Internet dating for Nerds: shopping for Love in All the Wrong Postings
By Sarah Jacobsson Purewal and Alex Wawro
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Romantic days celebration is simply round the corner–and if you should be without that special someone, internet dating might seem like a viable choice.
Armed with absolutely nothing but our personalities that are shining sexy pictures, the PCWorld group took a review of a few of the Internet’s most useful (and geekiest) dating web sites. So that you can test them, we created a lady profile (Sarah) and a male one (Alex), and delivered some communications to see just what would return to us. This is what we discovered.
Geek2Geek
Whom you can get to find: Geeks galore!
Just how much it’ll set you back: the website has three tiers of account, including liberated to $31/month.
Geek 2 Geek: Simply Click for full-size image. Geek 2 Geek calls it self “the most useful spot on the web to generally meet geeks. ” It boasts over 200,000 users, growing by about 6000 users every month. Its three quantities of membership–free, “silver, ” and “gold”–allows various levels of interaction. While a totally free membership lets you browse limitless pages and get limitless messages, you cannot deliver any out (except to paid gold users) before you update up to a silver account.
Geek 2 Geek has a matchmaking solution. Signing up is easy and quick, and also you do not have to respond to every one of the questions straight away (if you definitely can). An image can also be perhaps not really a profile requirement. Matchmaking concerns include sets from “style of love of life” to “areas of great interest, ” and similar geeks are sent to your “My Matches” inbox.
In terms of whether you will really find geeks on this web site, well, an instant look-through says yes. It can help, of course, that the “areas of interest” are typical geek-oriented, and can include choices like “online gaming, ” “Star Trek, ” “Tolkien, ” and “Monty Python. ” The website itself is decently simple to navigate, though it is instead busy-looking ( it appears to be a complete great deal like an internet hosting web site which is trying to market you one thing) rather than as conducive to searching as a number of the other web web sites we reviewed.
Sarah’s take: this website isn’t actually restricted to looks that are geeks–it just about everybody is on here. That produces me think a complete lot for the pages are likely outdated and/or maybe not getting used. Plus, it requires method information that is too much finish your profile.
Alex’s take: Yeah, “geek” in this full instance appears synonymous with “anyone whom has some type of computer. ” That is not always a negative thing, and neither could be the surplus of seduction toys like video, quizzes, and real time talk; just realize that Geek 2 Geek is really a full-on myspace and facebook, not just a dating solution.
OtakuBooty
Whom you can get to get: Fans of anime, manga, video video video gaming, and cosplay.
Just how much it’ll run you: Sign-up and browsing are free, but complete features (including texting options) begin at $4/year.
OtakuBooty: Simply Simply Click for full-size image. OtakuBooty is component internet dating and component social network. The title arises from a Japanese slang term for “nerd” (okay, it is a lot more of a derogatory term), and targets a less old-fashioned variety of geek–the type that is anime/manga/Japan-fan.
Registering is free, and you will get unlimited free messages–you just can’t see whom delivered them before you join a compensated membership. Fortunately, compensated account is just $4 every month or $15 each year, and gives you access that is full the website.
OtakuBooty keeps the factor that is nerd for the web site: in the initial sign-up web web web page, needed industries are marked by having an invincibility star; in the payment page there is a bogus “send ham” option for a “recurring ham subscription. “
Unfortuitously, this epic nerdiness carries up to the website’s design. OtakuBooty is sort of such as the Android os OS–a little too rough all over sides. The good thing is that this may probably frighten from the ungeeky kinds who’re reluctant to cope with anything significantly less than an user interface that is perfect. The bad news is the fact that you can find simply a lot of tabs. The website appears as being similar to a wiki–and that is bad, there is also a website wiki.
When it comes to forms of users you will find, well, they are certainly nerds. And they are all a small weird. Just to illustrate: final time we examined, a “featured user” on the front side page had three moustaches descending down their face (just stay here for an instant and imagine that).
Sarah’s take: OtakuBooty’s interface is awful. It is. It might deter the nongeeks from registering, nonetheless it’ll additionally deter the geeks. You can’t really navigate the site–I could not also otakuBooty that is contact because i possibly couldn’t find their contact web web page.
Alex’s take: i am maybe perhaps not into otaku tradition, but i truly wished to like OtakuBooty. Certain the layout that is wiki-like unsightly, but i discovered its quirky design endearing, as well as the news, discounts, and quasi-legal torrent parts are handy if you are passionate about anime. A pass if you’re not, you should probably join me in giving this site.
Cupidtino
Cupidtino (Alex): Simply Click for full-size image. Whom you can get to get: about 30,000 Apple fans.
Just how much it’ll cost: able to browse profiles and deliver communications; $4.79/month to read through communications sent to you.
Cupidtino defines it self whilst the very first (and just) “Mac-inspired” dating website. Which is right–if you like Apple services and products additionally the individuals who love Apple services and products, this website is for you. (The title is an use “Cupertino, ” where Apple has its own head office. ) The philosophy behind this dating internet site is individuals who like Apple services and services and services and products usually have a great deal in common–they are usually imaginative kinds, such as for example developers, musicians, and authors, and much more apt to be appropriate for other innovative kinds.
Cupidtino (Sarah): Simply Click for full-size image. Cupidtino is fast and simple to begin with with, offering you have Mac or an ios-capable unit (yes, your website is made for Apple fans, and it is well accessed from pictures of russian mail order brides Apple products). Fundamental profile information (such as your birthday celebration) is necessary, but an image is not required to begin searching Apple fans straight away. It is possible to browse pages and deliver communications free of charge, however in purchase to learn messages delivered to you, you will have to spend a subscription that is minor of $4.79 per month–the exact same cost as a Venti Mocha Lite when you look at the Cupertino Starbucks.
The Cupidtino internet site is straightforward and features a lot of white area and clean lines (similar to Apple items). This will make it generally speaking an easy task to navigate, although the web site does lack the ability to slim searches by zip codes or metropolitan areas. One thing to notice is the fact that the people–both men and women–on Cupidtino have a tendency to be a bit more skilled making use of their Mac’s photobooth. The profile photos on this web site are unmistakeable, sharp, and artistically rendered, making every person look more desirable in a hipstery, creative kind of means.
Sarah’s take: could it be just me personally, or do people’s pictures look great on this website? It is either all of the white area or the reality that Apple fans are really more innovative types, but dang. Unfortuitously, it is not terribly active. I acquired a couple of communications into the or so I was around week.
Alex’s take: This spot is very good! It is therefore neat and easy, along with these attractive small icons and big stunning photos. You will findn’t any great features beyond a fundamental profile search, but that is actually all you have to. Well, that and an Apple unit. I did not get messages that are many the week, either–perhaps we betrayed my Computer proclivities.