Ever tried OkCupid? It’s a geeky little dating service that matches people based on their answers to multiple choice questions. Your answers determines what the site believes you care about, as well as your opinions on ethics, sex, religion, lifestyle, dating, and a host of other topics. The premise of the service is it can match its users with their ideal partners, before you’re even introduced.
But is ‘ideal’ everyone’s cup of tea? OkCupid recently launched an app called Crazy Blind Date that throws your pictures, answers, and meticulously crafted profiles out the window. Just pick an evening you’re free, a place you’d like to go, and Crazy Blind Date will set you up with somebody who also happens to be free…
Now, Crazy Blind Date isn’t exactly a new service. It was originally set up in 2001, in the bygone era before smartphones. Digital Trends has a theory on why the original service failed and how OKCupid can make it work in the era of apps:
Sitting down at a computer and attempting to set up a date might not be quite as spontaneous an activity as it can be on a mobile device, and OKCupid hopes the new platform will revive the concept.
Of course, this could all just be a scheme for squeezing money out of lonely people on the internet. While Crazy Blind Date is technically free to use, the program encourages gifting credits called ‘Kudos’, which sell at $0.99 for a pack of 10. You’re probably wondering why gift Kudos? Well, if you don’t, you’ll get snubbed by OkCupid’s algorithm.
In a quote to Forbes, OkCupid co-founder Sam Yagan explains, “It’s a soft payment for access; how much you donate determines your product experience along the way.” Giving and receiving Kudos will supposedly help you find the best dates.
Not everyone is happy with the “soft payment” concept or the built-in rewards behind the Crazy Blind Date service. Katie Baker at Jezebel writes:
It’s dating for the sake of your ego. Call me old fashioned, but when I go on a date, my goal is to actually enjoy the person’s company, not use them so strangers on the internet will think I’m a hot commodity.
Since you only get an hour to chat before the date to ‘figure out logistics’ with anonymous strangers, I’d also be worried Crazy Blind Date would make it harder to vet whether your date is a decent person, or even if they are who they claim to be. If you’re using the service, my advice would be to set up a date somewhere public.
Would you ever go on a ‘Crazy Blind Date’? Share your thoughts in the comments below.