Let's face it. At AMP, we LOVE the Internet. And, we want to share our geeky, awesome, internet/techy finds with you on a weekly basis. In this week's edition of the Insights Lab Weekly Round Up, we'll share our take on romance-inspired tech. Valentine's Day brought to light quite a few apps and websites that truly prove ain't nobody got time for that (even when it comes to love). Tinder It's basically a trendy version of Hot or Not backed by IAC, the parent company of Match and OkCupid. Tinder is a simple dating app that anonymously finds out who likes your looks nearby. If you happen to think the other person is good looking too, it offers an intro. If not, the person never knows you weren't a fan. It feels more like a game than an app. Validation that you are wanted by many? Yes, please. WhatsYOURprice.com Think about it as an auction for love. It's simple, let other singles bid for your affection. If you like a person's monetary offer and profile, you accept and get paid to go on a first date. While it sounds like an online brothel, it's just a site that allows you date 'generous, attractive people'? but with an incentive. Watch out eHarmony.com, Match.com and JDate. The Harlem Shake This dance craze was the IT thing this week. While not directly tied to romance, you can always resort to the dance moves found in the 12,000 Harlem Shake videos to seduce your potential soul mate at the bar. If dancing isn't your thing, you can always convert websites into Harlem Shake videos and share with your crush ' wooing them with your internet know how. Treater While not Valentine's Day specific, this app could help brighten your friends' and loved ones' days all year long. By analyzing your friends' Facebook Timelines, Treater will suggest events for which to give a gift and will suggest treats based on their likes. Add a message and photo to personalize your treat and viola! Kiss Me Thru the Phone Take a page from rap artist Soulja Boy and kiss your loved ones through the phone. But, how? Don't worry he's got you covered. He created a Kiss Me Thru the Phone app ($1.99). Snap a selfie, adorn with romance-inspired clip art and send your grand romantic gesture on its way.
In this increasingly technological world we live in, it seems the romance of finding one's 'true love'? has vanished. In the past, you typically met people through positive referrals from friends or family members. Nowadays, social media and other online chat portals have made it easy for people to meet each other without ever having to be face-to-face or even live in the same state. Websites such as Match.com and eHarmony.com are pools for singles to gather and meet virtually--putting fate and Cupid out of business. At first glance, the world of online dating could intimidate someone, but realistically is there a better place to meet someone than the place we spend most of our time? The 'Secret Formula'? Taking it a step further, an article was recently published in Elle's January issue about a digital strategist who turned online dating into an exact science. She revealed her fool-proof recipe for creating the perfect online profile and hooking the perfect online match. As she goes on about creating the perfect username or the 'best'? profile description, it may seem as though online dating has become just a tool to self advertise by embellishing or even dumbing down aspects about yourself. In reality, it has; but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Keywords are needed to track down what you're looking for. By using the right words to describe yourself, your perfect match can find you. She talks about the using just the right amount of these descriptive words to obtain the ideal response. A New Generation of Dating Although younger generations utilize dating websites, Match.com and other similar sites tend to be geared toward a slightly older crowd. As for the 20-somethings, we have our own'much less committal'virtual dating universe. Aside from the worlds of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, a new iPhone App, Tinder, recently surfaced and caught on mostly because of its simplicity. Once you've signed up through your Facebook account, you can view potential 'matches'? in your surrounding area (using the location services on your mobile phone) via a slideshow format. Once you are introduced to your "matches," you can anonymously 'like'? or 'dislike'? each picture that shows on your screen. If they happen to "like" you back, then you find out if they are a "match." After this happens you're free to message him or her through the app to get to know them better'or just to say 'What's up?'? It's essentially if someone turned "Hot or Not" into a dating service. Check it out here. Is This For Real? You may think that this is all making the way people meet or fall in love more impersonal, but online dating and virtual messaging are completely in line with the times. How many hours a day do we spend glued to our iPhones, iPads and MacBooks, anyway? In a society that places such a heavy emphasis on technology, it's not surprising that we've moved from meeting people the old fashioned way to meeting people on the internet (or right on our iPhones).
