Missed Connections
January 9, 2009 12:29 PM   Subscribe

Missed Connections by state A map showing missed connections for Craigslist, by state and gender breakdown, for approximately the last two weeks by Very Small Array.
posted by ugf (57 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
There is something very wrong in the state of Texas.
posted by the latin mouse at 12:36 PM on January 9, 2009


It's tough being a Hooters in a world of Wal-Marts.
posted by DaDaDaDave at 12:40 PM on January 9, 2009


There is something very wrong in the state of Texas.

To be fair, it's only the heteros ("Hooters" and "Home"? Really?) that are screwed up. "Airport" and "Target", the locations for the same-sex ads, make perfect sense to me.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:42 PM on January 9, 2009


Cheeseman park, we salute you.
posted by boo_radley at 12:43 PM on January 9, 2009


Ladies, I'll be in the street. Be sure to miss me.
posted by Dr-Baa at 12:44 PM on January 9, 2009


I don't get it. What's with all the gibberish on the map? Is there some plugin or something I need to install?
posted by Afroblanco at 12:44 PM on January 9, 2009


Haha, the M4W for Michigan is the BBQ joint in my neighborhood. I wonder how many of those "missed connections" involve patrons longing for the waitstaff, as they've earned a notorious reputation for maintaining a cultured disinterest in the customers. That, and the service is, well, eponysterical so there's plenty of time to "miss" some "connections," as it were.
posted by joe lisboa at 12:47 PM on January 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


PA = Turkey Hill, which is funny.
posted by fixedgear at 12:49 PM on January 9, 2009


M4M at Red Lobster, really?
posted by uncleozzy at 12:50 PM on January 9, 2009 [2 favorites]


Oh, I get it. The word for each state is the most common place for a missed connection. Huh. I wouldn't say this is the best way to present that information.
posted by Afroblanco at 12:51 PM on January 9, 2009


I don't get it. What's with all the gibberish on the map? Is there some plugin or something I need to install?

No, you just have to let your eyes go slack and stare at it long enough. You'll get it.
posted by jeffamaphone at 12:51 PM on January 9, 2009


I thought the Home ones were a bit sad, and the blank states left me wonder what was up with that...
posted by ugf at 12:53 PM on January 9, 2009


M4M at Red Lobster, really?

There's somebody for everyone. They obviously deserve one another.
posted by fusinski at 12:53 PM on January 9, 2009


All I see is a unicorn filled with painful, unrequited longing.
posted by The Whelk at 12:53 PM on January 9, 2009


I wouldn't say this is the best way to present that information.

Not sure that's the point. If you read the rest of VSA, you'll find she has a very developed sense of style and design that is not all about efficiency of communication. This isn't a site you cite for a research paper. I'm not sure exactly how I would describe it--but I wouldn't want her to change it.
posted by jeffamaphone at 12:54 PM on January 9, 2009


What do Lesbians have against Wal*Mart?
posted by mr_roboto at 12:56 PM on January 9, 2009


This is a terrible way to present the information for analysis. You can make information look good and be informative at the same time.

Is there a way to download Craigslist data processed so you can make infographics from it?
posted by demiurge at 1:00 PM on January 9, 2009


I've never quite understood missed connections. How does it work, exactly? I can understand posting one. I was in Starbucks, I saw someone cute, so I posted on CL, etc.

But then how does the cute person in Starbucks find out? Do people actually read these ads on the off chance someone noticed them the day before? Do people ever actually connect?
posted by bondcliff at 1:05 PM on January 9, 2009


This is a terrible way to present the information for analysis

Somehow I missed you!- mefite4point (Metafilter thread 78129).....
posted by dersins at 1:07 PM on January 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


I'm sorry, I'm hung up on this. I can see how one could have a missed connection at a lot of places--on the subway, in the produce section, at the gym--but at Red Lobster?

You sat alone at a table by the window, bib tucked crisply into your designer T-shirt, under which your granite-hard pecs undulated tantalizingly as you delicately devoured your thirty shrimp--ten fried, ten coconut, and ten luscious, diet-wrecking shrimp scampi, after each of which your digits penetrated the fleshy cavern of your mouth to better savor the rich, buttery sauce--and I felt myself swoon, not from my third Bahama Mama, but from the sheer erotic energy you emitted.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:08 PM on January 9, 2009 [8 favorites]


For Minnesota M4M and M4W: Pick N Save. I guess a lot of people are driving to Wisconsin to do their grocery shopping.
posted by ALongDecember at 1:12 PM on January 9, 2009


Nevada is surprisingly cosmopolitan with its lingering eye contact: Apple Store, Starbucks x2, Paris. I was expecting something more along the lines of Titty bar, Titty bar, Dive bar, and the Mustang Ranch.
posted by clearly at 1:13 PM on January 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


I'm surprised nobody's mentioned how the W4W category is blank across the bible belt, even though it has listings under M4M.
posted by dunkadunc at 1:14 PM on January 9, 2009


You: Lynyrd Skynyrd hat. Me: Little kitty.
posted by maxwelton at 1:18 PM on January 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


I'm surprised nobody's mentioned how the W4W category is blank across the bible belt, even though it has listings under M4M.

