Data, A Love Story

Taping The Lisa Oz Show

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:23:00 -0400

Amy just finished taping a segment for Lisa Oz’s new show, which launches in July. (Lisa Oz = Dr. Oz’s wife.)

DATA's in Australia!

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:53:00 -0400

Data’s big in Australia! The Aussie edition of Grazia Magazine published an excerpt of Data for online daters throughout the country.

Amy's the Lady Geek Of The Week!

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:50:00 -0400

But perhaps the reason why we love her the best is that she recently authored “Data, A Love Story.” After attempting – and failing – to find love via online dating, she took matters into her own hands. Or rather, the hands of her male alter ego. Using digital strategy and sharp intellect, she met her ideal man (now husband!). And for the benefit of her fellow lady geeks, she turned her story into a written memoir… Read more here.

Amy Profiled on Design Matters

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:48:00 -0400

Amy was interviewed by Debbie Millman for the wildly popular Design Matters show. The conversation went well beyond data and dating… The entire epsiode is now available for streaming and download. Click here to listen.

Amy's op-ed in Time Magazine

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:35:00 -0500

The “tyranny of choice” theory posits that surrounded by too many options, we become paralyzed, overwhelmed, and unable to make a decision. Some of us begin to think that we have infinite opportunities and become lured by the prospect of bigger, better deals. Others just want out, so they’re willing to settle for someone who seems good enough at that moment in time…

Read the full story at Time.com

Data translated into three languages!

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:16:00 -0500

DATA is now being translated into three languages! Coming soon to Taiwan, Korea and Brazil! Look for it on bookshelves in Chinese, Korean and Portuguese in a few months!

Italy, will you be next? (Sì! Sì!)

DATA是现在正在翻译成三种语言！即将到台湾，韩国和巴西！在中国，韩国和葡萄牙在数个月的书架上寻找它！

DATA는 현재 3 개 국어로 번역되고 있습니다! 대만, 한국, 브라질에 출시 예정! , 중국어, 한국어, 몇 개월 만에 포르투갈어로 책장에 찾아 봐!

DATA agora está sendo traduzido em três línguas! Em breve, em Taiwan, Coréia e Brasil! Procure-o nas prateleiras em chinês, coreano e Português em poucos meses!

Data About Data

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 07:02:00 -0500

We’ve been collecting and analyzing data about Data, A Love Story’s readers, reviewers and buyers. For example, how many of Data’s readers also belong to AARP? What are the two most common words used to describe Amy’s story?

See the results here…

Amy's op-ed in Quartz

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:48:37 -0500

The profit model for dating sites relies on retention, even though our desire as members is exactly the opposite. We want to find true love so we can be finished with dating altogether. Once we’re in relationships, we’re theoretically off the market. We cancel our memberships and spend our money elsewhere. Fresh new crops of daters should cycle through the various dating sites just as current members are leaving, but that’s not always the case. And besides, the more members or page views a site can count, the more money there is to be made.

Read the full story at Quartz (qz.com)…

People Magazine Feature!

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:34:00 -0500

…She has the perfect surname for an online dater–and a heartening tale about how she found love and you can too.

Watch Amy on The View

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:33:00 -0500

Watch the full segment of The View here.

After many epically bad dates, Amy Webb decided to change her approach. She had been set up by family members for so long it seemed that the Internet would be a more successful venue for finding Mr. Right. While it was more efficient, the dates were still awful. She just wasn’t finding her perfect man, which she said was Michael Bluth from Arrested Development meets Larry David. Her findings and process were documented in her book, Data: A Love Story.

Amy talks to the New America Foundation

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:33:00 -0500

Data, like diamonds, can be mined. But is data forever? Or, in other words, can you find love by creating a data-based algorithm for online dating sites like match.com? That’s how Amy Webb found her husband. She documents her digital romance in a new book, “Data, a Love Story.” But Christine Rosen is skeptical. The Schwartz Fellow is writing a book that cautions against using too much tech to mediate human experiences– arguing that Yelp and Match.Com may be stealing away the serendipitous experiences that enrich our lives. On this podcast, listen to the two discuss dating psychology, the danger of marketing ourselves as “products” online, and how the “tyranny of choice” impacts finding a mate.

