Dating site OkCupid sent an e-mail to some of its users late last week informing them that they’ve been placed in the top half of users in terms of attractiveness by its algorithms. As a result of the categorization, the attractive users will be more likely to see one another in match searches, while the users who are in the lower tier will not see a change. The e-mail (which was sent by the “OkCupid Summer Interns”) specified that the determinations were made through analysis of clicks on users’ photos and reactions in the Quiver and QuickMatch features. Those two tools ask users to quickly respond positively or negatively to photos accompanied by segments of profile text. When users are presented in searches, QuickMatch or Quiver, their pictures are featured most prominently, but some profile data is included as well — usually just one paragraph. You can’t get a sense of who someone really is from that paragraph, of course, but a user may write someone off because of poor spelling or other factors that are apparent in the clips. So sure, it’s not entirely based on looks, but they’re probably the biggest factor. Is OkCupid Shallow? People who don’t believe in “leagues” of attractiveness might find this division a little crass, but others will see it as a win-win move for the dating site and its users. A dating site needs attractive users to thrive, of course. They’re more likely to remain active on the site if they’re easily able to reach men and women they consider desirable prospects. And since they’re attractive themselves, their continued presence will drive pageviews. Just think: When an attractive user’s photo shows up in a search of currently active users, it’s more likely to receive clicks than a photo of an unattractive member. OkCupid is primarily ad-supported, and those extra clicks and pageviews generate more revenue. Unattractive users won’t notice a difference — except, perhaps, fewer messages from attractive ones, but they probably weren’t receiving those messages to begin with. The Thinking Person’s Dating Site The Boston Globe called OkCupid “the Google of online dating.” That’s not because it’s the biggest dating site (it’s not), but because it’s arguably the most innovative and cerebral in its approach and features. OkCupid tracks data very closely, just as Google does in many cases, and it maintains a blog called OkTrends where it applies user data research to come to fascinating and helpful conclusions about how people approach online dating. Subjects have included how different approaches to profile pictures affect the amount of messages received, why young men should try to date older women and what the best first messages say. OkCupid also just launched a site called MyBestFace , which is like a very elaborate, almost-scientific Hot or Not -type tool that invites users to tag themselves and then vote on photos. The person who uploaded his or her photos eventually receives a report sharing which photos fared best with which kinds of people so he or she can make an informed decision about which ones to feature more prominently. Add that to the blogging features, a newsfeed and detailed matching algorithms, and you have an approach to dating that’s unique to the web-driven twenty-first century. Just don’t screw it up with any Facebook dating faux pas after other websites have found you the love of your life, alright? image courtesy of iStockphoto , CREATISTA For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Google , Twitter , iStockphoto Tags: dating , okcupid , online dating , romance , sex
Suaad Sait is co-founder of Workstreamer , a business listening platform that delivers actionable, real-time information to business professionals. As businesspeople, we now have an unlimited amount of constantly updating information at our fingertips. It holds the promise of great value (and more importantly, profit), but it is also voluminous and fleeting. Powerful new search engines, newfangled social CRM systems, and a preponderance of social sites and services leave us sitting at desks, feverishly fetching news and updates throughout the day in an attempt to stay up-to-date. The trick, of course, is making sense of all that data, and putting it in context of what companies — and who exactly at those companies — matter most. Increasingly, we have the palpable desire to turn good data into good decisions and profitable relationships. But how can you take advantage of that tsunami of information without risking death by data? How can everyday businesspeople get value out of these data-heavy services and sources? Relationships Still Rule The answer to these questions starts by first acknowledging that it’s the same as it ever was: Business is still all about relationships. This should be soothing to many for whom the data web is a brave new world. The business world still runs on relationships, and data is as much at home at a cocktail hour or on a conference call as it is in a slide deck. The game has not changed much at all. The difference is that today’s business data has put everything in stark relief, at very high resolution. Opportunities and risks have been amplified. For example, if I notice a partner’s company’s stock surge at the opening of the market and tie it to a news item on quarterly earnings, I can now send a timely congratulatory note and schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss leveraging that momentum for a proposed joint venture. Or, say I am alerted to an old college friend changing his contact info on a social network, and