That was both interesting and hilarious. I'm not surprised by the reading proficiency statistics, but I didn't realize the lack of females in the "average white male's" music repertoire. The second most common phrase among Black men is "I am cool," which is really cool.
I'm curious about what information was excluded, though, and wonder if the research methods used were all statistically sound.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
Obviously a strong US bias there, but still familiar enough to raise the odd smile.
What's really going to kick this thread off is the "Stuff Black People Like" cloud graphic; equivalent/greater prominence given to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots in comparison to Gucci Mane, Talib Kweli appearing more frequently than Pac. How can this be??
Doubtless there'll be folks insisting that this is some unrepresentative bourgie/buppie demographic that's been sampled here, but little things like this are what gives a SS thread the potential to become a classic. I'm putting some popcorn on, just in case.
The stats are also skewed by the fact that OkCupid is free as opposed to other more "serious" dating sites. Furthermore, do OkCupid users know that the info they type in is being used to draw conclusions about their race?
Doubtless there'll be folks insisting that this is some unrepresentative bourgie/buppie demographic that's been sampled here, but little things like this are what gives a SS thread the potential to become a classic. I'm putting some popcorn on, just in case.
i really think there's a preliminary demographic cut going on merely by the fact that not 100% of society uses or would use an online dating service rather than simply going out and meeting people.
i guess im raising the question - is there a predominant personality that would engage in this that is being exhibited through this information?
I can't believe how many single friends of mine ride for okcupid. I rarely hear friends talk about internet dating, but in the last couple months I've had numerous dudes tell me they love okcupid, and regularly go out with girls they've met on there.
Despite how this poast sounds, I am not a spambot. jussayin. one dude was like "and man, asian chicks LOVE me for some reason," he pulled out his iphone, and sure enough like 70-80% of the "winks" or whatever in his inbox were asian girls.
Definitely seems like an interesting place to gather demographic data, even if it is skewed by the type of people who use okcupid, and how those people want to be perceived, as opposed to how they actually are...
What's really going to kick this thread off is the "Stuff Black People Like" cloud graphic; equivalent/greater prominence given to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots in comparison to Gucci Mane, Talib Kweli appearing more frequently than Pac. How can this be??
Doubtless there'll be folks insisting that this is some unrepresentative bourgie/buppie demographic that's been sampled here, but little things like this are what gives a SS thread the potential to become a classic. I'm putting some popcorn on, just in case.
There was some interesting commentary about OkCupid several months ago on Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog:
But that said, I think that people passing this data around need to be really careful about using this study to draw inferences about the dating world of black women. One significant problem is that, as any black person will tell you, when black folks date online they don't go to OKcupid. They go to blacksingles. They go to soulsingles. Or if they're truly high post, they go to EliteNoire. (Dig the sensuous piano riffs and candelabra.)
The entire discussion--including the comments--is worth reading:
I would add that when young people--Gucci Mane's fanbase--initiate relationships online, they generally don't do it through dedicated dating websites at all; they do it through Facebook and other more general social networking sites.
And, just because I don't want to disappoint those who expect it of me: If you're sitting around listening to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots, I'm not surprised that you're unhappily single. You most likely spend your evenings watching Love Jones and Brown Sugar while eating an entire half-gallon tub of tenderberry ice cream and then crying yourself to sleep.
And, just because I don't want to disappoint those who expect it of me: If you're sitting around listening to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots, I'm not surprised that you're unhappily single. You most likely spend your evenings watching Love Jones and Brown Sugar while eating an entire half-gallon tub of tenderberry ice cream and then crying yourself to sleep.
Faux Love: The Love Docteur
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
They aren't watching movies...they're watching the clock for their next chance to vote for Obama.
And, just because I don't want to disappoint those who expect it of me: If you're sitting around listening to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots, I'm not surprised that you're unhappily single. You most likely spend your evenings watching Love Jones and Brown Sugar while eating an entire half-gallon tub of tenderberry ice cream and then crying yourself to sleep.
