Match has launched a new option for its members: selfie videos!

We think it's a great idea and hope it succeeds.  It's about time they went retro.  Dating services in the 1980s required a sit down, like a talk-show interview, in front of a camera where the dating coach asked a lot of questions and got their new fresh member to talk about themselves in glowing terms.   There was no real discovery of the person's personality or values, but at least there was a determination for possible physical attraction based on a video that was maybe a week old instead of a photo that was taken twelve years ago. This TV ad for a dating service expresses the problem very well:

The problem we all know with still photos is obvious:
1.  They were chosen by the person themself, so no objectivity.
2.  Sometimes they are OLD photos, which too many people post, hoping that on a first meeting, their date won't notice.
3.  They are 2-dimensional and do not reflect physical demeanor, which plays hugely into physical attraction.
4.  You can't hear the sound of someone's voice from a photo.  This is also a crucial element of real chemistry.

With a video, you can get a sense of a person's energy level, or total lack of energy. You can better assess if they're an extrovert or an introvert, or at least get a good idea anyway.  It's all about their body language, which you can't read from a still photo.  But just remember if you post a video on Match:  Be mindful of bad lighting, like overhead fluorescents which make everyone look awful.  And the camera adds 15 pounds...on everybody, not just the "Average" or "A few extra pounds".