does voice matter?

[Vorail]

is connecting through voice important? i received a message from one of our users asking if i was a dom. i asked her about bdsm and started googling. we created an app that bans photos and text, everything is voice, we ask questions & listen to answers. it's good way to connect with strangers in authentic but anonymous way. we are trying to understand if there is a need in the bdsm community for a better way to meet. would appreciate your input.

 

[xxxSubSamxxx]

is connecting through voice important? i received a message from one of our users asking if i was a dom. i asked her about bdsm and started googling. we created an app that bans photos and text, everything is voice, we ask questions & listen to answers. it's good way to connect with strangers in authentic but anonymous way. we are trying to understand if there is a need in the bdsm community for a better way to meet. would appreciate your input.

For me connecting and building a relationship is important, I find connecting through voice, text, and pictures all important to build a trusting relationship. I find it hard to trust anonymous people.

Sam xx

 

[busycouple26]

Sounds like a good app for the practice.

 

[Vorail]

how well do the current tools do?

i understand you rely on voice, text and pictures. (1) how easy is it for you to find the 'right' folks with current tools availalbe? eg. if all we want are photos, tinder would rank high, they have plenty of photos. if you wanted text, skype would rank low because it's moslty voice. this forum has lots of people with similar interest, and photos can be attached, maybe it's good enough. (2) photos are important to us, but why? can you really tell anything about trust or personality through a photo?

on our app, people ask and answer hundreds of questions, and through their own words and voice, we get an idea who they really are. because we ban photos and text, many more women feel safe being open on our app, but the price we pay is most will not use an app that bans photos = many of our users are blind.

For me connecting and building a relationship is important, I find connecting through voice, text, and pictures all important to build a trusting relationship. I find it hard to trust anonymous people.

Sam xx

 

[Vorail]

practice?

what kind of practice? practice meeting new people and getting to know folks by the questions answers they speak rather than a picture?

Sounds like a good app for the practice.

 

[Cakecups]

I don't understand what the perk of banning photos is, it just sounds like an ap that has one less functionality, why not make it so you can do all three, photo, text and voice? It's not like if there is the ability to send a photo that you have to send one, so I don't see how its any safer/more comfortable.

 

[Vorail]

exactly the question, is it worth it to ban photos & text?

advantage of banning photo:
1) more users
some folks (particularly women in our experience) are not comfortable posting photo, and do not want to be that one person who does not post a photo
2) more open
when it's 'only' our voice, folks have a tendency to talk more openly, more from the heart
3) focuses on who we are, not what we look like
we filter based on photo, even if we do not admit it, but what does a photo say about personality? what's more important, what's on the outside (photo) or what's on the inside (personality). when there is a photo, we are hard or soft wired to judge that book by its cover

disadvantage of banning photo:
1) breaking with tradition, looks have always been a determining factor in getting to know new folks

you could be absolutely correct, the advantages of banning photo & text when discovering new folks are not felt until we try, but who wants to try something that lacks a feature we all assume is critical. this could be why we are hitting our heads up against the wall as we try to grow beyond the global blind community.

I don't understand what the perk of banning photos is, it just sounds like an ap that has one less functionality, why not make it so you can do all three, photo, text and voice? It's not like if there is the ability to send a photo that you have to send one, so I don't see how its any safer/more comfortable.

 

[Etoile]

As a hard of hearing person, um........

 

[Rajendeshai]

Yes, I think voice is much more important. Like if you want to be a customer support representative. Then good voice is needed. And I have seen many of the guys aren't fit for the customer service because of their low voice quality.

 

[oOMinxOo]

Yes. There is anything very erotic about the snarl of commands.

 

[MeekMe]

is connecting through voice important? i received a message from one of our users asking if i was a dom. i asked her about bdsm and started googling. we created an app that bans photos and text, everything is voice, we ask questions & listen to answers. it's good way to connect with strangers in authentic but anonymous way. we are trying to understand if there is a need in the bdsm community for a better way to meet. would appreciate your input.

I don't see this as being the most efficient way to get to know someone. Communication is pretty important and for many the way they communicate is different (better through text, or for some a picture is worth a thousand words). An app like this is completely useless for someone like me that finds it difficult to speak, even if there's anonymity. For some people playing 20 questions might be a fun game, but it's lacking in the kind of communication often needed for making a real connection. Certainly, you can meet through this, but eventually you'll have to move on to something with more capabilities.

The fact that you keep saying women may like that pictures are not allowed and this would feel more comfortable makes me think you need women to show up to attract men. Kind of like "ladies night" at the club. Give a woman drink specials for being the lucky owner of a vagina and she'll show up with her friends for a good time. The men follow because "OMG not a sausage fest."

