What Social Can Learn from Dating Apps

It's About the Real World - The ultimate Conversion 

While we debate the merits of big established social media networks on business, professionals, business to business (B2B) and for B2C for digital native targeting. We are missing a piece of the puzzle, in the real world digital media are for apps that actually connect people. 

What Love can Teach Business 

In a twist of fate, dating apps have a lot to teach us about mobile engagement in the real world. Teach us about how people actually connect, about the analytics that makes this work, the touchpoint and the location based targeting that is becoming standard. It's the very contemporary UX of the digital TOUCH. 

Competition is Healthy, Branding Ourselves Online is Omnichannel 

The irony is there is more competition among dating apps than there every was in social media. It's easy to monetize, you don't need a flash in the pan snapchat, grow to millions to earn some $. 

That Digital Spark

Ever had a crush on someone's Instagram? It could happen to you, and while you may be embarrassed to admit it, we are primed by evolution to be responsive to visual cues. Falling in love with objects is a regular occurrence for Millennial Moms on Pinterest. Falling in love with travel destinations, food and pets quite common on Instagram. We're that impressionable. 

Hot or Not - Close Enough?

If you thought the world could not get more superficial, you were wrong. Tinder brought us the idea that attractiveness could be paired with swiping a screen this way or that, kinda cheap, or genius? Instant gratification for digital experiences that have social rewards. 

Experiment with your Heart

If you are as curious as me, I dare you to try the following. Download OK cupid's app and answer 200 questions, and ponder what a 95% matching rate means. Remember, in the future, analytics are embedded in everything. Our footprint is inherently informative of our sentiment analytics and Big Data can profile us down to our most intimate preferences. 

In the world of online or mobile dating, less really is more. Not just as an interface in its UX but as a profile in its attribution of the real you. These tools are gamifying us to be pleasantly deceptive and manage our first impressions with online reputation management (ORM) savvy unknown to older folk. 

A Question of Salience 

What's more essential to your emotional well-being at the end of the day, your love life or your social network of acquaintances around the world? Social media is the outer circle of your life, you are likely to SMS and text your inner circle anyhow. But you can find a partner via a mobile app, what's Facebook done for me lately?

2016 ~ The Year Location goes Viral 

This year is poised for more apps that can connect location targeting with our online reputation management. I have my eye on quite a few of this nature. In the meantime, if you are single and curious, I invite you to be curious and download: 

Tier I

• Bumble (let's women run the show, as it should be!) 

* Time urgency *Women initiate 

• OKC (OK Cupid, still the best in the business)

* if you want mainstream global penetration

• Hinge (matches you with Facebook friends in common) 
• Coffee Meets Bagel (mutual Facebook friends again is featured) 
• Loveflutter (aha, the twitter - tinder hybrid, gah!)

Tier II

• Happn (must have been near them) 
• Tastebuds (location + shared musical preferences?)
• Hitch (friend referrals, peer recommendations) 
• Grindr (for gay-bi, a bit jealous of the simplicity of this!) 
• HowAboutWe (think of the ideal setting of a date and go from there) 
• Score (wacky quirky questions) 
• Down (this is sort of casual, but also via Facebook connections) 

Finally this article is a must read on this topic. So what can social media learn from mobile dating apps? You tell me. Can apps contribute to more life-work balance, how so?

#SkillsGap, #NewYearNewMe describes how professionals & Millennial students are surpassing themselves to contribute to a better future personally, professionally, collectively and for community.