as a result, track down a few details on his role at a new company. I might subsequently notice via a status update that he is departing for my home city in a few days, and now I can initiate a reconnection and invite him to participate on a panel I’m organizing. Today’s most actionable business data comes from living and very human sources like social networks, wikis, microblogs, crowdsourced contact directories, collaboratively filtered finance communities, real-time search engines, hyperlocal news sites and more. Managing that data can involve a lot of mixing and matching, comparing and contrasting. Relationships Run on Data Strategic relationships with colleagues and contacts both create and consume data. In fact, data isn’t cold and impersonal at all — that’s an important misconception to put to rest. Many of your most successful and trusted business relationships now likely run on data. “Networking” in the traditional sense used to take a lot of time and effort. But in truth, all networking has ever been is the act of information-gathering — of scouting and collating. We used to start with an idea of a person we were trying to do business with, without nearly enough relevant information about them. That has changed as a result of the personal data now available via social media sources. Now, when you finally meet someone in person, or run into them at a conference, the interaction can be immediately more rich and productive precisely because of data — you can get right to the heart of the matter because you’re having a more informed, in-depth conversation that matters. From crunching data and doing your homework, to finding a path through your existing relationships, to setting up that first meeting with a timely and well-researched missive, the new data-driven way of doing business can be infinitely more productive. Conclusion Remember the under-the-table note sharing going on in high school? Well, imagine having the smartest kid in school organize, prioritize and collect notes for you, no strings attached. That’s the kind of information advantage that is now available to us, through an ever-growing array of new social business tools. And it’s not considered cheating, either. But even despite all this new data and these new tools, relationships are still the beginning and the end of every business decision. There is little doubt that there will be a fundamental overhaul in the skill-set of the average businessperson in the next five years as companies grapple with, and realize the upside of making better use of data, both internally and externally. Today, the technologies and techniques that were once the exclusive domain of Wall Street analysts and Silicon Valley engineers are finally trickling down to everyday businesspeople. But no matter how the world has changed, listening is still paramount -– listening to customers, listening to prospects, listening to colleagues, and listening to entire companies –- indeed, listening to data. For more business coverage, follow Mashable Business on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook More business resources from Mashable: – How Data Will Impact the Way We Do Business – HOW TO: Make Sure You’re Tracking the Right Data – 4 Tips for B2B Marketing on Facebook – What Facebook’s Open Graph Means for Your Business – HOW TO: Cultivate Your Brand’s Super Users Image courtesy of iStockphoto , Sportstock , stevecoleccs Reviews: Facebook , Twitter , iStockphoto Tags: business , data , small business , social media , social networking
MocoSpace is announcing today that their first Android application is now available. Similar to their mobile website, the app focuses on social networking and chatting. MocoSpace currently enjoys 11 million registered users with 3 billion monthly pages. MocoSpace for Android offers live chat, photo uploading, message notifications, and profile viewing and commenting in a rather clean and friendly manner. We’ve really listened to what our users want in developing this application. We know that our users love to communicate, so we’re committed to giving them the best mobile chat experience to help people stay connected and have fun on their phones. – MocoSpace CEO Justin Siegel http://mocospace.com/ MocoSpace for Android runs on Android 1.5 and above. Grab it for free out of the Android Market today. Might We Suggest… Forget Text, Use Robo.to for Video Status Updates! San Francisco-based web and mobile app company Particle has just unveiled their Android app, Robo.to. Forget tweets and status updates with boring text. Using Robo.to one can record and broadca…
If you look at the moment when Twitter was founded as a big bang of influence, how does its cosmos look today? Web design studio Information Architects aims to answer that with an enormous visualization of the Cosmic 140 – the 140 most influential users on Twitter. The map may look a bit chaotic at first, but it’s not. The founders of Twitter are at the very center of the “galaxy;” long-time Twitter users are closer to the middle, and the two circles for each user (the white one and the transparent one) represent list volume and the number of followers. The users are organized around the circle according to category (indicated on the outer rim of the sphere), such as sports, politics, humor and so forth. Additionally, you can see the first tweet of each user on the map. As hard as it is to determine the exact level of influence of individual Twitter users, the visualization is an amazing sight to behold. It’s huge, complex, and beautiful. Check the entire version, available as a free PDF, here . For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: infographic , social media , twitter
