...investigation on the specific causes which weaken online dating websites’ efficiency Weiyi Zhang University Bridge Writing Introduction Since online dating started 20 years ago, it has developed into a mature industry. In the U.S, over forty million citizens have memberships to online dating websites; however, less than half of online dating users have turned virtual dates into real ones. Even more surprisingly, after the last decade’s rapid growth, the proportion still is not as high as people imagine. In 2005, two-thirds of online dating website members never had a face-to-face date with their virtual romantic interests. Moreover, some experimenters from Stanford University and Michigan State University conducted research about online dating with a sample including 5,000 couples, which were separated into 2,500 online couples and 2,500 offline couples. The observation showed that couples who met each other online have a higher possibility to break up than those who met each other offline, which is 47 percent versus 29 percent. According to the mentioned data, online dating might be less efficient than offline dating. However, just as the old saying goes, “What is rational is actual and what is actual is rational.” Online dating does accord with the trend of the times. Therefore, this article will try to discuss some potential specific causes which weaken online dating websites’ efficiency. As a result, some readers or online dating websites users might obtain a better knowledge...
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...In today's generation, the use of technology seems to be replacing all real-world experiences. In need of some new decor? Just order it online. Feeling hungry? Fill out an online form to have your food delivered right to your doorstep. How about wanting a new relationship? The online world provides individuals with the opportunity to communicate without ever leaving the comforts of their own home. Online personas rid the user of the dilemmas real world relationships provide since the user can edit, frame, and share their online identity to comply with societal preferences. Who people are online versus who they are in the real world usually vary from the identity they wish to share with others. The hyperpersonal model examines how self-presentation...
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...Case Analysis ------------------------------------------------- Summary While meeting people online to find a viable partner is more popular now than ever, online matchmaking industry initially faced challenges stemming from the stigma attached to it. The stigma subsided with time as more successful relationships evolved from online dating. Currently, people frustrated with traditional dating process which takes time and patience, prefer to meet people online for several reasons. Primarily, the convenience and accessibility is a huge benefit. There are over 20 million singles online and eHarmony states that one in five marriages started from an online relationship. Using online service not only allows you to meet other singles outside of your geographical area but also your social circle that you share common interests with. Online dating allows singles to search for a mate twenty four hours a day, seven days a week which works perfectly for a busy professional. Secondly, online sites like eHarmony provide matchmaking tools that can suggest single who are compatible with your values and beliefs, these tools make finding a potential mate easier than if you were randomly trying to meet someone in the real world. Lastly, it allows the singles to build a rapport before dating someone thus reducing the awkwardness of a first date. All of these factors play a role in eHarmony business strategy to differentiate the company from its competitors. This report examines online dating...
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...- Strategy Case Analysis Executive Summary Executive Summary eHarmony is uniquely placed in the online personals market through strategic innovation eHarmony is placed in a highly competitive market * Different segments exist within the market- e.g. free do it yourself, niche sites, paid do it yourself, etc. each having many players * Emerging threat from substitutes like social networking sites * Direct competition launched by biggest competitor ‘Match’ through its ‘Chemistry’ offering eHarmony’s key valuable resource is its vast bank of customer data that it uses to match customers based on its proprietary algorithm, and its brand/reputation * Data bank is rare and inimitable for competitors or new market entrants, making it a critical resource leading to competitive advantage * “Match for life” reputation as a result of rigorous registration process attracting customers interested in long-term relationships eHarmony offers a higher value to its customers in comparison to its competitors in terms of specialization of service offered, efficiency and quality of matches and the detailed screening process Going forward, eHarmony should focus on expanding service offerings (offering services for parenting, weddings, etc.) and explore geographic expansion to other English speaking Western countries * Expansion would be re-enforcing with eHarmony’s critical resources like its intensive R&D capabilities, customer loyalty and reputation ...
