Several years ago, I experimented with online dating. In the first 18 months of doing so, I received more than 1,000 emails, collected over 398 phone numbers, and went on over 198 dates... leading to some great relationships... and a lot of interesting adventures along the way.

However, according Dan Ariely, Günter J. Hitsch, and Ali Hortaçsu in their 2004 University of Chicago study, 57% of men don’t receive even a single email response; and it’s estimated that over 90% of men lie in their profiles to improve their results.

I started Zentropik Research Inc. to investigate what makes some people more successful online than others (with an initial primary focus on men seeking women).

We are currently pursuing three research tracks:

• The first is to collect and analyze the methods and techniques of some very
  successful (heterosexual male) online daters. To this end, we looked at not only some
  younger subjects, but also some in their 30s, 40s, and older.
• The second is to integrate these methods with quantitative analysis of profile
  attractiveness and messaging behavior.
• The third is to develop a practical guidebook for how to be successful online, targeted
  for men seeking women.

Is it possible to teach men to replicate the results of the most successful online daters?

So far, we have noted many postive results, including one 33 year-old male who, on his first attempt, posted a profile that received email responses from over 50 women, from all over the country, in under 24 hours.

More details to come...