I think this is looking at obvious incentives, and ignoring long-term incentives. It seems likely that owners/funders of platforms have both data and models of customer lifecycles and variability, including those who are looking to hook-up and those who are looking for long-term partners (and those in-between and outside—I suspect there is a large category of “lookey-lous”, who pay but never actually meet anyone), and the interactions and shifts between those.
Assuming that most people eventually exit, it’s FAR better if they exit via a match on the platform—that likely influences many others to take it seriously.
Assuming that most people eventually exit, it’s FAR better if they exit via a match on the platform—that likely influences many others to take it seriously.
Why is this true? Is there any word-of-mouth benefit for e.g. Tinder at this point, which plausibly outweighs the misaligned incentives ofer points out?
I don’t know much about their business and customer modeling specifically. In other subscription-based information businesses, a WHOLE LOT of weight is put on word of mouth (including reviews and commentary on social media), and it’s remarkably quantifiable how valuable that is. For the cases I know of, the leaders are VERY cognizant of the Goodhart problem that the easiest-to-measure things encourage churn, at the expense of long-term satisfaction.
I think this is looking at obvious incentives, and ignoring long-term incentives. It seems likely that owners/funders of platforms have both data and models of customer lifecycles and variability, including those who are looking to hook-up and those who are looking for long-term partners (and those in-between and outside—I suspect there is a large category of “lookey-lous”, who pay but never actually meet anyone), and the interactions and shifts between those.
Assuming that most people eventually exit, it’s FAR better if they exit via a match on the platform—that likely influences many others to take it seriously.
Why is this true? Is there any word-of-mouth benefit for e.g. Tinder at this point, which plausibly outweighs the misaligned incentives ofer points out?
I don’t know much about their business and customer modeling specifically. In other subscription-based information businesses, a WHOLE LOT of weight is put on word of mouth (including reviews and commentary on social media), and it’s remarkably quantifiable how valuable that is. For the cases I know of, the leaders are VERY cognizant of the Goodhart problem that the easiest-to-measure things encourage churn, at the expense of long-term satisfaction.