Review: OkCupid

I first came across OKCupid back in 2005 (maybe late 2004, randomly) after being redirected to one of their tests from Livejournal (oh yeah, I’ve been blogging since 2002. I just checked – I received over 18,000 comments back in the day, was I ever committed to LJ). OKCupid was originally mostly a site for quizzes. I still remember the days of mediocre design and all kinds of silly tests that I took with fervor. I guess at young age you want to know yourself more than anything.

OkCupid is always free. Always been. Over the years the ads deteriorated in my opinion, or maybe I’m paying more attention now.

Behind OKCupid stand the creators of Spark.Com and Sparknotes.com. They are mathematicians and entrepreneurs from Harvard and MIT. I think that was one part of the appeal for me. Also the fact that it is a website from young people with a sense of humor, it is a website made for young people. In my experience I’ve seen the largest number of alternative types on OkCupid than on any other website. I also found the most creative profiles there.

OkCupid also has a great blog where you can find a variety of interesting studies based on the data that users submit to OkCupid. I’m a sucker for data, studies and findings, especially when it relates to online dating and such. The blog, called OkTrends, offers information on the topics of Optimum Message Length,  Your Looks and Your Inbox, The 4 Myths of Profile Pictures and more.

Also, it’s a well-designed website. Not only is it Ajax-heavy and requiring minimum page refreshing, but it boasts a variety of tools and widgets like winks, awards (!), profile edits (if you’re a friend), quivers, ice breakers and more. The site runs smoothly.  I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the visit length is a lot higher than the average. One of my favorite aspects is the fact that when you receive a newsletter from them, or an e-mail informing you that somebody sent you a message, you can read it with one simple click. The website will auto-login you. Amazing.

I’ve met a lot of people there, went on some dates as well. Not that I’ve dated anyone from the website, but when do I ever date anyone?