Listen to the full conversation here at The New America Foundation…

Great review in Italy's largest newspaper!

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:32:00 -0500

Durante il suo approccio quantitativo alla ricerca del partner, l’autrice di Data. A love story ha fatto scoperte esilaranti: le donne con i capelli ricci, per esempio, vengono scartate più facilmente: “Un giorno scoprirà quanto sono belli i tuoi boccoli – afferma -, ma nel frattempo stirali per le fotografie”. Che gli appassionati del “Give me five” hanno un lessico sgrammaticato e che gli avvocati tendono a controllare il cellulare il 67% di volte in più degli insegnanti. Quelli che bevono tanto scotch durante gli appuntamenti hanno la tendenza a parlare subito di sesso, mentre chi preferisce gli shot mentirebbe sulle questioni lavorative. Quanto c’è di vero? Tutto. Solo che forse è meglio (ancora) affidarsi al fato piuttosto che a un algoritmo.

Read the full story (in Italian) here at Corriere Della Sera…

A New Love Formula - CNN

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:31:00 -0500

One of the original 135 questions on that very first computer dating system: “Do you believe in a God who answers prayer?”

I know all this because I read Chapter 5 of “Data, A Love Story,” the new book by our guest on our pre-Valentine’s Day edition of CNN Profiles, Amy Webb.

Webb is not particularly religious.

Listen to the full interview between Michael Schulder and Amy at CNN Radio…

Fantastic review/ Interview in Booktrib

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:28:24 -0500

If anyone could solve the online dating problem it had to be Amy Webb, CEO of Webbmedia Group, a digital strategy agency that advises clients about technology and digital trends. Forbes calls her “the strategic Svengali behind many blue-chip media companies” and includes her in a list of “Women Changing the World Through Technology.”

Read the full story here…

Hacking + Data = Love

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:26:45 -0500

Online dating is weird as hell. You’d think this wouldn’t be the case. After all, the algorithms that connect people on dating sites aren’t theoretically all that different from the ones that power search engines and generate billions in revenue. So why is online dating still such a thoroughly imperfect experience?

Amy Webb, like so many others, learned just how flawed the science of online dating is by going on a series of comically awkward dates with some pretty unbelievable characters.

Read the full interview/ review at ReadWrite…

Amy shows her results on the Today Show's Today.com

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:22:37 -0500

“Online dating sites are excellent places to find casual and serious long-term relationships, but only if you have a plan first,” Webb told TODAY.com. “I don’t advocate crunching numbers like I did, but I do strongly recommend that you start off with a list. What, exactly, are you looking for in a partner? Be extremely specific, even when it feels embarrassing…If having someone who’s three inches taller than you is important, for whatever reason, then write that down. If you absolutely cannot stand cats, write that down, too. Don’t self-edit.”

Read the full story at Today.com…

Amy on feminism, Judaism and modern relationships

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:20:00 -0500

To be sure, Webb, a self-described feminist, wasn’t thrilled with what her digital sleuthing revealed about the hetero male Jewish psyche. “Would I love it if more men were vocal about liking women who are strong and outspoken? Yes,” she said, relating her JDate struggles to her efforts to make the tech world more gender inclusive...

Read the full story at The Jewish Forward…

Great interview with Amy on Israel's national website!

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:10:00 -0500

That was the case with your last boyfriend. You discuss how you let him bring a Christmas tree into your home, because you thought celebrating his holiday would help help bring you closer together…

Read the full story at The Times of Israel…

Amy and Brian Interview on Marketplace

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:39:14 -0500

Listen to the full interview here.

This interview may ring true for some of you — those who’ve eventually realized they’re looking for love in all the wrong places.

If that sounds familiar, then you’ll relate to Amy Webb’s story, in which she tries and fails in online dating — and tries again. And this time, she does those matching algorithms of those online dating sites one better. Her new book is called “Data: A Love Story.”…

How To Crack The Online Dating Code

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:36:00 -0500

Watch Amy talk about her book on Good Morning America, which aired Jan. 31st.

Is your online profile keeping you from attracting the right mate?

Amy Webb, the author of “Data, A Love Story: How I Gamed Online Dating to Meet My Match,” realized that her online profile was turning off potential cyber-suitors and made it her mission to get to the bottom of it…