[ergl]

I wonder what would happen if you signed up for a boyfriend and a girlfriend and had them talk to each other

[Torgo]

So uh, there are attractive girls on Fiverr that will pretend to be your girlfriend on Facebook for a month (friending, n posts/likes on your posts per month, etc) for five dollars. I paid two of them to "fight" over me just to troll my friends. It turns out this piques interest in other women :-P

This is why I don't use my real name on HN.

[JDiculous]

That's pretty genius actually. Women definitely tend to be more interested in men who are being sought after by other women.

[bra-ket]

same with VCs

[DanielleMolloy]

I sense a business model here.

[Torgo]

What have I done

[beachstartup]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_theory

[justathrow2k]

>This is why I don't use my real name on HN.

Because you don't want the people in your life knowing that you pay money to manipulate and deceive those around you? Seems smart to keep that a secret.

[Torgo]

[edited because I was unnecessarily brusque.] It was a practical joke, pretty much at my own expense, and I told my friends afterwards. The "joke" is that two very attractive women fighting over me is very unbelievable.

[justathrow2k]

So, why don't you use your real name on HN, again?

[Dylan16807]

Yes, ask someone why they are hiding their name while you insult them.

[strathmeyer]

So he can confidently tell personal stories to strangers?

[sciguy77]

Ah now that would be interesting. It seems like in the examples provided the virtual SO is reactive, responding to what the user says (ex "I like Downton Abby") whereas when they reach out the messages are generic. I wonder if the conversation would generate its own 'depth'.

This seems to be a worthwhile experiment to me.

[wglb]

Interesting idea.

Or hook up eliza on your end and see what happens.