eHarmony is a venture capital-funded,^[1] marriage-oriented matchmaking website. The company advertises through television and the Internet and requires users to complete a detailed compatibility questionnaire. eHarmony was co-founded by Dr. Neil Clark Warren and his son-in-law, former commercial real estate developer Greg Forgatch. Forgatch was eHarmony's founding CEO and President, while Warren is its Chairman of the Board. Dr. Warren's wife, Marylyn, handled eHarmony's PR for several years, but retired in 2005. Greg Waldorf^[2] is the current CEO, while Greg Steiner is the current President and COO^[3]. The vision behind the company is not simply to create marriages, but to create happy marriages by using scientific research to unite compatible individuals.^[4] eHarmony's services are selective. A private company is a company that is independently owned. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Marriage is an interpersonal relationship with governmental, social, or religious recognition, usually intimate and sexual, and often created as a contract, or through civil process. ... This page refers to human matchmakers, for modern matchmaking which tends to substitute information technology or game-like rules for the experts finesse see dating system. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Advert redirects here. ... A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. ... Neil Clark Warren is chairman and co-founder of the online dating service eHarmony. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... “Chief executive” redirects here. ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. ... The phrase Chairman of the Board has several meanings: Chairman of the Board is the term used to denote the leader of a corporations board of directors. ... // The term Public Relations was first used by the US President Thomas Jefferson during his address to Congress in 1807. ... “Chief executive” redirects here. ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. ... A Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a corporate officer responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the corporation. ...

Founding and funding

eHarmony was founded in 2000 with $3 million of Series A funding from Fayez Sarofim & Co. and individual investors.^[5] Dr. Warren, an evangelical Christian with strong ties to the conservative Christian community, attributes much of the initial success of eHarmony to its being promoted through James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio show.^[6] In 2005 eHarmony sought to distance itself from Dobson and Focus on the Family, largely in an effort to broaden the market share of Warren's books and that of eHarmony according to Warren.^[7] After Warren publicly distanced himself from Focus on the Family and purchased back the copyright from his earlier books from the organization, Dobson told his radio audience on May 26th, 2005, "I introduced Dr. Warren and his books — and eHarmony, more recently — to our listeners specifically because he was and it was decidedly Christian in nature," ... "Dr. Warren is anxious to change that direction. So ... we will go our separate ways ... with reluctance and regret."^[8] Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The word evangelicalism often refers to... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The Christian... For other people with the surname Dobson, see Dobson (surname). ... The graphic identity of Focus on the Family is intended to recall old time traditional values. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The graphic identity of Focus on the Family is intended to recall old time traditional values. ... [1]#redirect Book ... The copyright symbol is used to give notice that a work is covered by copyright. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the physical universe. ...

In 2004 eHarmony received the fourth largest venture capital investment of that year from two California-based companies, Sequoia Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures (Lee, 2004). The investment of $110 million is expected to fund eHarmony's branding process, which includes heavy advertising, and also to provide cash payments to the founders and 114 other individuals associated with the company (Rivlin, 2005). ^{[9] [10]} Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Venture capital is a general term to describe financing for startup and early stage businesses as well as businesses in turn around situations. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm founded by Don Valentine in 1972. ... For other uses, see Brand (disambiguation). ...

eHarmony's "Singles Program"

Methodology

eHarmony's services are geared toward those looking for a long term relationship. Dr. Warren's goal is to reduce the divorce rate in America to less than 10% (it is estimated to be 40-50%). ^[11] Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. ...

The company claims to be the Internet's number one paid matchmaking service based upon marriages per match. It has rather strict limitations, which Dr. Warren states are solely based on over 35 years of research into successful marriages. Factors "which may limit a user from experiencing eHarmony's matchmaking service to the fullest" include: still being married, seeking a same sex partner, three or more previous failed marriages resulting in divorce, severe depression and being under the age of 21. These users are immediately disqualified with extended support from the complete profile.^[clarify] eHarmony still extends their community forum, newsletters and customer care to these registrants. On the Threshold of Eternity. ... A community is a social group of organisms sharing an environment, normally with shared interests. ...

Barring disqualification from the above mentioned criteria, a user who completes an initial personality analysis survey (essentially a personality test developed by Dr. Galen Buckwalter, Director of Research at eHarmony) may then specify a number of additional criteria, "self selects" by which to create a more accurate potential pool of recommended matches. Among the criteria available for the user's specificity are self selected age range, ethnicity, religious affiliation, geographical vicinity, and maternity/paternity status (children living with/children living away/no children). In conjunction with the 258-question relationship questionnaire, this is how all of the matches are delivered. One significant scoring factor is what may be called the honesty factor. This is a psychological profiling technique designed to score the relative honesty of the respondent. This factor is apparently considered by eHarmony as a significant factor in arriving at a good match. Contrary to many other matchmaking services, the user is not allowed to browse through profiles or choose potential matches themselves, and must rely completely on the eHarmony service itself to arrange potential matches. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

It is also interesting to note that users are not permitted to choose matches based on marriage "experience" (i.e., divorced/widowed) as with other sites. While matches can be presumed to be currently unmarried (as eHarmony only offers matching services to legally single people) there is no option by which a "never-married" user could choose to only receive "never-married" matches, or a widower could request to be matched with a widow, etc.

eHarmony states that 20%, or 1 in 5 respondents are not able to predict with whom the user would best be matched. Such respondents are told that they do not fit "rigid profiles" of personality type.

