On 19/04/07, Nicole Reinhold <nicole.reinhold@philips.com> wrote:
Hi Radhika, Thanks for correcting me, I fully agree to you point - Shaadi is indeed not a dating website as the successful outcome is not a "date" but a marriage.
It's not just a question of outcome. It's also a question of intentions, motives, and cultural settings. "Arranged" marriages (in my view, neither inferior nor superior to "love" marriages, just different) have been traditionally accepted in parts of the globe for generations. Now, part of this has gone online. In the case of 'dating' sites, there could be an element of anonymity involved, i.e. you start talking before you decide on each other. This isn't the case with the "shaadi" sites, where it's very important to have things upfront from the word go. Above all, it's a question of whether research about cyberspace is sensitive to the local context, or a one-size-fits-all approach is attempted.
I guess I still parked in my brain "under dating" as the principal is similar: you map and match participants based on their profile data and contact them online. However there is still an other aspect I was thinking
Not sure I'm agree with you here. Calling the "principle similar" would be to likening Cho Seung-hui -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cho_Seung-hui -- to the military, just because both carry guns, to cite a recent but probably inapt comparison!
about what when family members are searching a partner on behalf of someone else? Is that something you would indicate when "showing interest" in one profile?
Not sure I understood your question. Marriages can, traditionally at least, be rather social affairs in our parts of the globe. Family members (or respected village elders) getting involved in match-making can be routine -- both in real-world and online. Of course, it's another world in urban parts of Asia and with the younger generations... but this goes beyond research about the internet, I guess.... FN -- FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST please) http://fn.goa-india.org http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com Konkani Wikipedia (under incubation) needs your help! http://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wp/kok