How was OkCupid created?

Before we can analyse OkCupid in terms of Van Dijck’s concepts of technology, content, users, ownership, business models, and governance, we first need to know how OkCupid began. Interestingly enough OkCupid or in short OKC was originally founded by a group of Harvard University students. It is crazy to think that a group of students around our age created such an interactive and successful application. The students included Sam Yagan, Christian Rudder, Chris Coyne and Max Krohn. Sam was responsible for the business side of OKC, Max was in charge of tech and programming, and Christian and Chris dealt with the creatives of the site (OkCupid, 2016).

 Before the group of students came up with the idea of OKC, they previously created TheSpark, and later SparkNotes a popular student resource site. TheSpark featured a number of self-quizzes and personality tests. These tests were the inspiration for OKC and because SparkMatch became so popular it launched as its own site we now know as OkCupid. In an interview Yagan explained that SparkNotes was created when he found “niche in the study guide market by being more accessible to students than its competitors’” (Stein 1). The same idea of accessibility was a feature of OkCupid, which he co-founded four years later. In an interesting quote Yagan explained that OKC was a “cheaper, better, and more social than [eHarmony]. They had a Dr.Phil – style matchmaking model, while we wanted to make matches based on data. This was 2003, and the online dating industry was ripe for change” (Helm, 2011). OKC filled a niche in the online-dating world, and has only become more successful since. Below is a video of an interview with Sam Yagan Co-Founder of OkCupid discussing how he built his first company:

References:

Helm, B. (2011, July/August). Confessions of a Former Entreprenuer . Retrieved from Inc Magazine : http://www.inc.com/magazine/201107/how-i-did-it-sam-yagan-okcupid.html

McArdle, C. R. (2016, November ). The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media A Review . Retrieved from Kairos : http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/19.3/reviews/mcardle/index.html

OkCupid . (2016 , November ). About Us . Retrieved from OkCupid : https://www.okcupid.com/about

Stein, I. (2014, November 4). Founder of SparkNotes, OkCupid talks entreprenuership at CIE . Retrieved from Chicago Maroon : https://www.chicagomaroon.com/2014/11/04/founder-of-sparknotes-okcupid-talks-entrepreneurship-at-cie/