Compatibility research

eHarmony's research methods and its models for compatibility matching have not been submitted to any peer-reviewed journals for evaluation and publication. However, eHarmony's research director, Dr. Steve Carter, Ph.D. did present a paper at the 2004, 16th annual American Psychological Society (APS) meeting. In the paper presented, Carter compared eHarmony couples married for more than 5 years with a control group, using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), a measure of couple satisfaction. The results showed that "Over 90% of eHarmony couples had marriage quality scores which were above average when compared to couples who had begun their relationships elsewhere. eHarmony couples were more than twice as likely to be in highly successful marriages than non-eHarmony couples... Not only are eHarmony couples 35% more likely than other married couples to report that they enjoy spending time together, but we found they are nearly twice as likely to report that their marriages are "extremely happy" or better versus other recently married couples." ^[12] Peer review (known as refereeing in some academic fields) is a scholarly process used in the publication of manuscripts and in the awarding of funding for research. ... Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. ... The American Psychological Society (APS) is a society for scientific psychology, whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of human welfare. ...

eHarmony's selection of a model for statistically choosing the factors to be included in their questionnaires was made using couples who scored in the top quartile of the DAS measure. The use of the DAS to measure outcomes may present a methodological flaw in establishing validity, because the DAS is not independent of eHarmony's models. Using an independent measure of satisfaction would be more convincing. However, eHarmony appears to be the only "matching" service online that has actually conducted either predictive or post hoc research using married couples to create or validate their methods. In fact, this use of empirical data from married couples to create a system for matching singles online is the core of eHarmony's patent (U.S. Patent No. 6,735,568). In psychometrics a valid measure is one which is measuring what it is supposed to measure. ... For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ...

eHarmony's "Marriage Program"

In early 2006 eHarmony released a new Marriage Program designed to assist married couples to enrich their current relationship, or to try to help rescue marriages that may be in distress. In some ways this program is similar to eHarmony's Singles Program, involving questionnaires concerning communication, romance, sex and other topics. A computerized psychological profiling process is another already familiar aspect of the new Marriage Program. The program also offers a series of 12 online videos offering advice and guidance on various topics related to some of the most common types of marital concerns. The price for eHarmony's 'Marriage Program' ranges between $75 and $239, depending on how many program services may or may not be purchased. The first online video is free.^{[13] [14] [15]}

Criticism

This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (October 2007)

Once consumers sign up for a one-month trial, eHarmony continues charging month after month. Consumers who think they are signing up for one month are finding they will continue to be charged and eHarmony will not refund the extra months charged to consumers. Other negative comments in various web forums include: Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...

• Very strict refund policy or they will reply after the refund period has expired.
• Various problems relating to the matching mechanism used, such as:^[16]
  • Failure to provide same- sex matching options (more below)
• After answering a 258 question profile, they are rejected because:^[17]
  • They are already married (30%);
  • They are under the minimum age of 21 (27%);
  • They provide inconsistent answers during the profile (9%)
• Dissatisfaction with speed and scripted email replies of the site's help desk.
• The procedure to unsubscribe as a paying member is complex and leads to errors or undesired credit card charges. Some complain the procedure is unfair or misleading.^[18]

eHarmony, claims to have "16 million 'registered' members," of those 16 million, they claim that they cannot state how many (numbers or a percentage) of those were "active" members, e.g. fees paying/account currently open to be able to communicate with others.

No Same-Sex Matching Options

Critics note that eHarmony does not provide options for gay and lesbian people seeking a same-sex match.^[19] Dr. Warren claims that eHarmony lacks enough data to successfully match gay and lesbian couples. He also states that because same-sex marriage is illegal in most states, eHarmony "doesn't really want to participate in something that's illegal." Dr. Warren further claims he hopes that homosexuals will find good matches, and claims to have assisted entrepreneurs looking to build a same-sex site similar to eHarmony; however, he declined to reveal the name of the site whose creators he advised.^[20] GAY can mean: Gay, a term referring to homosexual men or women The IATA code for Gaya Airport Category: ... This article is about same-sex desire and sexuality among women. ... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ... GAY can mean: Gay, a term referring to homosexual men or women The IATA code for Gaya Airport Category: ... This article is about same-sex desire and sexuality among women. ... One of four newly wedded same-sex couples in a public wedding at Taiwan Pride 2006. ... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ...

2007 lawsuit

On May 31, 2007 eHarmony was sued in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, who tried to use the site's services, when Ms. Carlson was denied service because she was looking for a same sex match.^[21] She wrote to eHarmony asserting its policy was discriminatory under California law. is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

References and footnotes

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For information on Wikipedia press releases, see Wikipedia:Press releases. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For information on Wikipedia press releases, see Wikipedia:Press releases. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• The official eHarmony Homepage
• The eHarmony contact information page