It's true that any publicity is good publicity, and newly launched Carrot Dating app knows a thing or two about public outrage.
The app doesn't even try to disguise the main social dynamics it offers to people who are looking for a date or, just for a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. It's premise is simple: let's not pretend that dating is all about good looks and the ever-elusive chemistry. Most of us don't mind a bit of bonus features, too.
Carrot made those "bonus features" the crux of its dating platform. Instead of displaying your six pack or your interest in digital anthropology or the books you read on weekends, the app prompts you to actually pay up for a date. The exchange is simple: offer a dinner, a movie, a concert ticket or something equaly tangible, and the date is yours. That is, if she or he chooses your offerings.
This is old school barter, brought back by design. You are what you have, and far from being a shocking poster child of digital culture, it's actually a new playinground for creativity. Just like How About We dating app lets its users come up with the fun ideas for the first date, Carrot Dating does the same: it let's you express yourself through what you are willing to pay for.
In the time of the sharing economy, paying forward, and creating new ways to connect abundant demand and scarce supply, Carrot Dating may be seen just as another form of generosity enabled by digital media. After all, random generosity breeds serendipity, and serendipity may lead to love.