The Wall Street Journal is reporting on what could be a major scandal brewing for Facebook, MySpace and other social networks: despite assurances to the contrary, the sites have apparently been sending personal and identifiable information about users to their advertisers without consent. Large advertising companies including Google’s DoubleClick and Yahoo’s Right Media were identified as having received information including usernames or ID numbers that could be traced back to individual profiles as users clicked on ads. The data could potentially be used to look up personal information about the user, including real name, age, occupation, location, and anything else made public on the profile. Both of the aforementioned companies denied being aware of the “extra” data they were receiving and claim they have not made use of it. The WSJ goes on to report that since raising questions about the practice with Facebook and MySpace , both companies have since rewritten at least some of the code that allowed transmission of identifiable data. Beyond those two companies, LiveJournal, Hi5, Xanga and Digg made the list of sites identified as sending identifiable information back to advertisers when a user clicked on individual ads. The Journal found that Facebook went farther than most in sharing identifiable data, by sending the username of the person clicking the ad as well as the username of the profile they were viewing at the time. This news could hardly come at a worse time for Facebook, a company that currently faces a privacy backlash potent enough to make the cover of Time Magazine this month. Outside of Facebook, the other companies named in the article maintain the data they send to advertisers contains the user ID of the profile a user is visiting when they click on an ad, and not the user ID of the visitor themselves. Both Google and Yahoo made strong statements refuting the idea that they would ever make use of any such personally identifiable data. Yahoo VP of global policy Anne Toth said of the allegations, “We prohibit clients from sending personally identifiable information to us. We have told them. ‘We don’t want it. You shouldn’t be sending it to us. If it happens to be there, we are not looking for it.’” What do you think: is this another privacy-related stain on Facebook as well as other social networks, or much ado about nothing? For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Digg , Facebook , Hi5 , MySpace , Twitter , Xanga Tags: advertising , digg , facebook , facebook privacy , Google , hi5 , LiveJournal , MARKETING , myspace , privacy , xanga , Yahoo
Today sees the airing of the Season 2 finale of MySpace’s original web series, Married on MySpace . We got an exclusive chance to go behind the scenes at the actual wedding of winning couple Dehlia and Graeham Ford-Feliz to sneak a peak at what it’s like to get hitched with a little help from the Internet. For those not familiar with the show, think of it as a reality show for the web in which one couple is chosen to have their wedding ceremony planned and prepared with the help of the MySpace community. Fans get to vote on specific details like ring and dress styles, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and even the entertainment at the reception. Married on MySpace represents a strategy surrounding original web programming we’re likely to see more of from the company in the future, said VP of video & entertainment Jason Kirk in an interview. Following the success of the first season, which garnered about a million views per episode and enthusiastic response from advertising partners, the show was renewed. Television veterans Endemol USA returned to provide production duties for the series, with JC Penney, HP, The Knot, Hearst and Fox Searchlight’s Our Family Wedding coming on board as sponsors. So far Season 2 has been “tracking pretty similar in terms of views and engagement,” according to Kirk, “which makes me quite happy because when you replicate something you don’t always have the same success.” He spoke to the participatory nature of an online reality series as something of particular interest to the demographic MySpace primarily wants to serve , the young high school and college-aged user. For advertising partners too, the show offers a unique opportunity for “authentic integration into the show.” “Audience involvement is a key attribute of our young demo, so we want to look to continue to do things that can showcase that, and I think that original programming does that,” said Kirk. “I think you’ll see us continue to do more of that in the coming year.” Check out our behind the scenes video footage from the season finale big day, including an interview with the bride and groom as well as wedding planner Anja Winikka of The Knot . Traditional wedding it certainly was not, but outside of the omnipresent cameras and [spoiler alert!] hot dog suits, we were fascinated to attend a reality show marriage ceremony that felt surprisingly normal. You can check out how the finale turned out and catch the rest of the season at MySpace . For more entertainment coverage, follow Mashable Entertainment on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Tags: Endemol , Fox , hearst , HP , JC Penney , MARKETING , married on myspace , myspace , reality tv , social networking , the knot , tv , video , web series
