Online Dating Video Analysis

Amy Webb explained in this Ted Talk how she was able to find the right guy through online dating, using her own database and using reverse engineering. Online dating sites use algorithms to match people together, however the matches are not always accurate. Webb explains her journey before using her data spreadsheets, and how many of the dates she went were complete failures. Before getting signed up to an online dating website she calculated the probability of finding a guy in her city that met up to what she was looking for in a partner. It surprised me that out of every man in the city of Philadelphia, Webb came to the conclusion that only about 35 of them were going to meet her standards. Online dating in the end was a huge success for …show more content…
I believe Webb wanted to give people ideas on how to find the perfect match online. Her use of reverse engineering helped her find happiness, and I’m sure she’d love to help others who are in her position. This video also served to convey how accurate databases are, because before she was using it, Webb was having no luck in matching with guys. I really enjoyed watching this video because most people would not even think to do the things she did, and it was very creative. I also really liked that she explained how she used her spreadsheets and what was included in them. She went into full detail, which in the end accurately justified why she was able to find someone who was perfect for her. She was not going to settle for anything less than what she was looking …show more content…
The way Webb explained how she listed and categorized what she was looking for in a guy was really interesting, and it taught me how dating websites can try to help those find a better match. Not to say that the algorithms they are using don’t work, because I’ve heard many stories where those same algorithms have matched people successfully, but using a data set for each individual online can help them tremendously. This video did inspire me to go out and research a little more about reverse engineering. After reading a couple articles on it, the whole process of doing so seems really interesting. I do want to do some more research on data analytics because it really is crazy how much it can improve real life situations. What I do wish to learn more about this video is how much time did Webb put into doing the spreadsheets and by what percentage did her matches change in