Will You Use the New Facebook Dating App?
- Dating Apps, Meeting Men, Online Dating
It was inevitable.
After twenty years of online dating sites competing for eyeballs, only to return a subpar experience, Facebook recently dropped the bomb that it’s getting into the dating business. It may not be good news for me but it should be great news for you.
There are only two major players in the world of online dating: IAC, which owns Match, OkCupid, PlentyOfFish and Tinder, and assorted dating apps (Hinge, Bumble, CoffeeMeetBagel, etc). Facebook will make a strong third player, given the leverage, infrastructure, money, and volume it will instantly bring to this space.
Where conventional sites struggle to entice you with pay-per-click ads and photos of hotties who may or may not be using the site anymore, Facebook has a semi-permanent database of over a billion people.
Where conventional sites struggle to entice you with pay-per-click ads and photos of hotties who may or may not be using the site anymore, Facebook has a semi-permanent database of over a billion people. And since dating sites are only as strong as their databases, there may be a point where you don’t need to go anywhere else than Facebook in order to meet someone. Why buy at the mom and pop store when you can get everything you need at Target, Costco or Amazon?
I’ve been using Facebook a lot less recently – a combination of burnout, negativity, bad press and better time management – but I still think this is a boon for single people who are looking for an inexpensive way to meet other singles. From the article:
“The opt-in feature will match users specifically with people they aren’t already friends with. Facebook users can build a dating profile – which friends won’t be able to see.
The dating feature is likely to be a free service, challenging services such as Match-owned Tinder, which has been rolling out premium, paid features, according to Jefferies analyst Brent Thill.
(It) links to events and groups on the larger platform, allowing users with dating profiles to connect via shared interests or commonly attended events.”
Sounds pretty good. My only hope is that Facebook asks users to put in MORE information and compose BETTER essays and emails as opposed to going with the instant gratification and swiping that has taken over the dating world.
What do you think? Would you use Facebook for dating? Your thoughts, as always, are greatly appreciated.
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