Pic by Franzi.
Everything started with one week testing the dating app Tinder. Simply out of curiosity and as an experiment. After 7 days I deleted the account. I was relieved but now at least I knew what everyone was talking about. Then some of you asked me to test also the app LOVOO. Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t a big fan of it. Relieved I canceled my account after 7 (unsuccessful) days. Then my phone rang and my pal Isa told me that in Berlin the new dating app-„trend“ is OkCupid and that it should be full of creative, interesting people. My first thought was: „No, no, no… not another week… no“. My next thought was: „Why not?“ and I started to register for my OkCupid account…
Installation: I started with OkCupid on the computer. Afterwards, I installed also the app on my mobile. Both ways worked out pretty simple. And yet another time I registered through my Facebook account (I am just wondering how Mr Zuckerberg will use this now with regard to Facebook’s new privacy policy… *freaking out*…). But there were other possibilities to log-in without using Facebook. Big pro!
First Look: I really liked the look of OkCupid’s user interface on my computer screen. It somehow reminded me on … Facebook (there it is again) and is easy to use (In big contrast to LOVOO!). The most striking thing is the language – English. It’s somehow crazy to look for a guy in Hamburg or Osnabrück via online dating and then filling out your profile in English. But since the usage interface and all profile questions are in English, it also seems crazy to answer in German. I would estimate that 90% of all profiles in Hamburg were in English. On the app OkCupid tries to speak German but this is comparable to a translation via Google translate. One example: the German word „schlafen“ (sleep) appeared on my screen as „schlaffen“(floppy). Unfortunately both words made sense in the context :D.
Handling: OkCupid asks you questions (about your hobbies, about politics, about your future plans, your sex life … about everything). Based on your answers it tells you what kind of personality you have: According to OkCupid I am “more experienced in love than straight women your age“. It also matches you with other people. The highest match I ever had with a guy was 95% and 1% „enemy“. We were both strucked by so many similarities. But then the conversation started to become boring – what do you have to speak about when you are living similar lives anyway?! I also don’t know how many questions OkCupid has in total for the matching test. I answered 367 of them and still there were more … no ending in sight. But – I admit this one – thinking about those questions was fun :)! The app also makes you suggestions of possible dating candidates (based on your answers) and searches (like the other two) not only for potential partners in your home town but also in a radius (of your mobile) of your choice.
Communication: The chat function works better than in other digital dating devices, but I switched fast to WhatsApp for longer conversations. You can (and should) send messages to whoever you like. It’s also possible to mark someone as your favorite, but he/she will never know it if he hasn’t the „A list“ upgrade for which one has to pay. I got a lot of messages from Morocco, which I found extremely strange. But otherwise I had some very good communications.
Flirt-Factor: For me, the OkCupid flirt factor was higher than with Tinder or LOVOO. Somehow, the men on OkCupid appeared to be more creative and interesting. Maybe this was just my impression, but I guess that the English language attracts more start-up/intellectual/cool men.
Real-Life Test: I only met one guy in real-life and he turned out to be really charming and even more attractive than expected. Lucky me :).
Conclusion: I still don’t think that I am made for online dating. But testing the three apps also showed me a lot about myself. For example that I’m too picky … or taller than a lot of men. OkCupid in the end was definitely my favorite app. Thanks Isa for convincing me to give it a try.
I wish you a wonderful start into the new week. May it be full of love!
Like always: All credits appear after clicking the links. If you are interested in putting ads on My so-called Luck feel free to email me for details.