Matchmaking - People Profiles Follow

Contents:

Overview

Attendee View of Suggested Matches

Configure Matchmaking Attributes 

Configure Matchmaking Behavior

Create Custom Rules

Configuration Examples

 

Overview

Matchmaking encourages a meaningful networking experience among attendees based on shared interests. Attendees can see suggested matches within the people list, on their edit my profile page, and anywhere the stand alone widget is placed on the platform.

This feature can be configured by admins to automatically suggest matches between attendees who share the same attribute label, or can be customized to create a more thoughtful matchmaking process.

Attendee View of Suggested Matches

Suggested matches display in 3 places: within the people lists, a stand-alone widget, and on the edit my profile page.

People List: Matches shown on the people list widget can be configured to show top matches or random matches.

• Top matches display the top 5 matches with every page load.
• Random shows a new random set of matches with every page load.

Widget: The stand-alone widget can be added to any custom page. The widget can be configured to show top matches or random matches and admins can configure the number of suggested matches that are displayed: 6, 9, 12, or 15.

Edit My Profile: All matches are displayed in the Matches tab located on each attendees' Edit My Profile page.

 

Configure Matchmaking Attributes

1. Create a new people profile label attribute that will be used for matchmaking or edit an existing label attribute. Note, matchmaking only works with label style profile attributes.
2. Create the available labels for the attribute. It is possible to have matchmaking and to allow attendees to create their own labels, however, any attributes that attendees create will not be automatically included in custom rules and matchmaking may not behave as desired. 
3. Enable the desired attributes by clicking the check box Use this attribute for matchmaking and click save.

For more information about creating a label type profile attribute, click here. 

For more information about editing details and display properties of attributes, click here.  

 

Configure Matchmaking Behavior

To configure matchmaking behavior, navigate to People > Matchmaking Rules in the Admin Dashboard.

There are 3 ways to configure matchmaking behavior. 

Option 1: Enable the default behavior - where the system automatically matches attendees who share the same label or labels.

Option 2: Create custom matchmaking rules - where a single rule or multiple rules are used to include or exclude matches based on shared labels. 
Option 3: Select both the default behavior and create custom matchmaking rules - where the same attributes automatically match and additional custom rules are applied.

Create Custom Rules

To create custom rules that will expand or restrict matches, click Add Rule. 

Rules are created by defining the 4 fields within a rule statement. 

1. Define the label that the rule will compare other labels against. 
   
   • This dropdown will contain all labels that are enabled for matchmaking and only one can be selected. 
2. Define the rule's outcome.
   • Must match if - results in the rule displaying matches that follow the rule.
   • Must not match if - results in the rule excluding matches that follow the rule.
3. Define the scope:
   • Any will display matches for any labels that match within the rule. 
   • ALL will display matches only if all labels match within the rule. 
4. Define the label(s) that the rule will compare to the first label:

Example: To create a rule that will match attendees with the label Chef to attendees with the label Organic Produce Farmer, create a rule that reads: Chef must match if attendee has any of the following labels Organic Produce Farmer.

It's important to note that rules do not work in reverse. The rule above will only impact matchmaking for attendees with the attribute Chef. It will NOT suggest connections to attendees with the label Organic Produce Farmers.

If that is the desired outcome, a second rule would be required that states: Organic Produce Farmer must match if attendee has any of the following labels Chef. 

 

Configuration Examples

Assume you want to encourage buyer/seller networking between wholesale distributors, organic produce farmers, and chefs.

First, create an attribute with all the labels listed above and enable the attribute to be used for matchmaking. Then, configure 3 rules that connect all 6 possibilities: 

 

Now, assume you want to restrict certain groups from matching. This can be done by creating a rule that uses must not match if. For example, to restrict attendees with a label General Admission from seeing suggest matches with VIP attendees. The rule would be configured as:

General Admission must not match if attendee has any of the following labels VIP.

 

Note: Rules that are created in the matchmaking menu do not impact site behaviors outside of matchmaking. Contact your Implementation Specialist if you would like to modify permissions that impact the overall access or site behaviors. 

*Please reach out to your Implementation Specialist to enable this feature.*