交友网站的背后算法玄机

    现在，巴里•迪勒的IAC公司掌控着41%的市场份额，这主要得归功于旗下两家网站Match.com和OkCupid.com。eHarmony公司紧随其后，份额达到了23.5%。排在第三位是Zoosk，份额为7.7%。最后是Spark Networks（拥有JDate、Christian Mingle、LDS Mingle等网站），份额为4.9%。

    每家公司的网站背后都是大体相似的神奇算法在发挥威力。IAC称其所有网站的后台技术并不完全相同，但每收购一家网站，它就会修改这些技术，把它发挥到极致。Spark Networks的很多网站也是这种情况。在JDate和ChristianMingle上，个人资料可能有所不同，但实际产品和流程却是相似的。

    尽管Spark Networks规定下属网站之间不可共用用户资料，但首席执行官格雷格•利伯曼称，他发现那些规模较小的山寨网站经常这么干。他说：“这类网站层出不穷。进入一家针对基督教徒的网站主页，居然能搜索出50种不同宗教信仰的用户资料。”和Spark Networks一样，IAC也不会混用下属各家网站的个人资料，为此它采用了一个名为“贴白标”（white labeling）的流程。不过它却为自己庞大的用户数据库开发了其他用途。创建了专为50岁以上的单身人士服务的新网站之后，它将其推介给下属网站SeniorPeopleMeet.com和SeniorsMeet.com的现有会员。

    就算是专为极小众的“鲻鱼头”人群约会服务的网站实际上也属于大型集团Passions Network。这个集团的成员网站还包括专为《宋飞正传》（Seinfeld）剧迷服务的FestivusPassions.com和专为美髯公服务的StachePassions.com。这家公司的绝大多数用户在加盟时都号称自己拥有几项痴迷的嗜好。尽管目前还享有细分市场所带来的竞争优势，但靠数据驱动的大型资料交换中心可能才是绝大多数在线交友企业的未来发展出路。《在线交友观察》（Online Personals Watch）的行业分析师兼编辑布鲁克斯称：“从战略上说，公司规模越大越好。如果你想知道在线交友网站的最佳运营模式是什么，从理论上说，答案就是：这家网站拥有全球所有单身人士的资料，用户可以在一天之内就找到自己的如意伴侣。”他还表示，一家大型的美国公司控制超过50%的市场份额将是“不可避免的”。理论上说，更大的用户人群意味着能结成更多佳偶，就算他们的背景可能不适合结合。相关资料也证明了这一点：“去问人们他们到底想要什么，这么干就是在浪费时间，因为他们确实不知道，”布鲁克斯说。（财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    Right now, Barry Diller's IAC (IACI) controls 41% of the market, thanks in large part to its properties Match.com and OkCupid.com. eHarmony is next, with 23.5% of the market. In third place is Zoosk at 7.7%, followed by Spark Networks (owner of JDate, Christian Mingle, LDS Mingle, and more) at 4.9%.

    Much of the same algorithmic magic is at work across each company's sites. IAC says its back-end engineering is not identical for all its properties, but that it does revise and tweak them with each new acquisition. It's a similar story with, Spark Networks' many properties. The profiles might be different on JDate and ChristianMingle, but the actual product and process are similar.

    While Spark Networks has a policy of not mixing profiles between sites, CEO Greg Liberman says he sees smaller, copycat sites try that often. "They pop up all the time," he says. "You go through a Christian front door, and then you can do a search for 50 different religions." Like Spark Networks, IAC also does not mix the profiles between its sites, a process known as "white labeling." It does find other uses for its massive user base, though. When it created the new site for singles ages 50 and up, OurTime.com, it populated it with existing members from its sitesSeniorPeopleMeet.com and SeniorsMeet.com.

    Even the super-specialized mullet dating website is part of a much larger group, the Passions Network. Member sites also include FestivusPassions.com for Seinfeld fans andStachePassions.com for the mustachioed. The majority of the company's users who join declare several passions.

    Despite the competitive advantage conferred by niche markets, big data-driven dating clearinghouses may be the way of the future for much of the online dating industry. "Strategically, bigger is best," says Brooks, industry analyst and editor of Online Personals Watch. "If you consider what would be the perfect model for an Internet dating site, in theory it would have all the people in the world who are single on it, and you could find your perfect match within a day's work." A single major U.S. service that controls more than 50% of market share is "inevitable," Brooks says. In theory at least, a bigger pool means more happy matches, even if they're from unlikely sources. Data confirms: "It's kind of a waste of time anyway asking people what they want anyway," Brooks says. "Because they don't really know."