The Situation: Rather than looking for love in real life, millions of people now seek companionship via the internet. For certain people, sites like Match.com, JDate, and EHarmony serve their mating needs. However, many more of us find such sites as daunting and frustrating as real-life dating - though in different ways. As a result various blogs and professional advisors, like my friend Sara Sharnoff, can help you make the best possible (virtual) first impression. Dating websites may have the optimal algorithm, but there will always be an indispensable human element to matchmaking.
The Idea: Given the increasing complexity of online dating and the growing but fractured market for support services, I propose that someone should consolidate the dating consulting market into a single website. In short, we need a social network exclusively for Yentas everywhere. Some sites are beginning to develop this market, but none yet appears open and scalable enough to the extent necessary to serve the mounting matchmaking demand.
The Site: On a site like YentaYenta.me, clients could choose from an array of accomplished yentas to support their search for love - or sex, or just someone to talk to. Presumably different yentas could serve different niches - straight, gay, ethnic, philandering, etc. - with various ratings and comments about their respective track records.
Just like the yenta of yesteryear, these consultants would filter a world of profiles to create their own curated network of singles just for you. Rather than increasing your choices, your yenta would narrow selections to a manageable level and even give select singles a “stamp of approval” based positive feedback. In addition to reviewing your yenta, your yenta might also have the option to solicit feedback from your virtual exes to evaluate your love life, akin to 360-reviews common to the business world.
Why wait? Rather than looking out for love, such insight might help you look inward to the barriers you have built against it. Because getting it wrong can cost you time, tears, and money, you want to increase your chances of finding the right mate. Perhaps if we all had a Yenta, divorce rates wouldn’t be pushing 50% in our society. Please, someone make YentaYanta.me to help the rest of us find what we don’t yet know we are looking for.