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...PROJECT CHARTER FOR ONLINE DATING SITE | Team 19 | | BILKENT UNIVERSTY DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION SYSTEMSSubmitted byOğuzhan AkbudakCan ErdemirHazal GüngörMustafa KeleşSubmitted toBeyhan AkporayProject AdvisorDr. Syed Amjad Ali | 10/16/2011 | | Contents 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 2 PROJECT PURPOSE 3 3 Project Scope and Software Product Requirements 5 3.1 Project Scope 5 3.2 Software product requirements 6 4. Software Development Process Model 7 4.1 Advantages of V-Model 8 5 Project Stakeholders and Organization 9 5 .1 External Interface 9 5.2 Internal Interface 10 5.3 Roles and Responsibilities 11 5.4 Role Descriptions 12 6. Project Communication 12 7. Project Change Control 15 7.1 Change Control Tool 16 8 Milestones & Deliverables 17 9 Assumptions 18 10 Constraints 18 11 RISKS 19 figure 1 Business Context Diagram 5 figure 2 V Model 7 figure 3 External Interface 9 figure 4 Internal Interface 10 figure 5 Timeline 13 figure 6 Project Change Control System 15 table 1 Roles and Responsibilities 11 table 2 Project Communication Methods 14 table 3 Milestones&Deliverables 17 table 4 Risk Identification&Strategies 19 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On the internet lots of websites that provide an opportunity to people in order to giving a chance for meeting, dating and getting marry with each other are very popular. According to researches that made by online dating magazines, more than...
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...eHarmony If you are single and looking for long-term love, eHarmony.com Inc. wants to find you the "perfect mate." With traditional values and modern matchmaking possibilities, eHarmony.com has taken the electronic dating scene by storm. eHarmony has united more than 10,000 couples in marriage in its short history and, during 2008, had more than seven million registered users. Background In 2000, eHarmony was founded by Dr. Neil Clark Warren an evangelical Christian who worked for 30 years as a psychologist specializing in counseling married couples. He also authored two books, “Finding the Love of Your Life” and “Date…or Soul Mate?”, the former selling over one million copies. After a successful career of counseling married couples and research into marital problems, he came to one solid conclusion. In his biography on eHarmony’s website he states, “In almost every case, these were two persons who should never have married each other! They really didn’t belong together. They thought they did, but they were not well matched”. From there, he identified 29 dimensions that he found were consistently present in successful marriages. Dr. Warren found online dating as an opportunity to take his match making theories to a new level. eHarmony’s competitive advantage is that it established its credibility by using a scientifically developed questionnaire based on Dr. Warren’s 29 dimensions. The questionnaire does not just ask for personal hobbies and interests...
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...communicate. Let’s look at what we now call online dating. A person can now find a potential soul mate with the click of a mouse, but can one completely forget traditional dating, something that has been around for centuries. What happened to those days of courting and going out to meet your potential suitor? We now live in a world where computer generated questionnaires will do the leg work for you. Though online dating and traditional dating ultimately have the same goal of finding “the one,” they are different in many ways. It now seems that more people are flocking to online dating, but is it really better or worse than the age old method? Entering the dating scene can be a challenging and overwhelming process. When you add on technology, you enter another realm of dating. Online dating seems to be a fast growing trend and has become a popular alternative to dating. With the internet now having daily usage, more people are willing to look to it for help. “There are billions of people online which could make the possibility of connecting with someone easier than it has been in the past. With the internet you are given a wider range of people to meet that are also looking for relationships.” (Finkel, Paul, Benjamin, Harry, & Sprecher, 2012, para. 12). Singles are now willing to attempt anything to find their mates. The question now becomes how far are people really willing to go to find that someone. Think about traditional dating and how it has evolved. Centuries ago there...
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...VALENTINOS PERSONAL INTRODUCTIONS AGENCY 1. VALENTINOS MISSION STATEMENT, THREE BUSINESS BENEFITS, SWOT ANALYSIS AND PESTLE ANALYSIS A. VALENTINOS The Valentinos Personal Introductions Agency is a well-established company that has been operating within the UK market since 1976 and with over 8 million single men and women in the UK between the ages of 18 and 64, and often living without the opportunity to meet potential partners, the company has been very successful. However the management of the organization have expressed a growing concern that is being felt regarding the 10 year old computer systems that are currently being relied upon and the negative affect that such outdated systems are having on the companies’ competitive advantage and market share within the UK. This essay will therefore seek to assess the value and importance of the computer system with regards to the competitive advantage of the company, the company culture, and the overall productivity of the organization. The essay will approach this question by firstly evaluating the strategic position of the company both internally, through the use of a SWOT analysis, and externally relative to it’s competitors and various other contingent factors to competitive advantage through the consideration of Porter’s 5 forces analysis model (Porter, 2008). The essay will then proceed to directly discuss the effects that the computer system has upon the Valuentinos organization culture and productivity levels before finally...
