OkCupid is now suffering from the slings and arrows of outraged users, those who did not take kindly to being unwitting guinea pigs in a series of social experiments conducted by the popular online dating service.
This began with a blog post by OkCupid co-founder and president Christian Rudder, who jauntily described some tests that the site foisted on unsuspecting users.
Rudder, who also anticipated hurt feelings, brushed off the site's actions by stating basically that when you sign up for the Internet, kiss your privacy goodbye -- as well as invoking the old standby excuse that "everybody does it." He also pointed out that when members sign up to use the site, the usage agreement clearly states that OkCupid has the right to use personal information for internal purposes.
One of these social experiments involved the temporary removal of member photographs from profiles, forcing users to determine compatibility only by descriptive text. This "Love is Blind" experiment did foster communications between parties sight unseen. Interestingly, yet predictably, when photographs were later restored, many of these new connections were abruptly severed. OkCupid then reversed the test protocol -- removing descriptive text from profiles but keeping the photos -- and discovered that users were far more interested in pictures than text anyway. The information revealed in a person's profile text turned out to reflect less than 10 percent of a viewer's assessment of the person whose picture was in the profile.
Although both tests confirmed that while looks may lead the horse to water, it's personality that gets the horse to drink, an analysis revealed that users who reported the most success with the site valued personality as much or more than looks.
It was the third test that procured most people's goats. OkCupid deliberately misquoted users' match levels, either on the high or low side. For example, telling two substantially mismatched people that they were perfect for each other, or telling two well-matched people that they might be better off as ships passing in the night. This subterfuge was an attempt to find out if people let these numbers poison the well or build up false hope when engaging with others. What this test ultimately revealed is that people who really are well matched do much better. Duh.
Reactions were quick to follow. "Testing usability is not the same thing as manipulating what individuals choose to show on their profiles. The type of material OkCupid was changing would not harm anyone, but it does harm OkCupid's brand," according to Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center.
"I think the use of customers and users without their consent in experiments, for any reason, is unethical and outrageous," said Paul Levinson, professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University.
Site user Zaz Harris, 37, said that although the testing was invasive, since her expectations for online dating were not high anyway, "It's not that big a deal," especially if the testing led to a better experience with the site.
There's even a buzz in the air about possible legal ramifications, although an FTC spokesperson said it may be hard to determine the consumer injury since the service is free.
