As a product manager, I read this and found a founder clinically dismissive of user perspectives and feedback that doesn't align with their own internal viewpoints. Confirmation bias to the n-th degree. His quote of her feedback ("It's so exciting. Every time I open it, it makes me happy. Sometimes they have doge pop up!") is almost certainly embellished and is a non-empathetic take on a genuine user perspective.
The mock [1] even radiates the "millennial snowflakes" energy that used to be prevalent, with the "You are unique. You are different".
Thinking about it further, I actually think this is a super clickbait way to get hits and link clout? If you look at their blog [2], it's really just advertising all of the different dating verticals this company runs. And gosh, the names are horrifically cringey. "Sappho Dating", "Matzoball Dating", "Subtle Curry Dating"?
"Subtle Curry Dating" is a reference to the Facebook group "subtle curry traits", which itself may be an offshoot of the "subtle asian traits" group (I forget which came first).
These are both examples of Facebook groups aimed at a large but unconnected group of people from similar backgrounds. I think they can be fundamentally considered to be "subreddits, but on Facebook". Imagine /r/BlackPeopleTwitter but for (South/)Asians.
As someone with the right context in the target demo, I find "Subtle Curry Dating" to be a hilarious name. Not only that, I think I'd be more likely to find someone I mesh with on that service than the same service with a different name.
If you do something for an audience it is fine to alienate everyone else. It might even be required to avoid "one size fits all" Or moving away from the topic to attract a larger audience.
> And gosh, the names are horrifically cringey. "Sappho Dating", "Matzoball Dating", "Subtle Curry Dating"?
"Sappho"/"sapphic" are fairly common self-descriptors among teens/twentysomethings on a few subcultural niches like Tumblr. Ironically your own comment is an example of the tendency you decry; you're clearly not familiar with the markets at play here.
Haha, I appreciate this reply. Sure, I'll be up front and admit that I didn't actually get use of matzoball dating and subtle curry dating/etc, but as an LGBTQ+ individual, I think I understand how the Sappho descriptor is trying to be used here (hey! It's a LGBTQ+ dating app!), and yet I still think it's a misapplied pattern match? And that's what led me to think that the keyword uses are also less-than-very-good references.
That is to say I personally wouldn't use a dating site themed around a reference for LGBTQ+ erasure. Though perhaps this doesn't represent everyone's opinion, and that's okay!
(For those out of the know here on Sappho/etc, see the subreddits /r/AchillesAndHisPal and r/SapphoAndHerFriend)
Knowing little about the community and how they use the terms, I would interpret these subreddits to be about raising awareness that this is just as natural a way of life as any other.
There definitely is the reference to it's historical erasure and modern occurances, but the focus imo is on raising awareness. In which case, using it where others that see it , who are unaware of it's existance, is probably "free promotion".
[Edit] my english is bad... added some changes to grammar.
I thought the exact opposite. The narrator thinks the gen-z site is ugly, busy, whatever, and then realised that's what a segment of the market wants. You left out the "and then" part of the story.
To me, it's more like he begrudgingly admits that her views are probably representative of "Gen Z", and then makes a mock(ery) of what he thought he heard her say -- which ends up as a cheap caricature of her legitimate feedback. FWIW, I agree with her comments: it does feel sterile, in the sense that it looks like an app I'd schedule a doctor's appointment through, and it has a dorky, "safe" appearance, that evokes nothing of the spontaneity or playfulness that people associate with good dates. More broadly though, I think the author's kidding himself if he believes he can make a dating app that appeals to 75 year olds and 18 year olds alike, especially by prioritizing the design preferences of the former over the latter.
The mock [1] even radiates the "millennial snowflakes" energy that used to be prevalent, with the "You are unique. You are different".
Thinking about it further, I actually think this is a super clickbait way to get hits and link clout? If you look at their blog [2], it's really just advertising all of the different dating verticals this company runs. And gosh, the names are horrifically cringey. "Sappho Dating", "Matzoball Dating", "Subtle Curry Dating"?
1: https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/6197f007be798d88368f80d7/623... 2: https://www.getfilteroff.com/blog