Frequent Usage

~ Clarissa

In “A More Perfect Union,” Mr. DuBois downloaded 19 million profiles from 21 online dating sites. He then wrote software to sort them by ZIP code, and determine the words most frequently used in each location. In the resulting maps, the top-ranked words replace city names. New York is “Now.” Atlanta is “God.”

I’m glad I don’t have to date any longer because something tells me there is no location where “vile freakazoids” would be the top ranked expression.

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Published by Clarissa

7 thoughts on “Frequent Usage”

    1. I apologize, the new apps don’t always do what I tell them. I changed the link to a functioning one but there are no more details about this specific project there. We can all try to guess what words correspond to which cities. 🙂

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  2. If I were to make a very unscientific hypothesis about my city from my time doing online dating, “easygoing” would be the number one word for my location. Which is partially why I remain single.

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  3. My current location in the UK: “pub” and “party”. My previous location in Hungary: “housework” and “degree”. The British want to drink with their spouse and waste a lot of money on stupid things. The Hungarians have a sick crush on credentials and men want to have a wife who is educated and loves housework. Women also proudly promote their love for housework and their want for a man with the sacred degree – the type or the institution doesn’t matter. Neither the common interests. I know I’m evil, but what can I do? 😀

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  4. “I’m glad I don’t have to date any longer because something tells me there is no location where “vile freakazoids” would be the top ranked expression.”

    I’m willing to bet on Aspen, Colorado … 🙂

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