well, sort of.
I don’t know why anyone else signed specifically. But I definitely know what spurred me to sign up immediately. It was a message on the initial page which explained “how it works.“ I don’t remember the exact words. It was something like “fill out your profile; Message another cuddler; you know why they are here… Just ask.”
I thought “finally no beating around the bush. Honesty. Straight-forwardness. Cuddle-city, you’ve got a new resident and I shalt love my neighbor!!!”
Okay, that last sentence didn’t exactly come to mind. But I was hopeful.
I think that “how it works” section was written by a man. I don’t want to instigate a forum war of eager and hurt men versus reticent and hurt women.
I’d just like to know if anyone else was influenced by that “marketing technique”, if you will. While it doesn’t explain all the difficult and awkward dynamics of this site, perhaps it explains some of it.
If Tinder promoted itself in that sort of way, I imagine it would effect the kind of folks who decided to make a profile.
Even restaurants with ordering kiosks effect is in a similar way. After typing my order into a kiosk, sometimes I find myself walking up to a counter and just blurting out “Turkey deluxe.” Or if I’m feeling formal “I got the turkey deluxe.” No “hi. No “good morning.” No “ hey, those are cool glasses.”
We know why we’re here. But perhaps that way of putting things, that way of conditioning the mind of the consumer makes dating apps more sexy, restaurants more efficient, but websites about encountering a person genuinely and platonically, very difficult.