Note to gentleman of the Bible Belt: if your wife sends you to Kroger with a dubious shopping list, there's likely some she-nanigans afoot. Stop ogling that dude in the produce section and save. your. marriage!
posted by joe lisboa at 1:22 PM on January 9, 2009


*gentlemen, of course
posted by joe lisboa at 1:23 PM on January 9, 2009


I don't understand the ones which read "home" - did you invite someone over, they felt awkward for some reason and left, all the while you forget to ask their name and number? But then I don't understand Missed Connections, either. I remember reading them from the news paper (pre Craigslist) with high school friends and laughing (especially at the guys who bought an EXTRA LARGE SPACE in hopes of finding that someone again).

The closest I've seen to someone matching up was a reply from a friend of the recipient of the interest, saying "don't be a douche, she's an awesome lady with kids." It was weird.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:28 PM on January 9, 2009


And previously: Dorothy Gambrell is very fond of data. She is also makes new comics thrice every week.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:34 PM on January 9, 2009


Yeah, the "Home" category freaks me out just a bit. It's just a little too 'after going through your garbage I was able to determine your schedule, but I missed you at 6pm last thursday evening when you usually surf the internet near your window that faces the backyard. Coffee?'
posted by elwoodwiles at 1:38 PM on January 9, 2009


Forget these Missed Connections graphics, their Proposed Generic Beer: 5% Alcohol, is brilliant.

It not only comes in a cooler can than Coors Light, it has 3% more alcohol.
posted by clearly at 1:38 PM on January 9, 2009


I once saw a missed connection ad that went something like this:

At the Rolling Stones concert on Tuesday. Me: Blue jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket. You: Stunning blond. Our eyes met. We were both with friends, so I didn't stop to talk. Coffee sometime soon?

I guess he was casting a very wide net.
posted by ferdydurke at 1:50 PM on January 9, 2009


OH=PARK Cleveland and Akron have a pretty robust “Metropark” system, not to mention the huge Cuyahoga Valley National Park, nearby.
posted by vkxmai at 1:55 PM on January 9, 2009


I see your "stunning blond" and raise you "Its only been a day and I miss you."

And top it with Hey Anchors:

Are you reading this and not your scripts?

Also, buy your directors a pizza!

posted by filthy light thief at 2:08 PM on January 9, 2009


Heh, and I don't think it's intended as a lost and found.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:09 PM on January 9, 2009


I've never quite understood missed connections. How does it work, exactly? I can understand posting one. I was in Starbucks, I saw someone cute, so I posted on CL, etc.

But then how does the cute person in Starbucks find out? Do people actually read these ads on the off chance someone noticed them the day before? Do people ever actually connect?


I've wondered the same thing. Out of all the people who post on missed connections, I wonder how many ever hear from the person they're seeking. I'd be surprised if it was even close to one percent.

I think missed connections is really just an emotional outlet. "I saw someone hot that I can't get out of my mind. I need to do SOMETHING. I guess I'll post a missed connection."
posted by grumblebee at 2:10 PM on January 9, 2009


(For the last two weeks, if it were still November.)
posted by mendel at 2:15 PM on January 9, 2009


I thought the point of it was to rag on your spouse every time he or she goes for groceries alone.

"Hot bear in a brown shirt at the 3rd Street Trader Joe's last night, honey! The cashier must've wanted you bad, not that I can blame him."
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 2:18 PM on January 9, 2009


Oregon Translation Key (note: Oregonians don't miss people at their homes.)

M4M: Silverado, Portland Oregon. It's the local gay strip club, frequented mostly by gay men with the occasional bachelor-ette party from the suburbs thrown in.

M4W: New Seasons, In and around Portland, Oregon. It's a locally owned grocery chain, akin to a cheaper, smaller, friendlier, better stocked WholeFoods. New Seasons is frequented by everyone, so this makes sense.

W4M: Streets. We have many streets in Portland, Oregon, and a few in the rest of the state as well. They are mostly well maintained, dark in color, with various kinds of lines painted down the sides and middle. I'm not sure what men are doing on the streets that makes women notice them. Maybe it's a lost puppy thing.

