Here at Qlik, we firmly believe data can infuse new life and value into every aspect of our lives. I recently had a chance to see this notion come to life in a very new way. On October 6, Qlik joined Tinder for the launch of Swipe Night, providing data visualizations for the launch of this all-new interactive adventure on the service. I was fortunate enough to have a front row in the control room for the exclusive launch event in the Tinder Los Angeles headquarters.
So, what exactly is Swipe Night? Users who tuned into the Tinder app on the first Swipe Night found themselves in the middle of an apocalyptic adventure, one where they could use the Swipe feature to make decisions about what will happen next. Those decisions impacted more than just the story – they could also shape who the viewer is matched with, as users can post those decisions to their profiles providing another means to start a conversation with likeminded decisionmakers.
Qlik was tasked by Tinder to make these interactions come to life for the invite-only audience. Pulling in data points from users across the country, we delivered an interactive map visualization which lit up as users started their Swipe Night adventures, revealing insights about which regions were joining the highly anticipated launch event and showing the popularity of Swipe Night within different generations. We were also able to illustrate decisions that users were making along their story journeys, honing in on which decisions and story outcomes were trending during the launch period.What was fascinating to watch unfold was how data from the event was helping some Tinder users make better decisions when it came to their dating choices. For example, at one point in Swipe Night, users are faced with a choice: to either cover for Graham or tell his girlfriend about his recent infidelity. Mashable reported that some users were using data to choose which direction to swipe - and covering for Graham was popular and instant que to swipe left.
This event certainly convinced me that we are truly living in a data-driven age, one where we’re all getting much more comfortable using data during our days, either at work or play.