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...THE SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHY OF INTERNET DATING IN THE UNITED STATES* Jessica M. Sautter Rebecca M. Tippett S. Phillip Morgan Duke University Durham, NC *The authors share equal authorship. We thank Doug Downey, Mary Madden, Emilio Parrado, and Lynn Smith-Lovin for comments on earlier drafts and the Pew Internet & American Life Project for making the data used here available. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Southern Sociological Society Meetings, March 25, 2006 and the Southern Demographic Association Meetings, November 5, 2005. We acknowledge research support from an NIH contract, “New Approaches to Explaining Family Change and Variation” (N01-HD-3-3354). Direct correspondence to Rebecca M. Tippett: Department of Sociology, Duke University, Box 90088, Durham, NC 27708-0088. E-mail: rtippett@soc.duke.edu APPROX 8,808 WORDS (FULL DOCUMENT, INC ABSTRACT, TABLES, REFERENCES) Social Demography of Internet Dating THE SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHY OF INTERNET DATING IN THE UNITED STATES Abstract: Using the first nationally representative survey to focus on internet dating, we identify those “at risk” of using internet dating, i.e., one must have internet access and have been single in the past five years during the technology’s growth. We identify socio-demographic correlates of both these selective processes and estimate use of internet dating net of these processes. We find that socioeconomic and demographic factors have strong effects on the selective processes...
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...eHarmony Final Paper December 15, 2010 If you are single and looking for long-term love, eHarmony.com Inc. wants to find you the "perfect mate." With traditional values and modern matchmaking possibilities, eHarmony.com has taken the electronic dating scene by storm. eHarmony has united more than 10,000 couples in marriage in its short history and, during 2008, had more than seven million registered users. Background In 2000, eHarmony was founded by Dr. Neil Clark Warren an evangelical Christian who worked for 30 years as a psychologist specializing in counseling married couples. He also authored two books, “Finding the Love of Your Life” and “Date…or Soul Mate?”, the former selling over one million copies. After a successful career of counseling married couples and research into marital problems, he came to one solid conclusion. In his biography on eHarmony’s website he states, “In almost every case, these were two persons who should never have married each other! They really didn’t belong together. They thought they did, but they were not well matched”. From there, he identified 29 dimensions that he found were consistently present in successful marriages. Dr. Warren found online dating as an opportunity to take his match making theories to a new level. eHarmony’s competitive advantage is that it established its credibility by using a scientifically developed questionnaire based on Dr. Warren’s 29 dimensions. The questionnaire does not...
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...Segmentation, and Product Positioning Dating is something that most people have done or will do at any given point in their life. For some people, meeting and asking someone out for coffee, dinner, drink, or even a movie is as easy as breathing. On the other hand, for others it is just not that simple. Then to add to that scenario, you have people that have been with their mates for years, then suddenly find themselves single as a result of divorce, or because the spouse died unexpectedly. Now, just imagine someone in this situation who frankly hasn’t had a date in years, except with their significant other. They may not be prepared for the challenges of dating, or able to get out and meet people in the traditional manner in which most people are accustomed to dating. In addition, times have changed, and now with advance technology, a person can meet potential suitors online without ever having to leave the house. It is for this reason that online dating has become very popular. People can now search out the type of person who attributes fits more closely with their own ("What causes popularity of online dating?"). With the trend of online dating, there are a number of dating sites where there are millions of people who are utilizing the sites. To subscribe to these various sites, a person will just need to have access to a computer and Internet connection (Nandca, 2012). My company known as Second Time Around will be an Internet Dating Site that will be open to any single persons...
