While I was working on a wedding planner app a few weeks ago, I did some study on Indian matchmaking websites and apps to understand what drives traffic and how they can establish trust and gather as much information as I can for my research. What I came across in the beginning seemed to be some very niche-oriented and general matrimony platforms. What caught my eye the most was that the niche websites were regional or language-based, such as Brahmin Matrimony, Tamily Matrimony or Mudaliyar Matrimony. I paused and realized that there is a very deep sense of caste and culture in these platforms that are looking to match people who belong to the same castes.
Wait, what? I was shook.
Growing up in an urban environment, I was mainly exposed to the world of Instagram, Shark Tank or hackathons. Sure enough, I did hear about caste in school and growing up, but it always was a textbook concept, not a sort of checkbox to get it right. But when I saw these websites, they had a completely different story to them. They are definitely very modern and happening, millions of users find their partners here, and the success stories, user reviews and apps are up to date. But yet, caste is still prevalent, especially in marriages in India.
Take Mudaliyar Matrimony, for example. It caters exclusively to the Mudaliyar community, a Tamil caste traditionally associated with leadership and landowning. The site has all the necessary filters for sub castes, Gotras and Horoscopes. It’s obviously not a relic from the past, its a product that has a clearly defined audience and a purpose to serve; to keep caste boundaries intact through marriage.
This made me reflect a lot.
Since i work in the digital marketing space, Im bound to segment audiences; catering to targeted people by their behaviours, interests, and income levels. But caste?. This was something i didnt expect to see, becoming a product funnel . it almost feels like our personalization is being taken into a controversial and yet deeply cultural space nowadays. It is just one of those things I never looked forward to while working as a digital marketer, but we have to evolve and grow, understanding what is needed to make up to our consumers.
To be pretty honest, I dont think I have a solution or a strong opinion about this yet, I’m still at the processing stage. But I do think it’s important to talk about it, not just judge, just because it’s not what we expected. I can say that it can be a sort of awareness, because let’s face it, whether we like it or not, caste hasn’t entirely vanished, it’s evolving. And now, it’s part of our algorithms and apps. So it’s better if we accept that as a part of life, rather than try to get rid of it.
But i do wonder what will happen wehn the Genz will start raising their questions and challenging these filters. Maybe some are already doing it. Or maybe some are just not paying as much attention and continuing with their life. Some others are probably choose to stick to it, its totally their choice. Either way, some conversation will arise in the future and its bound to happen.
So yeah, that’s what I learned last week—not from a campaign or a course, but from one unexpected search result: Mudaliyar Matrimony.
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