PRESS RELEASE – July 9 – “Based on extensive research, we believe that there is a strong correlation between facial similarities and shared personality traits and values, leading to better compatibility,” explains Linda van Liempt, Soul2Match Co-Founder. A couple with a compatibility score of at least 70% is deemed to be a strong, long-term relationship match. Soul2Match found the President and Mrs. Obama to have a compatibility score of 84%. The matchmaking service launched its iPhone app on TechCrunch Disrupt SF, allowing members to snap photos of potential mates for compatibility scores.
Category: Soul2Match
Operation Match Version 2012
UNLIMITED MAGAZINE – Mar 6 – In 1965 a group of Harvard students started Operation Match that used questionnaires to identify compatible matches. When the students sold it three years later they had received ~1M responses which resulted in a few marriages. Today North America’s dating sites attracts 22M users a month, says online dating industry analyst Mark Brooks. Online daters have upwards of 1,000 dating sites to choose from, aside from industry giants Match, eHarmony, OKCupid and PlentyofFish. "Starting a dating site is like starting a restaurant," Brooks says. "It’s very attractive but there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye."
Brian Schechter and Aaron Schildkrout created HowAboutWe.com in 2009. The site is built around going on "awesome dates," with users able to see a list of date proposals in their immediate area. The company has raised ~$19M. Another site Sparkology is invite-only dating site. Other startups include Soul2Match, which links potential dates based on their photos and facial features, and Luv@FirstTweet, which uses Twitter to match singles. At TheJMom.com, matchmaking is left up to parents.
In a report in the Journal of Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a team looked closely and critically at the online dating industry. The researchers found that while online dating has great potential to improve meeting potential romantic partners, the exclusive matching formulas many online dating sites claim to have are unsubstantiated and likely little more effective than randomly approaching strangers at a bar. Sites and apps can facilitate face-to-face interactions quickly. Mark Brooks agrees. "I don’t think people want to come home and spend hours and hours tappity-tapping on the keyboard. They want to be in front of people," he says. "Computer-mediated communication is not gratifying enough for the human soul." Brooks thinks three trends will define the future of the industry: location-based services, mobile services and behavioral matchmaking. "Dating sites that do well will be serving their users’ interests, which means a little more immediacy, a little more help and going mobile," he says.
That instant face-to-face interaction is what MeetMoi, a location-based mobile dating company led by CEO Alex Harrington, has been facilitating since 2007. Users are matched with one another based on preferences and proximity, through application-based and mobile web-based dating.
by Cailynn Klingbeil
See full article at Unlimited Magazine
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Soul2Match Link Dates Based on Facial Features
NY DAILY NEWS – Sep 19 - Soul2Match is a new iPhone app that claims to match up singles based on facial recognition. The concept behind the dating site is simple: People are attracted to themselves. Users snap photos of themselves and run a search for singles who share their facial features. Earlier this year, FindYourFaceMate.com launched a prototype that operated on much the same idea of soul-mate sameness.
by Joyce Chen
See full articla at NY Daily News
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Soul2Match Matches Singles with Similar Faces
MASHABLE – Sep 14 - Online dating startup Soul2Match promises to match singles based solely on their headshot. The site's founders cite several studies that show what we’re all really looking for in our ideal mate is ourselves. Soul2Match is an extremely simple dating site. Instead of filling out long questionnaires, users take a photo of themselves and post it to the site or the iPhone app. The site uses facial recognition software to analyze features in the photo and the photos of other users, and spits out a “compatibility score.” There’s an option to message people who are highly compatible with you.
The New Digital Singles Scene
FAST COMPANY – Aug 19 - Online dating startups are using quirky concepts, and emerging technology–from facial recognition to geolocation. Online dating is a $1.5 billion per year industry in the U.S. Match.com generates ~$400M; eHarmony ~$150 million; and Adult Friend Finder earn ~$250M in annual revenue. On most sites, users take the time-honored route of writing up anecdotes about their lives. OK Cupid broke that model by combining traditional "about me" profiles with a personality test a la 20-questions. Dutch startup Soul2Match is using facial recognition software to pair people with similar bone structure. HowAboutWe requires users to suggest unique date ideas to one another. Spoondate asks its members to disclose what they want to eat and where, to match them based on cravings. Luv@FirstTweet tracks its users’ Twitter history to get a sense of their interests and personality.
by Sean Captain
See full article at Fast Company
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