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...Decision Tree. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- The interview guide can be considered appropriate, but may not be complete. ------------------------------------------------- Tutorial Group 3 Susan Sun Words: 941 Introduction and background Emily and Ryan, undergraduates at VUW believe there must be a better way to meet people and plan activities, such as dates, and social events. They have noticed a possible opportunity in this area for people like them at university that Facebook and other SNS have not addressed directly. They particularly liked the idea of only targeting tertiary students in order to attract singles looking for a more defined friendship and dating network. They were also attracted to a mobile application for smart phones that could be used to set up events and activities on the go. In addition to allowing subscribers to connect and meet new people with common interests, the service (application) would help coordinate and plan group and personal events. This service would also provide planned structured events (e.g., week-long vacations, cycling or tramping trips) and personal services, such as body guards and background checks for personal dates. Secondary research summary The secondary research provided insight to the problem and context. In the New Zealand tertiary education sector there are eight universities, 22...
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...OF INTERNET DATING IN THE UNITED STATES* Jessica M. Sautter, Duke University Rebecca M. Tippett, Duke University S. Philip Morgan, Duke University This is a preprint of an Article accepted for publication in Social Science Quarterly © 2010 Southwestern Social Science Association. *All authors contributed equally and share authorship of this article. Direct all correspondence to Rebecca M. Tippett, Department of Sociology, Duke University, PO Box 90088, Durham, NC 27705 (rtippett@soc.duke.edu). Data and coding used in this article are available upon request for those wishing to replicate this study. This research was partially supported by a contract, (N01 HD-3-3354; PI. S. Philip Morgan) "Designing New Models for Explaining Family Change and Variation," with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Data collection was carried out and funded by the Pew Foundation with partial support from Duke University. The authors wish to thank Emilio A. Parrado, Seth Sanders, Lee Rainie, John Horrigan, Lynn Smith-Lovin, Amanda Lenhart, Mary Madden, Douglas Downey, Linda K. George, and Nathan D. Martin for helpful comments and suggestions. Early versions of this article were presented at the 2005 Southern Demographic Association Annual Meeting and the 2006 Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. 1 THE SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHY OF INTERNET DATING IN THE UNITED STATES ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the sociodemographic correlates of internet dating net of selective...
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...XXX10.1177/1529100612436522Finkel et al.Online Dating 2012 Research Article Online Dating: A Critical Analysis From the Perspective of Psychological Science Psychological Science in the Public Interest 13(1) 3–66 © The Author(s) 2012 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1529100612436522 http://pspi.sagepub.com Eli J. Finkel1, Paul W. Eastwick2, Benjamin R. Karney3, Harry T. Reis4, and Susan Sprecher5 1 Northwestern University; 2Texas A&M University; 3University of California, Los Angeles; University of Rochester; and 5Illinois State University 4 Summary Online dating sites frequently claim that they have fundamentally altered the dating landscape for the better. This article employs psychological science to examine (a) whether online dating is fundamentally different from conventional offline dating and (b) whether online dating promotes better romantic outcomes than conventional offline dating. The answer to the first question (uniqueness) is yes, and the answer to the second question (superiority) is yes and no. To understand how online dating fundamentally differs from conventional offline dating and the circumstances under which online dating promotes better romantic outcomes than conventional offline dating, we consider the three major services online dating sites offer: access, communication, and matching. Access refers to users’ exposure to and opportunity to evaluate potential romantic...
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...How, How Do I Love Thee? A Rhetorical, Rhetorical Analysis The search for a soulmate always lurks in the minds of single young adults. People want someone who possesses similar qualities, yet at the same time, they want someone who will fill their flaws and make them a better person. For some, this process of finding the perfect partner can take years upon years, but the 21st century technology of online dating sites now allows prospective users to find potential dates within a few days. While this may sound like a breakthrough in the science of relationships, doubt regarding its viability exists. Lori Gottlieb, a renowned author who often focuses on the topic of online matchmaking, asks the question, “In the subjective realm of love, can cold, hard science help?” (2) To answer this question, Gottlieb endures countless hours of research, interviews, and simulations, writing her article “How Do I Love Thee?” as a final masterpiece to display her findings. Through a sarcastic tone, witty asides, specific details, and emotional, logical, and ethical appeals, Gottlieb effectively illustrates her discoveries on whether or not science can truly determine compatibility and lasting love. Before she places her opinion on display, Gottlieb first builds up the article with interesting statements to keep the reader engaged. She frequently inserts her own sarcastic opinions into her article, sometimes through asides and parenthesis, and other times through appositives or descriptions...
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