Lewis Howes is a former professional athlete, world record holder in football, and author of the LinkedIn book, LinkedWorking . He is the founder of the Sports Executives Association , and the popular sports and social media blog SportsNetworker.com . LinkedIn is one of the best places online to find a job, period. It’s also a great place to connect with top decision makers, generate targeted leads for your business, drive traffic to your website, and more. I hear countless stories every week from people who land amazing full time positions at great companies thanks to engagement on LinkedIn. Although there are a number of approaches you can take when hunting for the right job, start with these 13 important tips for using LinkedIn effectively. 1. Complete Your Profile 100% If someone is thinking about hiring you for a position, he or she is going run a Google search for your first and last name. For many, a LinkedIn profile will rank in the top five results. This gives you a certain level of control in showcasing your best talents with your profile. Make sure your profile is 100% complete, and position yourself as an expert in your niche. A profile that is only 55% complete, without recommendations and an updated work history may not make a solid first impression when people find you through search. 2. Add a Compelling Headline Your headline is the first thing potential employers and hiring managers will see after your name. First impressions are an important aspect of the interview process, and this holds true for your LinkedIn profile as well. Be clear and to the point with your headline. Try to tell people who you are, what you do, and how you can help them in as few words as possible. This simple step will help you stand out from many other LinkedIn profiles. 3. Add All Past and Current Work Positions It’s important to include where you have worked in the past and where you are currently working. Obviously, the more work experience you can list, the better. You never know which position will earn you the respect of the hiring manager and give you the edge you need to land the job. There’s always a chance the hiring manager has worked at one of your previous companies, or has hired other professionals from that company. Situations like this may help you get the job security you are seeking. 4. Give and Receive Recommendations On your traditional resume, you are supposed to have a limited amount of recommendations. However, on your LinkedIn profile, the more people who can vouch for you, the better. If you only have two recommendations on LinkedIn, most people won’t take your profile seriously. It’s unfortunate, because there are a number of qualified and experienced professionals who aren’t active on the network. This can hurt their reputation. Remember, in the online world, perception is reality. If people believe that no one will recommend you because there are no visible signs of approval displayed on your profile, why would they want to hire you? The best way to receive recommendations is to give them first. The more you give on LinkedIn, the more you will receive. Take some time to write a few recommendations for those you know, like, and trust, and a majority of them will write you one in return. 5. Connect With Everyone There are some on LinkedIn who believe you should only connect with a small percentage of professionals you know and trust. Others say (including myself) you should connect with everyone, even if you vaguely know them. When looking for a job, you never know who will be able to recommend you, or who is looking for someone to fill a position where you would be a perfect fit. When connecting with others, make sure you always send a personalized message. This doesn’t have to be an essay, but make sure you mention why you are connecting or how you know one another. Also ask if there is anything you can do to assist them. By offering your services to help, this breaks down any initial barriers and gives others another reason why they should hire you. 6. Be Concise in Your Message When you communicate through your LinkedIn profile, structure it in a way that will help people clearly understand you and what you are after. There are three main components: Provide a preview so people know what comes next In your headline give them the intro to who you are and what you are all about. Give them the facts Let people know who you are by injecting your personality into your work experiences, your summary, your specialties, and in how you help people. Summarize and reinforce your message Finish up strong by adding in your honors, awards, personal websites and case studies. Provide a call to action on how to connect with you and ways to follow up if they want to learn more. 7. Stay Active I believe half the battle of finding a job is simply letting others know you are alive. There are so many resumes being submitted to open positions that it can be tough to break through sometimes. Luckily, LinkedIn works in your favor if you are active and constantly engage within the community. Each time you take action on LinkedIn, it shows up on the home page of everyone you are connected to. The more people see your picture, read you name, and check out the compelling content you are delivering, the more likely they are to think of you when a position opens up. Stay active, and the opportunities will be much more abundant than if you don’t participate at all. 8. Join Niche Groups Groups are a great way to find a position because they have built-in job boards with new jobs being added on a regular basis. Some groups have tens of thousands of decision makers within them. As a member, you are able to send a message to almost every person without having to upgrade to a premium account. LinkedIn also has a great advanced search function, and once you find who you want to connect with, you can often message them directly through mutual groups without actually needing to be connected. 