Christian Rudder

Rudder graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1993. He attended Harvard University, graduating with a degree in mathematics in 1998.{{Cite web|title=Christian Rudder {{!}} Penguin Random House|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/165890/christian-rudder|access-date=2021-07-28|website=PenguinRandomhouse.com|language=en-US}}

Rudder joined SparkNotes in October 1999, a few months after its founding. Rudder was the creative voice of TheSpark.com,{{cite web| last1=Silverman| first1=Rachel| title=How fat can you get?|url=http://www.salon.com/2000/11/14/fatproject/ |website=Salon.com | date=15 November 2000|accessdate=22 October 2014}} which was the viral content arm of SparkNotes during the site's early rise to popularity. He became TheSpark's creative director in March 2001. Soon after the site's sale to Barnes & Noble, Rudder and the SparkNotes founders (Chris Coyne, Sam Yagan, and Max Krohn) left and began working on OkCupid, a dating site. OkCupid launched in February 2004.

Rudder was a co-founder of OkCupid. In the years immediately following the site's creation, he worked on the front-end product and developed the site's editorial voice.{{Cite web|url=https://blog.mixpanel.com/2016/08/16/christian-rudder-on-okcupid-user-data-and-the-impending-ai-takeover/|title=Christian Rudder on OkCupid, user data, and the impending AI takeover|date=2016-08-16|website=Mixpanel|access-date=2017-08-29}} From 2009 - 2011, OkCupid published statistical observations and analysis of members' preferences and connections; the blog posts were written by Rudder and gained widespread media attention.{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3047936/okcupid-relaunches-oktrends-dating-blog/|title=OkCupid Brings Back Blog Chronicling Online Daters' Fascinating Habits|last=Stampler|first=Laura|magazine=Time|date=28 July 2014 |access-date=2017-08-29}} In February 2011, OkCupid was sold to IAC, the owner of Match.com and other dating properties, for $90 million.{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/sam-yagan-of-okcupid-building-an-empire/|title=Sam Yagan of OkCupid: How a Crazed Call Sparked a $90M Business {{!}} OPEN Forum|website=www.americanexpress.com|access-date=2017-08-29}} After the sale to IAC, Rudder assumed day-to-day control of OkCupid as President and General Manager until he left in 2015.{{Cite web|url=https://blog.mixpanel.com/2016/08/16/christian-rudder-on-okcupid-user-data-and-the-impending-ai-takeover/|title=Christian Rudder on OkCupid, user data, and the impending AI takeover|date=2016-08-16|website=Mixpanel|access-date=2017-08-29}}

Rudder expanded his writings for OkCupid into the non-fiction book Dataclysm, which became a New York Times Best Seller in September 2014 and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize that year, in the Science & Technology category.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/11/6132023/okcupid-data-blog-is-back-in-book-form|title=The OKCupid data blog is back, in book form|last=Osberg|first=Molly|date=2014-09-11|website=The Verge|access-date=2017-08-29}}{{Cite web|url=http://dataclysm.org/|title=Dataclysm|website=dataclysm.org|access-date=2017-08-29}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/central-library/los-angeles-times-book-prize-finalists-announced-0/|title=35th Annual Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalists Announced|website=www.lapl.org|language=en|access-date=2017-08-29}}

Rudder played guitar in the hardcore punk band Pissed Officers and indie rock group Bishop Allen, both with Justin Rice on bass and Rudder and Rice sharing songwriting and vocal duties.{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p559168/biography|title=Bishop Allen {{!}} Biography, Albums, Streaming Links {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=2017-08-29}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1655349&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1|title=ASCAP database|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826012346/http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300|archive-date=2009-08-26|url-status=dead}} On Bishop Allen's first three albums, Rudder played most of the instruments except drums and piano.[All three album's liner notes] Through Bishop Allen, Rudder has contributed to the soundtracks of the movies Saved, Sleepwalk with Me, No Strings Attached, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Bully, and several other smaller films and commercials.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1218815/|title=Christian Rudder|website=IMDb|access-date=2017-08-29}}

He appeared in Andrew Bujalski's film, Funny Ha Ha, as Alex, and appeared as himself in Peter Sollett's film, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Christian met his wife, Reshma Patel, at a concert in Boston. Patel ran a public relations firm. They married in 2006 and have a daughter together.{{cite news|first=Robbins|last=Liz|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/nyregion/how-christian-rudder-a-founder-of-okcupid-spends-his-sunday.html

|title=How Christian Rudder, a Founder of OKCupid, Spends His Sunday|work=The New York Times|date= February 13, 2015 |accessdate= February 10, 2019}}

They lived in the Williamsburg neighborhood of New York City for some time, but moved to Costa Rica in 2020.{{cite magazine|last1=Rus|first1=Mayer|title=Venture Inside This Eco-Conscious Costa Rica Home|date=2024-04-16|magazine=Architectural Digest|url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/venture-inside-this-eco-conscious-costa-rica-home|access-date=2025-03-30}}

{{cite book |last=Rudder |first=Christian |title=Dataclysm : Who We Are When We Think No One's Looking |date=2014|publisher=Crown Publishers}}Reviewed in: {{cite journal |author=Swain, Frank |date=October 11, 2014 |title=Algorithms are eating us up |journal=New Scientist |volume=224 |issue=2990 |pages=50|doi=10.1016/S0262-4079(14)61964-3 |bibcode=2014NewSc.224...50S }}

• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080604114724/http://www.bishopallen.com/ Bishop Allen]}} - Rudder's band.
• [http://blog.okcupid.com/ OkTrends], Rudder's blog on statistics derived from OkCupid's database.
• {{IMDb name|1218815}}
• [http://www.randomhouse.com/book/223045/dataclysm-by-christian-rudder Dataclysm], Rudder's book about big data and social science at Random House

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Category:American humorists

Category:Living people

Category:Harvard University alumni

Category:1975 births

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