Also, not focusing on the outer appearance at first could really backfire. I don't want to get to know someone only to see them and be completely repulsed. I have standards and believe me, if the basics aren't there I'm getting the fuck out. The outer appearance may not be important for some and certainly text based meeting can also leave that to mystery, but if those options aren't available your user base still has to go elsewhere to meet those needs when they finally do decide they want to see more.

Oh, aaaand, voice is one important aspect. If I want to punch you in the throat every time you open your mouth to speak to me we're probably not going to have a relationship.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[oOMinxOo]

May I chime in again?

Voice, just like physical appearance, can be a deal-breaker for me. Most of my interactions are on platforms such as this. Then through other apps I am hopefully able to deepen the connection through voice calls and eventually video chat. I feel (which may be completely useless information) that it can really turn the tables as far as attraction is concerned. If I am connecting with someone in a text format such as this one and I finally get to hear them AND the tenor and tone of their voice is on that shakes me to my core, I am more willing to wholly let myself go and give myself to them. That said, if we have a great text connection, but his voice is in the wrong octave, then I am forced to bow out as gracefully as I am able.

It's something oddly important to me. I am sure there is some "-phelia" associated with that.

 

[Vorail]

Etoile, same page, getting to learn people's personality through what they say does not work well for folks who have hearing challenges.

As a hard of hearing person, um........

 

[Vorail]

oOMinxOo, yes, i think voice can touch us in a way text or photos do not.

:
tom
_____________________________
Vorail: explore ideas through voice.
* Available on the app store *
RNIB App of the Month, May 2016

Yes. There is anything very erotic about the snarl of commands.

 

[Vorail]

MeekMe, maybe, but i have heard people on the app say they are not comfortable speaking in groups, but can't stop speaking on Vorail. i have experienced the same. i get to Vorail and their are many questions i want to chime in on, i feel the urge to speak, but on dates (after the first one), i cannot figure out what to say.

in terms of real communications, what's better than hearing questions that make you think deep, and hearing how different folks answer differently. the objective of 20 questions is to guess the magic thing, but the object of hearing and answering questions about life is to better understand our life.

yes, absolutely, i think a site/service needs to cater to the women. there is an over abundance of men online. much more rare to find a social place online that is majority women.

the part in your message about backfiring is a big question for me. i look at photos as much or more than others, but does that give me best chance for healthy outcome. suppose we could have a 'trophy' spouse, would we want it? what if i talk with ten thousand people for ten thousand hours (extreme example), and at the end, there is one person that made my day in every way. everything i got to learn about this person, i liked. then we meet, the person looks are the opposite of what attracts me. will it be like you said, i am hard wired for a certain look, and those ten thousand hours are gone? or will being attracted to the person's personality, what's on the inside, be enough to make the photo/outside less important. i do not know, i'm not near my ten thousand hours yet.

thank you for the food for though!

:
tom
_____________________________
Vorail: explore ideas through voice.
* Available on the app store *
RNIB App of the Month, May 2016

I don't see this as being the most efficient way to get to know someone. Communication is pretty important and for many the way they communicate is different (better through text, or for some a picture is worth a thousand words). An app like this is completely useless for someone like me that finds it difficult to speak, even if there's anonymity. For some people playing 20 questions might be a fun game, but it's lacking in the kind of communication often needed for making a real connection. Certainly, you can meet through this, but eventually you'll have to move on to something with more capabilities.

The fact that you keep saying women may like that pictures are not allowed and this would feel more comfortable makes me think you need women to show up to attract men. Kind of like "ladies night" at the club. Give a woman drink specials for being the lucky owner of a vagina and she'll show up with her friends for a good time. The men follow because "OMG not a sausage fest."

Also, not focusing on the outer appearance at first could really backfire. I don't want to get to know someone only to see them and be completely repulsed. I have standards and believe me, if the basics aren't there I'm getting the fuck out. The outer appearance may not be important for some and certainly text based meeting can also leave that to mystery, but if those options aren't available your user base still has to go elsewhere to meet those needs when they finally do decide they want to see more.

Oh, aaaand, voice is one important aspect. If I want to punch you in the throat every time you open your mouth to speak to me we're probably not going to have a relationship.

 

[Vorail]

Gianbattista,

Yes, more pictures used than voice. Tinder and almost every dating site rely on photos. Also true that we all like options in life, make everything available and let me choose. Would the world be healthier without junk food? I love my home baked cookies, but look at our waste line (national average over time) and it makes me think twice if options are always best for healthy outcomes.

Women can post pictures here. Not all do. It doesn't seem to scare women away too much.

More pictures are used than voice I think?

I would think most people want options. Maybe better to have an option to give someone a 'strike' against someone who they feel puts unnecessary pressure on them for pictures/ etc.

