Datamatch Computes Couples Compatibility

This year’s Datamatch—the electronic compatibility program hosted by the Harvard Computer Society—saw record participation, with 1755 people filling out the survey.

Of the participants, 779 were male and 976 were female, according to the HCS Web site. While the majority were freshmen, seniors came in a close second, with only 99 fewer participants. 23 Harvard alums also filled out the survey.

According to HCS membership coordinator Greg Brockman ’12, participation has fluctuated greatly throughout the years ever since the electronic match-maker’s conception in 1994.

In 2001, Datamatch had 1500 participants, though it tapered off for a few years. Brockman said. “But this year we had a very strong upswing with 1755 participants.”

HCS President Keito Uchiyama ’11 attributed this success to increased publicity and a new design interface for the project.

“Rather than something from the 1990s, it now looks like something from 2009,” he said.

Calling, e-mailing, and Facebook-stalking ensued after Datamatch results were released, as curious students got acquainted or re-acquainted with their matches.

Rose Yan ’10 said her experience echoed that of many of her peers. She said she e-mailed her top ten to say hello and later Facebook friended them.

“I had dinner with a friend who was also my number two match,” she said. “It was good to catch up.”

While the questions of Datamatch were for the most part playful and entertaining, Yan had a bone to pick with question number 12, which asked which was the surveyors’ most prominent feature—eyes, hair, glasses, acne, or touchscreen.

“The intent of the survey as a whole was to entertain, and I don’t see what is entertaining about acne,” she said. “I can see how people would be offended by that question.”

With the results of Datamatch sent out, discussion has also arisen about the “secret algorithm” that Datamatch uses to match people. The members of HCS were decidedly coy, saying only that the algorithm is complex and intricate.

“The algorithm has been built up over the generations, and it is several thousand nights of code,” Uchiyama said.

Given the past success of Datamatch in matching up couples such as previous HCS president Joshua A. Kroll ’09 with his girlfriend, Datamatch has attracted attention from beyond Harvard’s borders.

“We do receive some requests from other colleges asking to divulge the algorithm but our main job is to bring fun and love to the Harvard campus,” Uchiyama said.

Students eager to find their one true love who may have missed out on the fun this year can count down the seconds to Datamatch 2010 on HCS’s Web site.