and new go beyond convenience. The matching process is now much more sophisticated than it used to be. This is due not only to advances in computing power and better algorithms, but also to customer expectations. People today do not view computer dating as a novelty, they expect results in the form of meeting people that are compatible with themselves.
In the physical, offline world, new relationships often begin with introductions through mutual friends and acquaintances. This will usually lead to a few chats on the telephone, or worse…the dreaded blind date. I followed up with a series of phone calls until the two people involved were comfortable with one another.
Online dating is different. It begins with filling out a profile which the dating service will use to narrow your field of potential matches. The next step is not a blind date, but a bunch of e-mails, instant messages, or video chats. All these things are done before you ever meet face to face.
But keep in mind that computer dating services can only go so far; it will be up to you to build the actual relationship.
Regards, Coyalita
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