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Publicity
These are copied from the site in Cambridge just to give a flavour of what you can expect...
Romance.ucam.org has been making waves! Quite a lot has been written/said about us. We haven't got all of it, but here is a selection.
- Varsity in Valentine's week
- Listen to the Cambridge University Radio interview
- Travisty (Trinity's newspaper)
- The Cambridge Student - apparently "we were less newsworthy" than their other items, so they ran an article on other internet dating sites instead.
You can help out too....by putting up some of the latest RUO posters. Thanks a lot in advance!
Varsity, 9th February, 2001, page 27 (Outlook), from an article
entitled "No Love Lost" by Rachael Luckett.
14th February is the day when we commemorate the martyrdom of a third-century saint by giving each other slushy cards, and six-foot chocolate teddy bears.....
..........The Cambridge student-run match-making website, romance.ucam.org, was recommended to me for researching this article. I must confess to having some misgivings about the idea. I mean, when people catch me surfing the personal ads, what are the chances of them believing I am just gathering vital information for Varsity? So, I was grateful for the 'stealth mode,' which removes the telltale pink banners and other trimmings symptomatic of the wonderfully named default 'fluffy mode'. I found plenty of heart-warming headlines on there, like "Forrest Gump seeking Jenny", "Elvis seeking Priscilla", and an "entire corridor seeking eight loose females " for a "multiple/experimental" relationship. All together, aaah. At least the members of romance.ucam.org are original - there's a refreshing lack of N/S's and GSOH's or CEOs with BMWs and VCRs, probably because the people running it have provided plenty of space for each ad, rather than demanding that people tell you their life history at 50p a word........
RUO founder, Richard Neill was interviewed live on CUR on Saturday 11th November 2000, by Richard Straffon.
- Interview Part One
- Interview Part Two
Listen to Cambridge University Radio on the web !
This is in Real audio format. If you need a player, get it here.
This article was featured in Travisty, the Trinity student newspaper on 15th November 2000:
Courtship in the modern age
A Trinity Gentleman should, it is assumed, know how to court a Lady. The methods and manners of such a courtship have been laid down over centuries, and being at Trinity, one is assumed to be skilled in the Ars Amatoria.
Not these days: in this modern age, one is more likely to invite the object of one's affections to Gardies, than to Midsummer Common. This simply will not do. Romance in Cambridge is Dead, and everyone knows that, when it comes to Love, Cambridge is as much a desert as anywhere in the world. Varsity bewail this so often it hurts, but they aren't the only ones, and for once, they are right.
So, what to do? How should one improve the chances of meeting one's true love, add some fun, excitement, and a little mystery back into Romance, and do it all without resorting to the Rag Blind date in desperation....
Well, two undergraduates, Richard and John, in an unlikely alliance between Trinity and St John's (!) have the answer.
It is called Romance.ucam.org, and we believe that it is the best chance to meet a partner in Cambridge. It is anonymous (until you want to reveal your identity), and easy to use. It's only open to Cambridge students, and it is FREE. How do we do that, I hear you ask? We don't charge, nor do we take advertising. It's simple - we believe in what we are doing, for the general happiness of many people in Cambridge. So, we are paying for it ourselves. It's worth it - we have already made 2 new couples very happy.
Here's how it works. New members go to the site, and sign up. They then create a short ad for themselves. After that, anyone who reads the ad can log in and exchange messages. After that, it is up to them. It's as simple as that.
STOP PRESS!! New feature....
After much cajoling, and 2 bottles of Glenfiddich, the RUO compsci has come up with something really exciting. Think about that incredibly handsome/gorgeous boy/girl you've fancied for ages, but been too afraid to ask. Well, now you can. Thanks to RUO, you can send them love letters, and find out whether they are interested/available, even correspond, before you reveal your identity. This has to be the answer to the too-frequent
situation of "A and B both fancy each other madly since Freshers' week, but are too shy to ask. They finally get together in the May Week before graduation." Only in Cambridge, but it does happen!
Visit the site at http://romance.ucam.org
today. You won't regret it! If you're quick, ladies, you may even catch our free chocolates promotion.
Good luck, have fun, and maybe, just maybe......
- Richard Neill, Trinity, 25/10/2000
The following should have made it into The Cambridge Student on 9th November 2000. They removed it at the last minute.
Two Cambridge undergraduates have launched a web site in an attempt to breathe life back into romance at the University. Richard Neill and John Surcombe created 'romance.ucam.org' to provide a messaging service unique to Cambridge students. New members can create an advertisement for themselves and anyone who then reads it can then send a message. Anonymity is provided by the site and it is up to the individuals concerned if or when they choose to reveal their identity.
According to Richard Neill, "it is amazing what people say about themselves. There are some interesting social dynamics of such a system in which almost all people are totally honest about at least some aspects of their character". Use of the service is free and there is not even any advertising on the site - the two founders have been paying for it themselves but should soon be able to sell the code to other universities.
The most recent addition to the site is an anonymous 'invite' system that overcomes the limits of Valentine's day cards in that it is possible to reply to a mystery message. This new feature can be used by a member of the site to contact anyone at Cambridge.
Despite a lack of publicity to date, the site has been used by about 130 people already this term and there have been two reported success stories. Currently there is an offer of free chocolates for new free female members - interestingly, many more men than women have placed personal advertisements so far.
If you want to write an article about us, or to assist with publicity, let us know !
