Social Matching System Using Friend Feedback and Privacy Controls

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing online dating services lack effective methods to improve match acceptance and user privacy while facilitating collaborative matchmaking experiences.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a social matching system that utilizes social graphs from platforms like Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn to allow users to share matches with friends for feedback, incorporating a 'ping' feature for input and integrating privacy controls to manage access and information sharing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If users share matches with friends for feedback, then match acceptance is improved, but user privacy is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvematch acceptanceVSAvoiduser privacy

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments privacy control by allowing users to selectively share information with different groups. Users can choose to share match information with specific friends while keeping other match data private, thus improving match acceptance through friend feedback while maintaining user privacy through selective disclosure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements local quality by applying different privacy levels to different pieces of information. Each match can have its own privacy settings, allowing users to control which matches are shareable with friends and which remain private, thereby balancing match acceptance improvement with privacy protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If friends provide input on matches, then matchmaking quality is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvematchmaking qualityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements self-service by automatically managing the complexity of friend feedback collection and processing. The platform handles friend notifications, feedback collection, and match recommendation generation automatically, improving matchmaking quality through collaborative input while preventing system complexity from burdening the user.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Reliability

If friends are required to subscribe to the service, then service quality is maintained, but user acquisition is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice qualityVSAvoiduser acquisition

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses copying by allowing non-subscribing friends to view and provide feedback on match recommendations without requiring them to subscribe to the full service. Friends can see match suggestions and provide input, and their feedback is incorporated into the matchmaking algorithm, maintaining service quality while enabling user acquisition through a freemium approach.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS10868789B2Social matching

Publication Date: 2020.12.15 EHARMONY

AI summary

In some embodiments, social matching includes determining one or more friends of a subscriber, in which the one or more friends of the subscriber are associated with the subscriber based on a social graph; notifying (e.g., pinging) a selected set of the one or more friends of the subscriber for input regarding selected matches for the subscriber, in which matches for the subscriber are generated by a matching engine performed by a processor; and displaying the input received from the selected set of the one or more friends of the subscriber.