HOW MATCHMAKING EVOLVED WITH TECHNOLOGY

We trace the history of dating- from newspaper classifieds to swiping right on your mobile phones.

Technology has changed the way we approach dating. From the anonymous chat rooms of the 90s ( that let you befriend people across continents) to present-day matchmaking apps based on location, technology has made finding love easier. We trace the history of dating through the ages- from the printing press to modern-day apps ahead of a panel discussion on matchmaking in India this weekend. The talk will examine the intersection of technology with dating, love and erotica.

When Printing Press was the Hottest New Technology

·?1811- Newspapers are perhaps the oldest form of a dating application. Some of the earliest matrimonial advertisements can be traced back to the early 1800s in England.

·?the Early 1900s- Lonely Hearts columns become popular across western countries. These were to meet people, not explicitly for marriage.

· the Mid-1900s- Matrimonial columns gain popularity across vernacular and English language newspapers in India.

EMERGENCE OF THE INTERNET

·?1990- Ashok Row Kavi creates a queer-friendly magazine called Bombay Dost, in 1990; it includes a “Men Seeking Men” section.

·?1991- India’s First Lesbian resource centre, Sakhi, is set up in Delhi.

·?1994- Web Personals, the first online dating site, launches. PS: The founder is still single.

·?1995- Match.com- it all starts with a Date that was launched – it is the first dating website still active today.

When Matrimonial Classifieds went online-

·?1996- Launch of shaadi.com.it is India’s first online matrimonial classified, and still active.

·1997- Bharatmatrimony.com launches. It is shaadi.com closest competitor.

1998- Yahoo chat launches. This is the first foray into the realm of a/s/I digital chat for many in India.

·?1999- MSN Messenger releases, revolutionizing instant messaging for the ages to come.

When Facebook changed the Game, Orkut was Super Popular

·?2004- Grindr launches first geolocative hook-up app. Spreads through word of mouth.

·?2009- Facebook is founded and Orkut is launched. Orkut remains popular in India until 2009. One of the lesser-known features on Orkut was called the “Crush list”, a feature that lets you invisibly mark your secret crushes without any fear of that person (or anyone else in your friend list) coming to know about it.

When Dating Apps took over India

·??2012- Tinder launches it hits a billion swipes per day within a year, and is made available in India. It grows in popularity, initially only through word of mouth (like Grindr).

·2014- Truly Madly launches in India. Around this time, several homegrown dating apps such as Thrill, DilMil, Vee, Woo, icrushiflush, and Desi crush are launched.

·?2016- There are about 50 dating apps globally. India, too, is flirting with newer ones like Happn, Aisle and Inclov (focuses on dating for the disabled). ?

Conclusion-

·??Digitalization of many industries occurred with the boom of the internet, but the digitalization of the Indian marriage process was an unexpected outcome.

·?Online matrimonial companies revolutionized the traditional marriage concept and created an amalgamation of traditional and modern marriage concepts.

·?The rise of online matrimonial websites gave young Indians the decision-making power in choosing their life partners.

·?Earlier companies focused only on providing a perfect match for their clients, but today the companies are aiming towards becoming a shop stop for wedding solutions.

·?The development of social media apps made companies lean towards social media marketing strategies. The matrimonial companies now use various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to acquire new customers.

·?Matrimonial companies use SEO strategy to keep up the ranking on major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

·?The higher the rank on primary search results, the more visitors the matrimonial website will have and these visitors may get converted into customers.

·?These strategies help in creating a brand name and drive traffic on the matrimonial site which may convert into lead generations.

Suggestions

·?Matchmaking companies should focus on blog marketing which is a growing trend in the matrimony industry and has the potential to increase the user base of the matrimonial websites.

·??Companies with marketing budgets should opt for SEM strategies rather than SEO strategies as SEM strategies help to acquire leads instantly. This will prevent the deterioration of their ranking in primary search results.

·Companies also need to perform a social media audit wherein the companies review what is working, what is failing and what can be improved to get more target audience.

·Social media analytics tools like Google Analytics can be used to perform the audit. Companies can perform an audit quarterly and even in some cases monthly.

·Companies should not rely only on online marketing strategy, but?use both, online and offline marketing strategies where offline marketing strategy is complementary to online marketing strategy