I finally saw the THS Investigates special on dating … what dark 2 hours. Hard to believe that these scary stories represent a typical dating experience, online or otherwise.
Regardless, I was pleased to see that at the end of the show they presented OmniDate as a safe online dating alternative! (We’ll post a clip in the Press Center shortly.)
A recent study published by researchers from Harvard and Boston U suggests that realistic expectations are important to online dating success. Getting to know each other in a virtual environment before meeting in person can help singles align their expectations. The study found that people who had met on a virtual date before meeting in person had more positive experiences on an in-person date. (more…)
Research findings from Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL) suggest that virtual experiences can have an effect on people’s behavior in the real world. Researchers observed that even a couple of minutes of avatar-based chatting can elicit behavioral changes offline. For example, positive virtual experiences can boost self-confidence.
Although these studies did not specifically examine how virtual dating impacts dating behavior in real-life, the findings (more…)
Well, here’s an interesting finding … According to the Wired Magazine, “the Net is just as good as church when you’re hunting for a spouse. Seventeen percent of online daters have turned virtual winks into marriage or long-term relationships; that’s 3 million people — the same number of lovebirds who’ve met in God’s singles bar.” How about that?
I frequently come across stories in the media about virtual world applications that help people in their real lives. Here are a few examples that have appeared in the media just over the last few days.
1. Virtual world create new ways to do and learn about science; appeared in Science News.
2. Virtual dating helps create real life personal relationships; this story, featuring our own OmniDate, appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
3. Universities, conference planners and global firms are holding gatherings for far-flung employees and students in the online world; appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Today we have set up our OmniDate Virtual Dating blog! We are all quite excited about it and intend to blog regularly. Please make sure to return often to read it :-).