 

[Vorail]

Stag of Oberon, i googled searched "vaguely kinky teamspeak" and did not find the meaning. teamspeak i believe is a skype type audio service, realtime. the way we do it is also voice, but a few key differences:
.. everyone has access to the feed of questions, anyone can answer a question
.. answers can play one after the other, which makes it feel like teamspeak, but folks are coming in at all hours of the day from all locations around the globe
.. can think as long as desired before replying, leads to a different type of reply from realtime.

:
tom
_____________________________
Vorail: explore ideas through voice.
* Available on the app store *
RNIB App of the Month, May 2016


QUOTE=Stag of Oberon;80622716]vaguely kinky teamspeak?[/QUOTE]

 

[Vorail]

oOMinxOo, i think i get your logic:
.. text first, like this forum (text is the most plentiful, start from bottom of the pyramid)
.. if text seems interesting, switch to a voice platform, moving up the pyramid, fewer folks, but more likely to match
.. if voice is good, can try a video platform or in-person, that's top of the mountain

do you ever feel this process takes too long?

:
tom
_____________________________
Vorail: explore ideas through voice.
* Available on the app store *
RNIB App of the Month, May 2016

May I chime in again?

Voice, just like physical appearance, can be a deal-breaker for me. Most of my interactions are on platforms such as this. Then through other apps I am hopefully able to deepen the connection through voice calls and eventually video chat. I feel (which may be completely useless information) that it can really turn the tables as far as attraction is concerned. If I am connecting with someone in a text format such as this one and I finally get to hear them AND the tenor and tone of their voice is on that shakes me to my core, I am more willing to wholly let myself go and give myself to them. That said, if we have a great text connection, but his voice is in the wrong octave, then I am forced to bow out as gracefully as I am able.

It's something oddly important to me. I am sure there is some "-phelia" associated with that.

 

[La damnee elle la licorne]

 

[oOMinxOo]

Vorail: yes, that's exactly it.

Personally I enjoy the process and the length of time required to reach the end. It's a savoring if there is a connection made. I hate rushing the process.

 

[MastersDelight]

I like being able to type my responses. It allows me to really think the answer through, edit, and articulate my thoughts better than if I were to just speak my answer. I don't feel like I would participate as much on a site that only allows for voice and not type or pictures. I'm also hesitant to share my voice for privacy reasons. In pictures it's easy to hide and crop to leave doubt as to who is in the picture, that can't be done with voice, and if I were to be recognized and outed by someone I know....

And I'm with Meek. I may talk to someone, get to know someone, become friends with them, become comfortable with them, but if they aren't attractive to me physically, it doesn't diminish the connection, but I wouldn't pursue them as a partner. It might sound shallow but it's the truth. Everyone has their own tastes.

 

[oOMinxOo]

I like being able to type my responses. It allows me to really think the answer through, edit, and articulate my thoughts better than if I were to just speak my answer. I don't feel like I would participate as much on a site that only allows for voice and not type or pictures. I'm also hesitant to share my voice for privacy reasons. In pictures it's easy to hide and crop to leave doubt as to who is in the picture, that can't be done with voice, and if I were to be recognized and outed by someone I know....

And I'm with Meek. I may talk to someone, get to know someone, become friends with them, become comfortable with them, but if they aren't attractive to me physically, it doesn't diminish the connection, but I wouldn't pursue them as a partner. It might sound shallow but it's the truth. Everyone has their own tastes.

I agree with this insofaras the typing of responses. Definitely. It's why this vehicle for establishing a connection is required for me.

 

[Vorail]

oOMinxOo & MastersDelight: thank you for sharing your thinking. Looks like we have folks who very much like starting with photo, and folks who very much like starting with text. I like starting with voice (in an anonymous but authentic way), but I'm feeling like a very small minority.

:
tom
_____________________________
Vorail: explore ideas through voice.
* Available on the app store *
RNIB App of the Month, May 2016

Vorail: yes, that's exactly it.

Personally I enjoy the process and the length of time required to reach the end. It's a savoring if there is a connection made. I hate rushing the process.

 

[Primalex]

I don't get it.

It's not like you have to send a picture, just because it's possible to.

advantage of banning photo:
1) more users

More users compared to what?

According to this logic, this forum would have more users if we disallow attachments, because some people don't like pictures. This does not make sense. I could also argue that this forum would have more users if we disallow text, because there are people out there who don't like to write or read and prefer pictures.

we filter based on photo, even if we do not admit it, but what does a photo say about personality?

What does a voice say about personality?


No offense, but the only statement that can be made about a 'voice-only' app and it's userbase is that it's used by people who don't want to do anything else besides voice.