With cuffing season coming to an end and Valentine’s Day right around the corner, singles are on the hunt for their perfect pair — or at least someone to spend Feb. 14 with.
Datamatch at the University of Wisconsin promises to be Bucky’s go-to matchmaking service, but has the algorithm actually helped students find love, or is it just a fun tradition one can participate in?
Students take a survey on Datamatch prior to Valentine’s Day, and on Valentine’s Day participants are matched with 10 others based on their answers. Students can then hit “match” if a person sounds interesting to them. If it’s a mutual match, they can use the website’s chat feature to plan a date.
One thing that sets Datamatch apart from the usual dating apps are the comical questions students must answer.
“We work with the Madison Misnomer to come up with all of our questions since they have a ton of experience with satirical writing,” Datamatch UW said in an Instagram direct message. “We take the questions they [write] and go through a couple rounds of revisions leading up to the survey to hone in on the funniest ones and add references to recent relevant events.”
The answers to these questions, along with information from your profile, are enough for Datamatch’s algorithm to match you with other people. Datamatch’s algorithm is a “closely guarded secret,” Datamatch UW said.
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“I’ve heard of couples who have been dating for two to three years after meeting on Datamatch. I’ve also made friends on Datamatch that I’m still good friends with,” Datamatch UW said.
A potential objection is that people will only match with friends. With a pool of 7,500 people signed up, it could be disappointing to not meet anyone new, but this experience could also attest to the accuracy of its algorithm.
What started as a pen and paper matchmaking service in 1994 at Harvard University has now expanded to several different schools around the nation and arrived at UW in 2019.
Today, Datamatch offers “free dates” through partnerships with local restaurants. In the past, Datamatch UW has hosted free ice skating at the Shell for participants, which included Ian’s Pizza giveaways and Datamatch merchandise.
So, will you be leaving it up to the algorithm to find your new love this Valentine’s Day (or at least get a free date), or will you stick to the old fashioned way by relying on dating apps to find your new boo?
Surveys opened Feb. 7 and will close at midnight, Feb. 13. Matches will come out early morning on Valentine’s Day.