W4W: Jupiter Hotel, Portland, Oregon. This is the local rock-n-roll hotel. It's attached to the Doug Fur Lounge and is a trendy hipster hangout (for those who do not believe in hipsters, just insert whatever term you use to describe kids in non-prescription glasses, tight, but low-riding jeans, ironic tee-shirts, and silly hats.) I had no idea this was where the women got their thing on for the other women.
posted by elwoodwiles at 2:21 PM on January 9, 2009


I've never quite understood missed connections. [ ... ] Do people actually read these ads on the off chance someone noticed them the day before? Do people ever actually connect?

I read the missed connections all the time. I've never found one about me (even though I am eminently miss-able, AND even though I'll periodically do keyword searches for places I frequent ... but perhaps I reveal too much?), but I did find a friend on there once. I forwarded him the ad, and he and the writer went out on a date.
posted by delayed-reaction android at 2:21 PM on January 9, 2009


Jupiter Hotel, Portland, Oregon. This is the local rock-n-roll hotel. It's attached to the Doug Fur Lounge and is a trendy hipster hangout

To be fair, it thinks it's a trendy hipster hangout, but it's mostly just where suburbanites who wish they were trendy hipsters hang out.
posted by dersins at 2:27 PM on January 9, 2009


I never heard of this 'missed connections' thing before, but damn does it look like fun to read!
posted by Green With You at 2:28 PM on January 9, 2009


I never heard of this 'missed connections' thing before, but damn does it look like fun to read!

It gets really great (at least the Cleveland/Akron one) between 8 p.m. and 2 or 3 a.m. on the weekends. Casual Encounters can be quite amusing as well.
posted by vkxmai at 2:40 PM on January 9, 2009


M4W: New Seasons, In and around Portland, Oregon. It's a locally owned grocery chain, akin to a cheaper, smaller, friendlier, better stocked WholeFoods. New Seasons is frequented by everyone, so this makes sense.

I see a lot of pining for New Seasons employees in the CL missed connections. This is because they are remarkably easy on the eyes. Makes shopping fun! Distracting, but fun.
posted by medeine at 3:44 PM on January 9, 2009


Note to self: next time I'm in Boston and looking for love, I should just ride around on public transportation all day. The T was the winner in all categories!
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 3:54 PM on January 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


freshwater_pr0n: Note to self: next time I'm in Boston and looking for love, I should just ride around on public transportation all day. The T was the winner in all categories!

Yes, but which line?
posted by not_on_display at 4:28 PM on January 9, 2009


I knew a cute girl who found herself in these things several times. She never answered them, though.
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:05 PM on January 9, 2009


I have missed connections almost every time I go to Trader Joe's. My friend has called me from there once or twice to have me remind him if he was there to get groceries or meet women.
posted by rbf1138 at 6:04 PM on January 9, 2009


No surprise that Vermont is Higher Ground.
posted by k8t at 6:34 PM on January 9, 2009


It might interest some of you to know that these are done by the author of Cat And Girl.
posted by migurski at 6:46 PM on January 9, 2009


Yes, but which line?

I vote for the Red Line. Harvard and MIT, and lots of shy geeky sorts who'd rather post a missed connection.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 7:08 PM on January 9, 2009


I sat next to you on the bus to work [oh shit, freak alert]. You smiled and looked away coyly [don't make eye contact with the crazy]. I told you my life story and you looked interested [didn't take out restraining order]. We shared so much before your stop [three stops earlier than actual destination], but I didn't get your name [no shit].
posted by BrotherCaine at 9:23 PM on January 9, 2009 [3 favorites]


Actually, unless I'm reading it wrong, it looks like lesbians in Massachusetts hate the T, preferring to instead miss each other at Trader Joe's. Bizarre.
posted by Kosh at 9:24 PM on January 9, 2009


It would be hooters, wouldn't it? I hate that place.
posted by dead cousin ted at 9:47 PM on January 9, 2009


Is it possible that "home" is short for "Home Depot"?
posted by casarkos at 9:53 PM on January 9, 2009


It's trying too hard to be cute, and it's not a useful report. Don't use grpahics when text would work better.

Incidentally, I posted to MC and one time got a date out of it, so it works. But it's highly luck dependent. Not enough people read the MC.
posted by wastelands at 10:03 PM on January 9, 2009


Given the layout, and the other locations, I'm guessing "Home" is "Home Depot". Seems to show up more in the W4M and W4W categories, for what its worth.
posted by AppleSeed at 4:16 AM on January 10, 2009


nthing Home Depot.
posted by fixedgear at 6:34 AM on January 10, 2009


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