What is tenderberry ice cream? My search results yielded insubstantial results. You are just plain evil for mentioning mythological desserts on the Strut. You know how seriously we take our food.
And, just because I don't want to disappoint those who expect it of me: If you're sitting around listening to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots, I'm not surprised that you're unhappily single. You most likely spend your evenings watching Love Jones and Brown Sugar while eating an entire half-gallon tub of tenderberry ice cream and then crying yourself to sleep.
What is tenderberry ice cream? My search results yielded insubstantial results. You are just plain evil for mentioning mythological desserts on the Strut. You know how seriously we take our food.
And, just because I don't want to disappoint those who expect it of me: If you're sitting around listening to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots, I'm not surprised that you're unhappily single. You most likely spend your evenings watching Love Jones and Brown Sugar while eating an entire half-gallon tub of tenderberry ice cream and then crying yourself to sleep.
What is tenderberry ice cream? My search results yielded insubstantial results. You are just plain evil for mentioning mythological desserts on the Strut. You know how seriously we take our food.
Faux Rillz has been serving tenderberry ice cream on the Strut for years, and it's still the Strut's highly recommended dessert of choice.
Personally, I like the data crunching (sorry, professional bias) but yeah, what would really help would be for OKC to also release basic demographics of their sample. What's the % breakdown per race? Age? Geography? Educational level?
Most of the time, when folks crunch this kind of data they're working from huge datasets like the Census, in which case, they have access to all that supplementary info but I don't believe OKC does the same thing. They release their results, but they're not as transparent as to their sample demographics.
That said, the "reading/writing ability by religion" was pretty hilarious. And perturbing. But again, I'd want to know what % of their respondents were self-identified Protestants vs. atheists.
Obviously a strong US bias there, but still familiar enough to raise the odd smile.
What's really going to kick this thread off is the "Stuff Black People Like" cloud graphic; equivalent/greater prominence given to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots in comparison to Gucci Mane, Talib Kweli appearing more frequently than Pac. How can this be??
Doubtless there'll be folks insisting that this is some unrepresentative bourgie/buppie demographic that's been sampled here, but little things like this are what gives a SS thread the potential to become a classic. I'm putting some popcorn on, just in case.
honestly i think its also true that that although gucci mane has lots of fans if u are trying to impress someone hes not the kind of rapper u admit to being a fan of -- even if u know all the words to 'wasted.' white black or w/e ppl all put 'respectable' music in their profiles -- 'classic' rock, radiohead, whatever. there are a gajillion ppl listening to 'california girls' but how many of her listeners actually put 'katy perry' in their profiles --
That said, the "reading/writing ability by religion" was pretty hilarious. And perturbing. But again, I'd want to know what % of their respondents were self-identified Protestants vs. atheists.
Well, to be fair, no group really seemed to do much better than 9th grade (:oof:), which isn't an accomplishment on anyone's part. I think that a part of that is probably environmental, i.e. people on a dating site probably want to sound a bit informal and laid-back, but still manage to be intelligible. Grad school level writing probably comes off as a little intense in this milieu.
That said, the "reading/writing ability by religion" was pretty hilarious. And perturbing. But again, I'd want to know what % of their respondents were self-identified Protestants vs. atheists.
Well, to be fair, no group really seemed to do much better than 9th grade (:oof:), which isn't an accomplishment on anyone's part. I think that a part of that is probably environmental, i.e. people on a dating site probably want to sound a bit informal and laid-back, but still manage to be intelligible. Grad school level writing probably comes off as a little intense in this milieu.
Yea - I mean I guess they could be trying to come off as more intelligent than they really are, but boasting Tolstoy, Beaudelaire, Kundera (Unbearable Lightness of Being shows up for two different groups!), Dawkins, etc. doesn't really correspond with being at a grade 9 level.
Obviously a strong US bias there, but still familiar enough to raise the odd smile.
What's really going to kick this thread off is the "Stuff Black People Like" cloud graphic; equivalent/greater prominence given to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots in comparison to Gucci Mane, Talib Kweli appearing more frequently than Pac. How can this be??
