This blind date idea is really what interests me. I think profiles create two issues beyond the ones you already pointed out. I am pulling these examples from my experience on OkCupid.
1 - People don't give fully honest answers to personality questions. Instead it seems people craft a personality they think will either get them the most results or get the the specific results they are looking for. So not only the profile, but also the questions become gamed due to the 'aggressive filtering' people do.
2 - People spend obsessive amounts of time crafting their profile, which actually gets read, and very little time answering personality questions, which don't. Assuming the personality question formula is more reliable for matching than making decisions based on someone's profile writing skills, this reverses the emphasis.
I think a basic system like OkCupid's could work for matching. I like the way you both give your answer and you give the answer you want your mate to have. It's intuitive and allows for complex dynamics like a submissive person seeking a dominant person. But the profile viewing/filtering gets in the way of the legitimacy. If it was a blind-date popcorn machine I think it would work a lot better (and be a lot more fun!)
1 - People don't give fully honest answers to personality questions. Instead it seems people craft a personality they think will either get them the most results or get the the specific results they are looking for. So not only the profile, but also the questions become gamed due to the 'aggressive filtering' people do.
2 - People spend obsessive amounts of time crafting their profile, which actually gets read, and very little time answering personality questions, which don't. Assuming the personality question formula is more reliable for matching than making decisions based on someone's profile writing skills, this reverses the emphasis.
I think a basic system like OkCupid's could work for matching. I like the way you both give your answer and you give the answer you want your mate to have. It's intuitive and allows for complex dynamics like a submissive person seeking a dominant person. But the profile viewing/filtering gets in the way of the legitimacy. If it was a blind-date popcorn machine I think it would work a lot better (and be a lot more fun!)