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from the Be-Charming. Like-a-Prince. From-Venus. dept.
Tricia Romano reports at the Seattle Times that Susie Lee and Katrina Hess have developed Siren, a new online dating app designed to protect against men who inundate women with messages that are by turns gross, hilarious, objectifying and just plain sad. As online dating options have grown, Lee noticed that her friends' frustration did, too: With every good introduction often came a slew of lewd ones. "I just started looking (at online dating options) and very quickly realized how many things are out there and how immediately my 'creepy meter' went up," Lee says. Lee hopes to change the nature of the messages and put women in the driver’s seat.
The free iPhone app, currently launched to a select market in Seattle in August, allows women to peruse men’s pictures and their answers to the “Question of the Day” (“You found a magic lamp and get three wishes. What are they?”) and view their Video Challenges (“Show us a hidden gem in Seattle”). If a woman is suitably impressed by a man’s answers, she can make herself visible to him. Only then can he see what she looks like. "It’s a far more thoughtful — and cautious — approach than the one taken by the dating app of the moment, Tinder, which is effectively a “hot or not” game, with little information beyond a few photos, age and volunteered biographical tidbits," writes Romano. "And the implicit notion that it’s a “hookup” app can be uncomfortable for some women." Lee and Hess are betting that men are less shallow and want more repartee. And they know that women want a little more flirtation than crude references. After all, Siren’s motto is “Charm Someone’s Pants Off.” “Before the ‘pants off,’ it’s more about charming someone,” says Hess. “Be charming.”
(Score: 2) by VLM on Sunday October 05 2014, @08:22PM
Recipe for getting friendzoned? If she thinks you're looking for a scrapbooking partner in the first 30 seconds, all you'll ever get is a scrapbooking partner, forever. You've only got like 30 seconds till she decides basically forever.
I had highly mixed results in my single era trying to pick up women at womens hobby stores. "Can you help me select a birthday gift for my mom/sister/auntie" = you're getting some vs "I'd like to learn about knitting" = friendzone 4 life
"then you are allowed to mention they look beautiful."
In my limited experience you're required to compliment them or their handiwork or their job or whatever in a dignified and polite sense no matter how stupid it might sound logically, but the only way you're going to get any action after a ridiculous over the top corny pickup line is if she already decided she likes you before you made a fool of yourself or creep.
Anecdotally its interesting to watch language drift, in that a generation ago "creep" was strictly visual and referred to staring at the assets too much, staring at anything other than her eyes. Someone who used laughably bad over the top pickup lines or just generally awful technique in general was more of a "dork" or "loser". Whipping out the ole bratwurst, or pix of it, was just called harassment in ye olden days, interesting that its now semi-accepted, at least accepted as and now called "creep" behavior. So dumb question for youthful commenters, if "creep" now means weiner pix instead of staring at the assets, what is the 2010s term for staring at her assets, possibly while drooling? (Could be same word with two defs of course)
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Sunday October 05 2014, @08:35PM
So dumb question for youthful commenters, if "creep" now means weiner pix instead of staring at the assets, what is the 2010s term for staring at her assets, possibly while drooling? (Could be same word with two defs of course)
I'm not that youthful, but I'm guessing the answer is "normal behavior" for that age group.
(Score: 1) by basicbasicbasic on Sunday October 05 2014, @09:24PM
Definitely, I'm not saying that treating someone like a human being means you can't show you're interested.
But anyway... this is tech news site not a dating site.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Sunday October 05 2014, @09:59PM
this is tech news site not a dating site
What we need is an RFID token for people to carry around with an NFC smartphone app that explains if a theoretical member of the appropriate gender is within range and interested in what the app owner is looking for. "just fun hookup" or whatever. And the physical token needs an "off" switch.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 05 2014, @11:08PM
You realize you just described grindr and tinder, right?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 05 2014, @11:10PM
Hint: if "friendzone" is part of your mental model for interacting with women, then there's a good chance that you're a creep.
but the only way you're going to get any action after a ridiculous over the top corny pickup line is if she already decided she likes you before you made a fool of yourself or creep.
Or, put simply, people who are attracted to you are attracted to you. Modeling dating as adversarial is unlikely to go well.