A Relationship Site Built on “Ditto” Tastes and Interests and NotCaste & Creed
Ditto.co.in is a relationship platform for singles who believe that shared ideologies, tastes and interests connect people and build relationships. Ditto wants to create a healthy and intelligent ecosystem that empowers and enables single people to find their soul mates through a journey infused with conversations and connections, in a relaxed manner, without the “happily-ever-after” sword looming large over your head. It is built on two key pillars “Identity” and “Interactions”; the objective being to enable people to put across their true multi-dimensional identity and interact with others who resonate with that identity.So, an identity of Priyanka Dutta on a matrimonial site would be “I am 30 years old, 5 feet tall, dark, slim built, Bengali, Brahmin, Manglik girl” and her identity on Ditto would be “I love…laughing out loud with PG Wodehouse, running on the beach on Sunday morning and then pigging out on pizza four hours later, spending all day in bed watching re-runs of Seinfeld, buying only The Body Shop products because I admire Anita Roddicks’ vision and saying ‘Thank the lord, Hey Ram and Inshaallah’ because I believe there is just one God. And my idea of a perfect man is one who can sit through “The Vagina Monologues” with me.”
Ditto.co.in aims to let you discover people on the basis of your life and mind-space, and create a multi-dimensional image of you that reflects the real you with all your quirks and strengths, allowing the opposite person to discover what makes you truly tick.
“From our name to our site interface and construct, to our features – everything stems from our single-minded philosophy- to enable you to find a like-minded “Ditto” match,” says Shweta Sharma, Founder, Ditto.
At the core of the site is a “Ditto Cloud” that allows people to showcase all their interests and views (movies, books, travel, dance, cuisine, music, political ideologies, spiritual beliefs, brands, icons, fitness, hobbies, hangouts, peeves to name a few). The data from this cloud feeds into the Ditto algorithm that then throws up the profiles of all the people who love the same things that the user loves. This cloud is meant to be dynamic and prefers to be pumped up with loads of insights and anecdotes which give the opposite person intriguing little peeks into the user’s life and mind.
Since their launch in mid Jan this year, they have close to 1000 registered users and this is without spending on advertising and also rejecting loads of people who clearly have put up fake pictures / no pictures / name handles instead of real names!Ditto empowers single people to define themselves on the basis of what they choose and assimilate in their lives and not what they were born with or into. And hence, is relevant to all progressive single people today.
“Demographics result in a narrow (and sometimes irrelevant) definition of compatibility and this does not resonate well with young adults today, who know that it is important to mentally vibe with their partner, not just “settle” down passively,” Shweta adds.
Their target segment demographics are: SEC A/B, Male/Female, Single or divorced, 25 – 45 years, Urban. This translates to a market size of 6 million people in India. The ditto proposition is universal. They plan to focus on India at the current moment but plan to take it to other geographies into the future.
“The online space for single people to meet and form meaningful relationships is dominated by matrimonial sites in India (and dating sites, internationally) and ALL of them have a primary match criteria based on demographics such as religion, caste, creed and physical descriptions of skin colour, height and body type. Ditto has a very unique and fresh proposition, far more aligned to Web 3.0 than any other singles’ site,” says Shweta, clearing out Ditto’s USP.
StartingUp:
Shweta Sharma, Founder and CEO, Ditto, has spent over 13 years in advertising, working in agencies like Ogilvy & Mather, Grey Worldwide and Lowe Lintas, being the most recent, where she was Vice President. She spent all of 2011 in taking Ditto through its developmental stage and launched in Jan 2012. Her team comprises 4 people and is Mumbai based.
“I believe in love, I believe in the concept of a soulmate. I bumped into mine 6 years ago and that too, on a dating site. Marriage has been the easiest and most fun phase of my life because my husband and I are such similar people; our ideas of life and living intersect so seamlessly. I bumped into him on this site by sheer chance and was lucky to do so. So, yes, I believe the internet is a great way to meet people who would never meet otherwise.
Also, I have friends, women who are attractive, successful, bright, funny and …SINGLE. And their biggest grouse is not being able to meet like-minded folks. So, I got to thinking that it is so unfortunate that there is no platform that captures and matches them on the varied, wonderful facets of their being!”
One day, it struck her that if there was a platform that could focus on these connections at the core of the product philosophy and design as opposed to leaving it to chance, she could be part of creating something truly special. That is how Ditto was born.
Shweta believes dating is no longer an alien concept in India. It has integrated into mainstream culture by now, especially in urban India. Of course, she thinks, it cannot compare its popularity or acceptability to that of marriage, especially in the cultural context of India.
“Ditto believes in the institution of marriage. It’s a great institution if the foundation of it is based on love, respect and compatibility. However, it is always prudent to date and interact with people before you really decide who is right for you in the long run. Dating helps you discover what works for you and what doesn’t. There has to be a category building exercise done that creates awareness about the benefits of dating. That “educates” people that dating is not just alien/Western/casual but an intelligent and mature process. Come to Ditto to find that compatible soul and then, do leave Ditto to see if the love and chemistry follow. We would love to see you walk off our site and happily into the sunset. Because love DOES make the world a better place…,” she concludes, smiling.