Male is white on black. Female is black on white. The inside drawing reveals the sexual preference (circle with dot represents female/ without dot: male) and the intensity depends on whether the person wants a relationship (smaller rotation angle), friendship (medium rotation angle), or sex-buddies(bigger rotation angle).In case a person is interested in more than one option, the drawings are overlapped. The dotted line reveals if the person smokes or not and the coloured ring identifies the person’s religion.

This is slightly more interesting than the previous experiments, but not there yet.

I’ve been doing some experimenting with the information I’ve gathered about potential mates. None of them are quite successful in matching profiles as of yet. I will experiment giving the answers numerical values and see where that takes me.

FLIRT is a European Commission funded research project under the IT for Mobility theme. The development of digital cellular structures by the mobile communications industry has generated a genuine fusion between information space and urban territory. City location, time, day and date can all shape relationships to information sources. The tight constraints of mobile displays, juxtaposed with the spontaneity, unpredictability and transience of everyday mobility, requires a fresh approach to how this relationship might work. FLIRT investigates the potential of location-specific information, not only as an information resource, but also a medium for social interaction and play.

1. Pixel Kissing is a social experiment exploring virtual communities in real space. It uses locational proximity and data coincidence to create ‘cellular nearness’ between members. When members are present in the same cell, both receive a pixel kissing signal alerting them to the other’s presence. But they will not know who that person is. Their imaginations will be stimulated to project onto the people around them, who they think it might be.

2. Lovetectonics is a social dating experiment using Pixel Kissing. If two people eventually do connect, a virtual earthquake is released across the network.

3. Lost Cat and Stampede are about overlaying fictional narratives on the city to create surreal relationships between actual places and a parallel virtual data landscape, attempting to blur the two worlds.

• The Lost Cat is a virtual creature that lives and roams within Helsinki’s cellular network occasionally jumping onto people’s mobile screens. It appears at certain places in the city at certain times and if you regularly pass those places it befriends you and even starts to follow you. But like a real cat, it’s very independent and easily distracted, moving on and finding new people to love.

• Stampede is a virtual herd of reindeer that’s let loose in the network. Warnings are issued when the animals begin to gather in certain places. Then without warning, they will charge across the city moving from cell to cell. They first appear on the phone as tiny forms and get progressively bigger as they move closer to your cell, when huge pixels fill the screen. If you are run over it goes black. Casualties are reported as they occur and the final (virtual) death toll is released at the end of the carnage

Excerpt from Dunne & Raby

Affectionately called the “Lovege,” the oval device has three buttons the user sets according to the kind of activity she or he has in mind: “talk,” “karaoke,” and “get2.” (The latter is a wildcard — but perhaps could mean “get to it.”)

Once the holder selects a mode, the device searches for Lovegety holders of the opposite sex in a five meter radius. If it locates a holder with the same mode, the “get” light flashes and the device beeps, so the pair can find each other.

If there is a holder in the vicinity with a different mode, then the “find” light flashes and a different sound goes off, alerting the user of a near get.

Three months after shipping, stories already abound of couples brought together by the Lovegety. And although the device was originally targeted for teenagers, it’s attracting younger and older crowds as well — and the 2,980 yen (about US$25) price point makes getting love quite affordable.

Excerpt from WIRED magazine

I love the idea. I’m not sure I would use it personally, but it is a very clever way of marrying technology and love. This project sparks some ideas in my head. Performance, collaboration, games….not sure where i’m going with this.

I also sent out a questionnaire and about 40 people have responded. These are the results so far:

What I have realized is that not many people use online dating services and would prefer not to. Those who have, have not found love. So it proves my original hypothesis that online dating is not the best way to find love, but I understand that it can be effective when you are looking for just fun, or in others words to get laid. So how does one find love? How can technology help bring people together? Can technology bring people together or do we need to go back to old fashion ways?

This Maria is very religious and looking for her prince charming. Proving very popular and so far this has been the best site. Its free and the users seem to be decent. I can actually read the emails on this one and will be posting some later. It seems like some potential male dates are looking for a stable relationship and appreciate honesty and values. The fact that I emphasized my love and belief for religion has gotten me many emails, which is quite surprising.