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from the I-was-using-the-wrong-colour-all-along dept.
Rachel Nuwer writes in the New York Times that Dr. Sameer Chaudhry’s online dating persona was garnering no response from the women he reached out to so he synthesized 86 literature studies on the subject of online dating in the fields of psychology, sociology, and computer, behavioral, and neurocognitive sciences.in hopes of improving his odds. As it turns out, success begins with picking a user name. While men are drawn to names linked to physical traits (e.g., Cutie), the researchers found, women prefer ones that indicate intelligence (e.g., Cultured). Both sexes respond well to playful names (e.g. Fun2bwith) and shy away from ones with negative connotations (e.g., Bugg).
User names that begin with letters from the first half of the alphabet do better than those from the latter half. “As human beings, we have a tendency to give things at the top of a pile more value,” says Khan. As for your profile photo, pick a photo with a genuine smile, one that crinkles the eyes, and with a slight head tilt (it’s linked to attractiveness). And if you’re looking for a male partner, go for that photo of you in siren red—a color that enhances men's attraction to women.
"For those attracted to browse into the profile, a description of personal traits increased likeability when it: showed who the dater was and what they were looking for in a 70:30 ratio; stayed close to reality; and employed simple language with humor added. Invitations were most successful in obtaining a response from the potential date when they: were short personalized messages addressing a trait in their profile; rhymed with their screen name or headline message; and extended genuine compliments." And finally, don't wait too long before arranging a face to face meeting.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by q.kontinuum on Sunday February 22 2015, @10:44AM
By formalising the criteria for successful online dating, it becomes possible for nerds to create the perfect online profile. That means, "normal" people will have a higher "risk" to run into nerds on their first date even though they scanned the profile for clues and didn't find any. In the long run, I'm not sure this will increase the odds for the odds. Maybe it will just make people more suspicious and make it more difficult to connect through online profiles, or it will take some other means of first communications (voice-chat, video-chat) where it is more difficult to prepare for (unless having actual social skills)
PS: I don't consider "nerd" or "odd" an insult. Variety is great, good or evil are not measured in socially skilled or not, and I think a main reason nerds try to hook up with "normals" is that nerds are more scarce, making it harder to find a good match, thus settling with the next best thing - normal people. Of course, to keep a sensible ratio off talking about own interests and listening to the others is useful for us as well. But it might be worthwhile to keep searching a bit longer and find someone likewise odd instead of settling for "normal".
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