I seem to remember an article a few months ago about a challenge for online dating profiles as a sort of experiment and contest and a discussion that was to follow, but don't recall ever seeing that discussion. Wondering where things went with that.
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- Oct 9, 2012
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Limp-
I never did post an update on this; my oversight. I've just updated the article on GC with a link to BD's contest winners entry (here); if you want to link directly to Black Dragon's article on the contest winners, here's the link:
The 2014 Online Dating Profile Contest Winners
Chase
I never did post an update on this; my oversight. I've just updated the article on GC with a link to BD's contest winners entry (here); if you want to link directly to Black Dragon's article on the contest winners, here's the link:
The 2014 Online Dating Profile Contest Winners
Chase
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- Jan 4, 2013
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- 747
I love that 1st line from the 1st place winner:
"I am 29, standing at 6″2′ on paper but 6″5′ when you tickle me."
I'm going to have to steal that!
I scanned through the article, so this isn't a fair judgment.... but, 3rd place seems better than 2nd to me. 2nd place seems kind of typical and "nice" guy and kind of dry. The 1st line from 3rd place is pretty good too:
"Curiosity may have killed the cat but it got the girl the man of her dreams"
I like that model.... opening hook and then dive into yourself. Actually, it feels very much like a perfect in-person approach: great first opener and then a mix of banter/deep-dive/wit. And because you can't really get the # on a high note, end it as good as you opened:
Endings:
1st place: "to dream and be plunged into nameless beatitude of a vast fire of love that sometimes burns within me for that special someone."
3rd place: "Are you curious yet?"
Bookends really.
If you're a huge perfectionist, I could see giving this out to a few friends and telling them to purposely "glance" at it, that way you can figure out what keywords caught their eyes, as glancing through happens a lot for profiles (especially if your picture is not strong).
"I am 29, standing at 6″2′ on paper but 6″5′ when you tickle me."
I'm going to have to steal that!
I scanned through the article, so this isn't a fair judgment.... but, 3rd place seems better than 2nd to me. 2nd place seems kind of typical and "nice" guy and kind of dry. The 1st line from 3rd place is pretty good too:
"Curiosity may have killed the cat but it got the girl the man of her dreams"
I like that model.... opening hook and then dive into yourself. Actually, it feels very much like a perfect in-person approach: great first opener and then a mix of banter/deep-dive/wit. And because you can't really get the # on a high note, end it as good as you opened:
Endings:
1st place: "to dream and be plunged into nameless beatitude of a vast fire of love that sometimes burns within me for that special someone."
3rd place: "Are you curious yet?"
Bookends really.
If you're a huge perfectionist, I could see giving this out to a few friends and telling them to purposely "glance" at it, that way you can figure out what keywords caught their eyes, as glancing through happens a lot for profiles (especially if your picture is not strong).
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2012
- Messages
- 3,637
Interesting...
Speaking only about ages 18-32, I thought the second place winner was really bland, typical, and boring. It almost looks like 70% of the male profiles you'll find on OkCupid. Pretty surprised it won -- maybe I should have entered this contest. =)
The first place winner was definitely witty, which I think is important, but from the very beginning you could tell that his profile was just going to be one big joke and not really maintain any seriousness throughout. These kinds of profiles are also all over dating websites, and I believe the best profile I ever used had a very nice blend of witty banter intermixed with actual goals and life aspirations (that appeal to the emotional aspect of a woman, not just her logical aspect).
Some blend of #1 and #3 would probably be closest to what my profile looked like, although I believe the first one needs a bit more about the guy so that the girl doesn't think the entire thing is just a joke, while the third one could use a little more wit to spice it up.
This is just my take!
EDIT: I didn't discuss it too much, the third place person does a good job of describing what he wants out of a women with lines like these:
A few sentences like this (in between wit) are really key to letting a girl know that you are not only taking this at least somewhat seriously (unlike the first place winner), but you are also looking to screen out women who will waste your time. The ironic part is, this WON'T actually screen out any women, but the fact that it LOOKS like you're screening out women is attractive to the women who read it because they think to themselves, "well, here's a guy with some standards! I like that. He obviously isn't here to just scrape up any woman who messages him." And you're much more likely to have them reply. =)
- Franco
Speaking only about ages 18-32, I thought the second place winner was really bland, typical, and boring. It almost looks like 70% of the male profiles you'll find on OkCupid. Pretty surprised it won -- maybe I should have entered this contest. =)
The first place winner was definitely witty, which I think is important, but from the very beginning you could tell that his profile was just going to be one big joke and not really maintain any seriousness throughout. These kinds of profiles are also all over dating websites, and I believe the best profile I ever used had a very nice blend of witty banter intermixed with actual goals and life aspirations (that appeal to the emotional aspect of a woman, not just her logical aspect).
Some blend of #1 and #3 would probably be closest to what my profile looked like, although I believe the first one needs a bit more about the guy so that the girl doesn't think the entire thing is just a joke, while the third one could use a little more wit to spice it up.
This is just my take!
EDIT: I didn't discuss it too much, the third place person does a good job of describing what he wants out of a women with lines like these:
A few sentences like this (in between wit) are really key to letting a girl know that you are not only taking this at least somewhat seriously (unlike the first place winner), but you are also looking to screen out women who will waste your time. The ironic part is, this WON'T actually screen out any women, but the fact that it LOOKS like you're screening out women is attractive to the women who read it because they think to themselves, "well, here's a guy with some standards! I like that. He obviously isn't here to just scrape up any woman who messages him." And you're much more likely to have them reply. =)
- Franco