Doubtless there'll be folks insisting that this is some unrepresentative bourgie/buppie demographic that's been sampled here, but little things like this are what gives a SS thread the potential to become a classic. I'm putting some popcorn on, just in case.
honestly i think its also true that that although gucci mane has lots of fans if u are trying to impress someone hes not the kind of rapper u admit to being a fan of -- even if u know all the words to 'wasted.' white black or w/e ppl all put 'respectable' music in their profiles -- 'classic' rock, radiohead, whatever. there are a gajillion ppl listening to 'california girls' but how many of her listeners actually put 'katy perry' in their profiles --
You have to remember that why OKC did was to highlight terms that were specific to each group, not necessarily the most popular. So, in that case, if Gucci Mane showed up in both white and black profiles, it wouldn't have made that final word cloud.
deej
5,125 Posts
Comments
I'm curious about what information was excluded, though, and wonder if the research methods used were all statistically sound.
What's really going to kick this thread off is the "Stuff Black People Like" cloud graphic; equivalent/greater prominence given to Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def and The Roots in comparison to Gucci Mane, Talib Kweli appearing more frequently than Pac. How can this be??
Doubtless there'll be folks insisting that this is some unrepresentative bourgie/buppie demographic that's been sampled here, but little things like this are what gives a SS thread the potential to become a classic. I'm putting some popcorn on, just in case.
i really think there's a preliminary demographic cut going on merely by the fact that not 100% of society uses or would use an online dating service rather than simply going out and meeting people.
i guess im raising the question - is there a predominant personality that would engage in this that is being exhibited through this information?
what is the implication here though? can you expound on what you mean?
Despite how this poast sounds, I am not a spambot. jussayin. one dude was like "and man, asian chicks LOVE me for some reason," he pulled out his iphone, and sure enough like 70-80% of the "winks" or whatever in his inbox were asian girls.
Definitely seems like an interesting place to gather demographic data, even if it is skewed by the type of people who use okcupid, and how those people want to be perceived, as opposed to how they actually are...
Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco & Roots fans = broke
Lol
Ah, it was in front of me the whole time.
There was some interesting commentary about OkCupid several months ago on Ta-Nehisi Coates' blog:
The entire discussion--including the comments--is worth reading:
http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/03/the-black-damsel-in-dating-distress/37085/
I would add that when young people--Gucci Mane's fanbase--initiate relationships online, they generally don't do it through dedicated dating websites at all; they do it through Facebook and other more general social networking sites.
Faux Rillz gets his groove back
What is tenderberry ice cream? My search results yielded insubstantial results. You are just plain evil for mentioning mythological desserts on the Strut. You know how seriously we take our food.
The Middle Eastern people are sooooooooooo boring.
Tender+Berry = Faux Insult
git fam
Faux Rillz has been serving tenderberry ice cream on the Strut for years, and it's still the Strut's highly recommended dessert of choice.
Most of the time, when folks crunch this kind of data they're working from huge datasets like the Census, in which case, they have access to all that supplementary info but I don't believe OKC does the same thing. They release their results, but they're not as transparent as to their sample demographics.
That said, the "reading/writing ability by religion" was pretty hilarious. And perturbing. But again, I'd want to know what % of their respondents were self-identified Protestants vs. atheists.
Well, to be fair, no group really seemed to do much better than 9th grade (:oof:), which isn't an accomplishment on anyone's part. I think that a part of that is probably environmental, i.e. people on a dating site probably want to sound a bit informal and laid-back, but still manage to be intelligible. Grad school level writing probably comes off as a little intense in this milieu.
Yea - I mean I guess they could be trying to come off as more intelligent than they really are, but boasting Tolstoy, Beaudelaire, Kundera (Unbearable Lightness of Being shows up for two different groups!), Dawkins, etc. doesn't really correspond with being at a grade 9 level.
You have to remember that why OKC did was to highlight terms that were specific to each group, not necessarily the most popular. So, in that case, if Gucci Mane showed up in both white and black profiles, it wouldn't have made that final word cloud.