NaBloPoMo Post 14: Investigative Edition
Nov. 23rd, 2012 10:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fearmeforiampinkI have an OkCupid account. Combination of it having an interesting match algorithm, and the fact that I am at least vaguely after a relationship, and there's a (tiny) chance something could come from there.
Today I got a message from them telling me that someone has rated me highly (4 or 5 out of 5). I look around said persons profile. They don't particularly grab me as someone I want to get to know (not 'they're terrible', just not getting the 'Oooh, interesting...' response). Because they look vaguely familiar and I want to work out if I know them through LARP or somesuch, I google their user name. No links appear, but as I'm about to click the search closed, something catches my eye; the google title for their OkCupid ends '24 / F / Brooklyn, New York'.
*…isn't she supposed to be in London?* I think. So I check, and yes, her current profile reads '27 / F / London, United Kingdom'. *Must be an old profile* my thoughts go. But curiousity wins out, and I click through to view the cached version of that page. Google tells me said page was cached on the 8th of November 2012, suggesting that this user has aged three years and moved three and a half thousand miles in the last two weeks.
I understanding caching can be weird, so there's still a possibility that it's from earlier, just that cache has been held onto or somesuch (though it seems unlikely, especially given the cached page mentions 2012 in various places). But now I'm intrigued enough to have a look through both versions of the profile, cross comparing them. (Compare for yourself; cached and current)
One is from Derry, the other Belfast. One mentions a fourteen year old daughter, the other doesn't. There are a few differences in the huge list of liked books/films/music. Beyond that, it's pretty much identical, and in some ways that's its own strangeness — in both New York and London she says she's working simultaneously as a hairdresser, sound person for film, and in a bar. Different hairdressers and bars (specifically named), but the same three jobs. Impossible? No. Unlikely? I'd say so.
So, cache weirdness, extreme self re-invention in the search for love, or something else? What do people think?
Today I got a message from them telling me that someone has rated me highly (4 or 5 out of 5). I look around said persons profile. They don't particularly grab me as someone I want to get to know (not 'they're terrible', just not getting the 'Oooh, interesting...' response). Because they look vaguely familiar and I want to work out if I know them through LARP or somesuch, I google their user name. No links appear, but as I'm about to click the search closed, something catches my eye; the google title for their OkCupid ends '24 / F / Brooklyn, New York'.
*…isn't she supposed to be in London?* I think. So I check, and yes, her current profile reads '27 / F / London, United Kingdom'. *Must be an old profile* my thoughts go. But curiousity wins out, and I click through to view the cached version of that page. Google tells me said page was cached on the 8th of November 2012, suggesting that this user has aged three years and moved three and a half thousand miles in the last two weeks.
I understanding caching can be weird, so there's still a possibility that it's from earlier, just that cache has been held onto or somesuch (though it seems unlikely, especially given the cached page mentions 2012 in various places). But now I'm intrigued enough to have a look through both versions of the profile, cross comparing them. (Compare for yourself; cached and current)
One is from Derry, the other Belfast. One mentions a fourteen year old daughter, the other doesn't. There are a few differences in the huge list of liked books/films/music. Beyond that, it's pretty much identical, and in some ways that's its own strangeness — in both New York and London she says she's working simultaneously as a hairdresser, sound person for film, and in a bar. Different hairdressers and bars (specifically named), but the same three jobs. Impossible? No. Unlikely? I'd say so.
So, cache weirdness, extreme self re-invention in the search for love, or something else? What do people think?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-11-23 11:23 pm (UTC)"You should message me if our Match % is really high, sure, but ALSO if our Enemy % is so high that you think you may actually be my Bond-villain arch-nemesis. We could have rooftop chases, veiled threats over dinner and angry revenge sex. Here's a quick ethics quiz to see if you might qualify:
1) The ends justify the means (true/false)?
2) They called you mad, those fools at the Academy, but you'll show them - you'll show them all (true/false)?
3) Sharks with lasers on their heads are both stylish and effective (true/false)?
(Own volcano base preferred)."
I've got more bloody emails from that paragraph than anything else on the page...
no subject
Date: 2012-11-24 08:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-24 10:29 am (UTC)But yeah, it's not that surprising said child disappears on the 24 year old version. It is another thing that raises my suspicions; part of me would expect more discussion of having had the child at a young age, or at least an acknowledgement of such, OTOH, this is a dating profile, so not necessarily something you'd go into there.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-24 11:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-24 11:19 am (UTC)I don't know how OK Cupid works, but the huge lists of books/films/music/drinks look like attempts to get herself found by search engines rather than anything useful for making a genuine match.
There is also the fact that she talks about her really obvious tattoos being the first thing people notice, but in her photos there are no tattoos on visible places (arms, legs, chest, face), so maybe they aren't her photos, or maybe the description is doing something other than describing her.
I feel weird being judgemental about another woman's dating profile, maybe she is for real and hiding her insecurities with a really brash front but worrying incessantly about the tiny details. Or maybe the profile exists for reasons other than genuinely looking for dates.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-24 11:27 am (UTC)And yeah, it feels weird doing the cross-comparing, but it just raised my curiosity enough to make me want to look at it, and to share it to see if anyone could work out the why behind it.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-24 11:40 am (UTC)And while you are less likely to need to protect yourself physically from anyone you meet through an online dating site, I think it is perfectly legit to protect yourself emotionally, and being savvy about profiles which strike you as less than genuine is part of that.
Maybe it's someone who is just a bit unsure of themselves or trying out different identities, maybe it's a social experiment to see what people respond to, or maybe it's a profile designed to drive traffic to a website or service.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-24 11:57 am (UTC)I can see what you mean on being savvy, though by the time I'd noticed the issues with this one, I'd already decided they weren't someone I wanted to contact/star highly. OTOH, it's still something worth being aware of, in case it's the vanguard of similar things.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-27 02:15 am (UTC)http://www.mandatory.com/2012/11/13/ok-cupid-an-exploration-into-just-how-low-some-guys-will-go