(Image Source: The Huffington Post, The New Yorker)
BY ZHENG HWUANG CHIA AND TRACY PFEIFFER
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There’s the old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but what about “Don’t judge a person by their webmail provider”? Recommendation engine Hunch.com mined 700,000 users’ data to find out – and released their findings as a compilation of stereotypes for four domains.
HLN has more.
RICHELLE CAREY, ANCHOR: “People who used AOL were typically more spiritual and had children. Gmail users were thin, young men who were politically liberal. People on Hotmail are often single, young women who are not religious and Yahoo! users were usually in a relationship and live out in the burbs or in rural areas.”
Hunch also says Yahoo! users tend to have sweet tooth, whereas Gmailers are more partial to “salty snacks.” Pretty specific stuff – but how did Hunch get that information? ABC explains.
“The website pairs traditional questions regarding users’ location, age and marital status along with more obscure inquiries like, ‘When did you last blow a dandelion?’ and ‘When did you last see the sunrise?’ …even though the questions are a bit offbeat, the site says they are very predictive of people’s tastes.”
One writer for Vator.tv says, the findings make perfect sense.
“Personally, I haven't trusted any emails from Yahoo or Hotmail since 1998. ... It seems like at some point, I always find out that they know nothing about smart-phones and their home computer consists of the family clunker that's used only for playing solitaire and doing taxes. And I'm right! In your face, Yahoo! and Hotmail!”
But a writer for TG Daily is a little skeptical of the generalizations.
“Well, this is better than astrology. I've never much liked being a Taurus (stubborn, prosaic, materially-minded), but as a Gmail user I'm delighted to be told I'm young, thin, educated and well-traveled. And it's all true, of course.”
Finally, Tech News Daily explains what is arguably the most pertinent part of Hunch’s conclusions – which domain is going to land you a job.
“Unless you have a custom domain connected to an elite alma mater or a professional website that hiring managers will find irresistible, Gmail is the preferred e-mail service, especially in the media and tech fields.”
But what do you think? Are there really stereotypes for people with different e-mail providers? Let us know in our comments section – and don’t forget to download the latest Newsy app for iPhone or iPad from the iTunes Store.
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