51. Virtual Dating in a Pandemic - Why haven't you tried this yet?

Geoff Cook is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Meet Group, an online meet up site which they claim is “the magic of human connection”.
As a result of the pandemic, there was a dramatic increase of livestream and people who were not used to doing livestream are now using it more frequently. The crisis has “pulled the future forward” so now The Meet Group is looking to be a filter before the real life meet up in person.
The Meet Group has 5 different apps that are recognized all over the world so connecting with others is much more valuable and easy.
Interacting with others in video is richer than using other media, so this form is a great way to date prior to making a deeper connection. A video chat ahead of time just makes more sense.
In the future, people will likely rely upon this system, so it is an exciting time to enter the dating scene - and it is mostly online at this point!
Even though there is a verify tab, the virtual meet up just confirms that the person is who they say it is.
Also, Blind Date is an online show that this company started, and more exciting projects are on their way to production such as a show when you earn a prize when you connect with people.
The Meet Group promotes a high level of safety employing 500 people to assess the content that might pose a risk. A clear code of conduct has been created and is enforced by educating the users, and when someone crosses a boundary, inappropriate content is also regulated by AI and algorithms. They also have partnered with FaceTech, a company that can help regulate abusive users that try to create new profiles that also estimates the age of the streamer to ensure they are not underage.
Questions we asked:
-Is the coronavirus affecting the dating industry? Affecting your apps?
-What are you doing to change how people date during a global pandemic?
-Do you see differences across the world in video dating?
-What is the future of live streaming and dating?
- How can livestreaming help with mental health in times of isolation?
-What kinds of things are people doing on dating apps during a pandemic?

Website: https://www.themeetgroup.com/
Social media tag: @MeetMe
Apps: MeetMe, Growler, Tags, Scout, Levoo

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