9. Create a Group Being a group owner has many advantages. It allows you to send messages once per week to all the members, and you are perceived more as a decision maker and thought leader. Start attracting potential employers as opposed to seeking them out all of the time. 10. Add Your Honors and Awards Including honors and awards is just another way to increase your value to potential hiring managers. Employers want to hire winners, and those who know how to excel. Be sure to show them what you are made of, and post everything relevant to your success in your past work history. 11. Answer Questions This is a great way for job seekers to showcase their talents and expertise and stand out from the crowd. It’s also valuable to entrepreneurs and business owners for gathering leads. Add the ‘Answers’ widget on the right-hand side of your LinkedIn home page with the industry topic you know the most about. When you see a question pop up that you can answer, make sure you give your two cents and provide as much information and value in your answers as possible. The more you give to and serve others, the more job opportunities will come your way. 12. Import Your Blog and Twitter Feeds There are a number of ways to beef up your LinkedIn profile and make its content more compelling. Adding your blog and Twitter account is a good first step. Simply connect with your Twitter profile and check the box to make sure your tweets are syndicated to LinkedIn. This will save time and make it look like you are more active on LinkedIn as well. Adding your blog to your LinkedIn profile is a no-brainer. This not only drives organic traffic back to your site, but showcases your regular activities and expertise. 13. Connect Others I’m a big fan of connecting people. Whenever I see someone with a certain career need, I try to think of the right people I can introduce them to. I want to create a mutually beneficial gain for each party. The more I do this, the more career opportunities come my way. When you help two people without asking for anything in return, you leave a lasting impression on all involved. This will help amplify your own job prospects, as people will be more likely to help you achieve your goals in the future. Conclusion Don’t get discouraged if you don’t immediately see results. Effectively building your LinkedIn presence and online network won’t happen overnight. Remember these tips, and start to actively engage. Take action, be consistent, and you’ll soon be exploring a wealth of new professional networking opportunities. For more business coverage, follow Mashable Business on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook More LinkedIn Resources from Mashable: – 5 Ways Small Businesses Can Leverage LinkedIn’s New Features – HOW TO: Reignite Your Business Network Online – 5 Tips for Using LinkedIn to Find Star Employees – 8 Tips for Managing a LinkedIn Group – 5 Ways to Avoid Sabotaging Your Personal Brand Online Image courtesy of iStockphoto , SchulteProductions Tags: business , employment , job search , job seekers , jobs , linkedin , List , Lists , social media , social networking , twitter
A Pakistani court has ordered the authorities to temporarily block Facebook due to a contest that calls for caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. The court order follows a petition by a group called the Islamic Lawyers’ Movement, which complained that the contest was “blasphemous.” A search on Facebook reveals two sites featuring such caricatures: one supporting Kurt Westergaard, the Danish cartoonist who created the caricature of the Prophet, published in Danish newspapers in 2005. The other group is openly calling for caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, claiming in the group descriptions that it has noble intent. From the description: “This group is for everyone, regardless of nationality, political or religious believes, who believe in and want to defend freedom of speech and the foundation of democracy wherever it is being threatened in the world!” In the photo section of the group, one can indeed find several caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Facebook is to remained blocked in Pakistan until May 31. Justice Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court ordered the department of communications to submit a written reply to the Islamic Lawyers’ Movement petition by that date. In 2008, Pakistan blocked YouTube , also because of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that found their way onto the video-sharing site. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Twitter Tags: ban , facebook , Pakistan , social networking
