To round up our series on underground celebrities at UBC, we thought we’d go with a page that’s lesser known, but quickly gaining some traction recently – UBC Matchmaking! A page designed to make things just that little bit less/more awkward with your crush, your friends send in the names of two people they think should be together. And with the help of your friends liking the post obsessively, maybe it will help one of the two to muster up the courage to finally ask the other out – assuming the feelings are mutual! The Facebook page is a great way to finally get those two people who are meant to be together to get the ball rolling. We decided to interview the creator of the page about their intentions, hopes for the page’s future and find out what it’s like being the one behind it all!
1. Why did you decide to start up UBC Matchmaking?
I have these two friends that I know for a fact are hopelessly in love with each other, and everyone around them knows it, but they’re both too scared and awkward to bring it up with each other. I know that if there was some way for the ice on that conversation to be broken, it would kickstart their perfect love story. And I realised that this is probably the case for lots of people, so I started this page to get some of those conversations rolling.
2. Has someone submitted your name in to be paired with someone else yet?
Kind of? My roommate does a lot of the moderation with me, and we jokingly send in messages pairing each other up with people. I have yet to post any of those though, haha.
3. How many people message you per day?
I’m not sure, I pay attention to more trends than actual numbers. I like looking at the stats and trying to figure out why some days are better than others. On average, probably about 30?
4. Have you yourself posted couples you’d like to be together?
I’ve posted one or two, but not the couple I actually had in mind when making the page. I’m waiting to see if it’ll get more popular than it is right now, for a little bit more anonymity/ chance of them seeing it.
5. Do any of your friends or family know that you’re behind the page?
Just my roommates. The whole thing is pretty lighthearted and fun, so it’s kind of funny to talk about, but I certainly don’t want a bunch of people to know that it’s me; that would take away some of the fun!
6. The page has picked up speed much faster this term. Why did the posting become less after you first started it?
I started it back in April, when procrastinating exam studying, so it makes sense that it didn’t have lots of traction at first. And then over the summer people aren’t really on campus or anything.
7. Is it really difficult juggling posting with your schoolwork?
No, it’s just not much of a time commitment (so far at least, it’s still a pretty small page). I just pick a handful from the inbox and post them when I’m bored.
8. What are some of the perks/pitfalls about running this page?
Perks: Everything is adorable.
Pitfalls: Feeling bad when people ask me to take posts down. I do, but I don’t really understand it. If it’s not what you want, I would be more inclined just to laugh it off, but maybe that’s just my sense of humour.
9. Has anything surprised you?
When something is posted and people are trying to guess which of their friends actually inboxed me. They’re almost never right, it’s pretty funny.
10. Any idea if any of the couples posted actually end up being together?
No idea. Maybe if the page picks up I’ll start a companion page or tumblr with success stories, I think that’d be so cute.
11. What’s one thing you would like to communicate to UBC students using UBC Matchmaking?
It’s okay to talk to your crush! They’re not going to bite.