QUARTZ – Apr 26 – There are two main types of writers at Virtual Dating Assistants: "Profile Writers," who create profiles based on facts their clients have supplied about themselves, and "Closers," who log in to clients' accounts at least twice a day to respond to messages from matches. Profile Writers follow strict guidelines, often recycling the same half-dozen clichés over and over again. The process for Closers is a bit more complicated. The initial training period lasts several weeks before they're given access to clients' accounts, during which they must read several training manuals and submit draft responses to fake matches. A third type of employee, "Matchmakers," send out opening messages en masse across every dating platform. Originally a sales guy with no time for "real dates," Scott Valdez grew ViDA's brand out of his own experiences in the dating world. "I found myself wishing there were two of me," he continued. "I thought, 'Why couldn't I just take what I had developed, and train someone else to sound like me, and outsource my online dating to him?'" The company's practices may be unethical – but they're not illegal. Once the company obtains the client's permission to impersonate them online, there are no laws against what Closers do.
by Chloe Rose Stuart-Ulin
See full article at Quartz
See all posts on Virtual Dating Assistants
Summarized by the IDEA team
GAYTIMES – Apr 30 – Back in January, Indonesia began banning gay dating apps. Their actions against the LGBTQ community didn't stop there, as they announced plans to criminalise homosexuality by Valentine's Day, as it had the backing of all 10 major parties. Although they didn't meet that deadline, the bill is still going ahead. However, the LGBTQ community have been granted a temporary reprieve as the government announced that the bill was being put on hold for "two to three months" so that the public can have their say.