Brian Solis is the author of Engage and a leading authority in digital branding and marketing. Connect with him on Twitter or Facebook . What follows is a modified excerpt from Engage , the complete guide for businesses to build, cultivate, and measure success in the new web. Social media is reinventing marketing, communications, and the dissemination of information. While businesses now have access to these rich channels, the true promise of social media lies in the direct connections between people who represent companies and the people who define markets of interest. Today, many businesses approach this with the establishment of social media guidelines and policies . This is indeed an important step, and not one worth economizing. But it’s also not enough. I highly recommend establishing official procedures that remind representatives of the importance and privilege of engagement. The openness of popular networks is trivial. Any business can join and create a profile. It’s the devices we employ, the intentions that motivate engagement, and the value we offer that dictate the significance of the brand-specific social graphs we weave. It’s a simple investment in either visibility or presence. In social media, just like in the real world, presence is felt. Rules of Engagement As social media continues to evolve, defining the “rules of engagement” will encourage thoughtful interaction that benefits the business, brand, customer, peers, and prospects at every touchpoint. In the end, we earn the attention, relationships and business we deserve. The following is an outline of best practices to help you craft a practical set of rules to guide representatives as they engage. 1. Discover all relevant communities of interest and observe the choices, challenges, impressions, and wants of the people within each network. 2. Don’t just participate solely in your own domains ( Facebook Fan Page, Twitter conversations related to your brand, etc.). Participate where your presence is advantageous and mandatory. 3. Determine the identity, character, and personality of the brand and match it to the persona of the individuals representing it online. 4. Establish a point of contact who is ultimately responsible for identifying, trafficking, or responding to all things that can affect brand perception. 5. As in customer service, representatives require training to learn how to proactively and reactively respond across multiple scenarios. Don’t just put the person familiar with social networking in front of the brand. 6. Embody the attributes you wish to portray and instill. Operate by a code of conduct. 7. Observe the behavioral cultures within each network and adjust your outreach accordingly. 8. Assess pain points, frustrations, and also those of contentment in order to establish meaningful connections. 9. Become a true participant in each community you wish to activate. Move beyond marketing and sales. 10. Don’t speak at audiences through canned messages. Introduce value, insight and direction with each engagement. 11. Empower your representatives to offer rewards and resolutions in times of need. 12. Don’t just listen and placate — act. Do something. 13. Ensure that any external activities are supported by a comprehensive infrastructure to address situations and adapt to market conditions and demands. 14. Learn from each engagement and provide a path within the company to adapt and improve products and services. 15. Consistently create, contribute, and reinforce service and value. 16. Earn connections through collaboration and empower advocacy. 17. Don’t get lost in translation. Ensure your communication and intent is clear and that your involvement maps to objectives created for the social web. 18. Establish and nurture beneficial relationships online and in the real world as long as doing so is important to your business. 19. “Un-campaign” and create ongoing programs that keep you connected to day-to-day engagement. 20. “Un-market” by becoming a resource to your communities. 21. Give back, reciprocate, and recognize notable contributions from participants in your communities. For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook More social media resources from Mashable: – Top 5 Social Media Tips for C-Suite Execs – How Facebook Makes Edgy Concepts Mainstream – The Local Advertising War Will Be a Clash of the Internet Titans – 4 Tips for Tapping Into Twitter Conversations – 8 Tips for a Successful Social Media Cause Campaign Image courtesy of iStockphoto , AndrewJohnson Tags: business , engagement , facebook , List , Lists , MARKETING , small business , twitter
Mashable Co-Editor Ben Parr appeared on Al Jazeera English this weekend to address questions about the dangers posed by Facebook , including the privacy concerns and the recent spat of out-of-control parties organized on the social network. Facebook’s Open Graph platform could be a huge boon for web businesses, but the privacy-related complications it brings up are little understood by Facebook users, many of whom still don’t even know how to disable instant personalization or just don’t bother . A vocal minority of users have planned a mass exodus from Facebook this May 31, but Ben points out in the video interview below that the network is still growing despite the backlash. Ben also wrote a column on Mashable this weekend titled “ In Defense of Facebook ,” providing an alternative viewpoint to the Facebook privacy backlash that we’ve been seeing over the past few weeks. He made the same point in that article as he did on Al Jazeera (among others): “Protecting our privacy starts with us, not Facebook.” Do you agree or disagree with that statement? Let us know in the comments here, or join in on the conversation on the column. Ben Parr Talks Facebook Privacy on Al Jazeera For more social media coverage, follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook Reviews: Facebook , Mashable , Twitter Tags: al jazeera , Ben Parr , facebook , interview , mashable , Open Graph , privacy , social media , social networking , video
