Instead of traditional markers such as caste, community, horoscope or skin colour that are still the norm on matrimonial websites, this breed of startups ranks users based on education, professional achievement and career prospects. In using technology to process such information, these ventures are responding to a rising demand from young, educated professionals for a sophisticated system that is also secure.
Among them is TwoMangoes.com, which employs algorithms programmed to study users' behaviour and reaction to others on the site. Over time, the system picks out the right profile to be displayed to an individual user, based on this learning. "These self-learning algorithms use the basic concept of artificial intelligence," says co-founder Anita Dharamshi, who launched the India portal in February. Algorithms also process user behaviour to understand and separate safe content from spam. Such a value-added service is in addition to an initial profiling of all users into broad categories of 'safe' and 'spammers' based on data provided and subsequent behaviour on the site.
"You won't get 100 messages a week from 100 strangers, but maybe four or five messages from users who directly fit your profile and behaviour on the site," says Dharamshi, who claims 1,000 signups every single day.
Social Dating Gaining Ground
"By using such technology we can ensure quality of users," adds Dharamshi. Another social dating startup, MyMitra, is mostly frequented by college graduates and professionals, and ranks people who match a search query in order of their achievement and commitment.
Based on these metrics, the higher a person's achievement, the higher the rank on search results, a model that has already attracted 500 users, including graduates from top universities such as Harvard as well as IITs & IIMs. "We do not mix and match, but use a scientific methodology," says Vibin Aravindakshan, an alumnus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology who launched the portal five months ago.
Ventures such as TwoMangoes and MyMitra are benefitting from the shift among urban professionals towards the concept of social dating. MD Usha Devi, a professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change in Bangalore, is of the opinion that this is linked to the trend of young professionals moving away from home and family for education and new careers.
Twenty-six-year-old designer Deepika was tired of being pushed by her parents to get married; so, earlier this year she listed her profile on a matrimonial website. But the "familiar prejudice" of matches based on caste, age, height, skin colour, astrology and horoscope left her cold. "I met a few people — these were educated people who were asking for creepy details," says Deepika, who then registered on TwoMangoes.com. The website filtered out unsuitable matches and helped her fix a meeting with a person she liked.
"On a social dating site, you can understand a person in peace before making an immediate commitment, as demanded by many parents on matrimonial sites," says Rajat, a 28-yearold technology professional in Delhi. Typically, these new dating portals ensure that all profiles undergo a mandatory verification process. At MyMitra, which earns revenues using a pay-as-you-go system, there is a reduction in spam that is a typical problem at portals that offer subscription models alone.
MyMitra gathers a variety of data like education, degree, profession, and position in industry. It then assigns values to each of these and uses weights to combine these parameters. The weights themselves are finetuned as user preferences change over time.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
Essex fire service strike talks continue - BBC News
The strikers have been staging a rally in Chelmsford
Fire crews in Essex have begun a 24-hour strike as talks aimed at halting the action continued.
The third walkout by members of the Fire Brigades Union started at 09:00 BST.
Essex Fire Service said "resilience arrangements" were in place, with a combination of retained and working firefighters covering the county.
Talks between the fire service and union to resolve the dispute started at 10:00 BST.
Hundreds of firefighters marched through Chelmsford ahead of a union rally.
More strikes plannedBBC Essex reporter James Waterhouse, who followed the march, said: "They are chanting 'no more cuts', blowing whistles, banging a drum and making plenty of noise.
"They're being given a police escort through the city. People are mainly standing by and watching them go through but there are a few toots of horns from passing motorists."
The march, which started at Admiral's Park, ended with a rally at Central Park.
Crews were called to five false alarms in the first four hours of the stoppage.
The first eight-hour walkout in June was followed by an hour-long walkout earlier this month.
Further strikes are planned for 18 August and 18 October.
The union claimed Essex will have lost one in five front-line firefighters since 2008 if planned cuts go ahead.
The fire service said it had made a number of concessions, including promising there will be no redundancies.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Essex crushed as Middlesex cruise to nine-wicket CB40 victory - echo-news.co.uk
Essex crushed as Middlesex cruise to nine-wicket CB40 victory
11:26pm Wednesday 18th July 2012 in Sport
MIDDLESEX left Essex rooted at the bottom of the Clydesdale Bank40 Group A table as they carved out a nine-wicket victory at Chelmsford.
After the home side totalled 146 for 7 in a clash reduced to 25 overs per side because of rain, Middlesex achieved success with 15 balls to spare.
Their crushing triumph was inspired by Chris Rogers and Dawid Malan who gathered runs with embarrassing ease. They were cautious at the outset, scoring just 16 from the first five overs against David Masters and Graham Napier.
But then they increased the tempo considerably as the 50 was raised in the 10th over and 100 in the 16th.
The only early blemish came when Rogers offered a chance to a leaping Tom Westley at slip when he had made 16, but the Australian made good his escape to reach his half-century from 48 balls.
He had moved to 64 with the aid of two sixes and six fours, before he holed out to Masters off Tymal Mills having taken his side to within 11 runs of their target.
Malan finished unbeaten with 76 from 68 deliveries that included seven fours and two sixes and fittingly it was he who took Middlesex to their target with two boundaries in an over from left-arm fast bowler Mills.
Apart from Mark Pettini, the Essex top-order struggled to make an impact in the face of tight bowling backed up by fine work in the field.
It was one piece of great work in the deep that brought Pettini's innings of 44 from 43 deliveries to an end. Rogers was responsible for that as he threw down the stumps from deep mid-wicket as the Essex captain for the day attempted a second run.
Pettini, who was leading the side because James Foster was excused duty as his wife is due to give birth, scored his runs out of 64 before he departed in the 14th over.
It was another six overs before the 100 was raised but much needed impetus was provided late on by Adam Wheater and Jaik Mickleburgh.
They put together 53 in five overs, Wheater smashing three sixes in making 33 from 19 balls before he was caught in the deep while Mickleburgh's unbeaten 22 arrived in 15 balls.
Paceman Toby Roland-Jones was the pick of the Middlesex bowlers with 3-25 from his permitted five overs, an effort that enabled the visitors to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages in the competition.
Source: www.echo-news.co.uk
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