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Encyclopedia > Online dating service

Online dating or Internet dating is an example of a dating system and allows individuals, couples and groups to meet online and possibly develop a romantic or sexual relationship. Net dating services provide un-moderated matchmaking through the use of personal computers, the Internet, or even cell phones. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 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. ... The tower of a personal computer. ... Cellular redirects here. ...


Such services generally allow people to provide personal information, then search for other individuals using criteria such as age range, gender and location. Most sites allow members to upload photos of themselves and browse the photos of others. Sites may offer additional services, such as webcasts, online chat, and message boards. Sites sometimes allow people to register for free but may offer services which require a monthly fee. A webcast is a media file distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology. ... Online chat can refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, but is primarily meant to refer to direct one-on-one chat or text-based group chat (formally also known as synchronous conferencing), using tools such as instant messaging applications—computer programs, Internet Relay Chat, talkers and possibly... An Internet forum, also known as a message board or discussion board, is a web application that provides for online discussions, and is the modern descendant of the bulletin board systems and existing Usenet news systems that were widespread in the 1980s and 1990s. ...


Many sites are broad-based, with members from a variety of backgrounds looking for different types of relationships. Other sites are more specific, based on the type of members, interests, location, or relationship desired.

Contents

Trends

U.S. residents spent $469.5 million on online dating and personals in 2004, and over $500 million in 2005, the second largest segment of “paid content” on the web, according to a study conducted by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and comScore Networks.


At the end of November 2004, there were 844 lifestyle and dating sites, a 38 percent increase since the start of the year, according to Hitwise Inc. However, market share was increasingly being dominated by several large commercial services, including Yahoo! Personals, Match.com, and eHarmony. Former eHarmony CEO and son-in-law to founder Dr. Neil Clark Warren -the guy in the commercials, Greg Forgatch noted that despite the growing number of sites catering to specific niches, "to become a major player, it still takes a large number of people." By 2007, many prominent studies show that Baby Boomer interest in online dating had soared. [1] A Screenshot of Yahoo! Personals shows ads Yahoo! Personals is a dating service provided by Yahoo!. The site lets people post ads for free, and offers a premier service. ... The logo of Match. ... eHarmony is a venture capital-funded,[1] marriage-oriented matchmaking website. ... For the video game, see Baby Boomer (video game). ...


In 2002, a Wired magazine article forecast that, "Twenty years from now, the idea that someone looking for love without looking for it online will be silly, akin to skipping the card catalog to instead wander the stacks because 'the right books are found only by accident.' Serendipity is the hallmark of inefficient markets, and the marketplace of love, like it or not, is becoming more efficient" [2]. Also see: 2002 (number). ... Wired is a full-color monthly magazine and on-line periodical published in San Francisco, California since March 1993. ...


Of late, it is common to see online dating websites providing webcam chats between members to make dating even more convenient than ever. In addition, as the online dating population becomes larger, sites with specific demographics are becoming more popular as a way to narrow the pool of potential matches. According to online personals expert Mark Brooks from onlinepersonalswatch.com, online dating sites are adding features including handwriting analysis to match like-minded mates too.[3]


He also stated that most successful niche sites pair people by race, sexual orientation or religion.[4] The 20 most popular dating sites this year as ranked by Hitwise include JDate (for Jewish singles), Christian Mingle and Christian Cafe, Manhunt (for gay men), Love From India, Black Christian People Meet, Amigos (for Latino singles), Asian People Meet, and Shaadi (for Indian singles). [4] In March 2008, the top 5 overall sites held 7% less market share than they did one year ago while the top sites from the top five major niche dating categories made considerable gains. [5] JDate is an online dating service aimed at Jewish singles. ... Look up manhunt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...


One of the hottest trends is the Babyboomers on the top dating sites. Around 30% of America's 80 million Baby Boomers are single.[6]


Virtual Dating

According to Scientific American, Virtual Dating is "the next step in online dating" (Feb/March 2007, p.35) [7]. Scientific American is a popular-science magazine, published (first weekly and later monthly) since August 28, 1845, making it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ...


Virtual Dating combines online dating with online gaming. Through the use of avatars, singles interact in a virtual venue that resembles a real life dating environment. For example, individuals can meet and chat in a romantic virtual cafe in Paris or on a Caribbean resort.


A Time Magazine article entitled "Internet Dating 2.0" was published on January 19, 2007 citing current and upcoming technologies and explains how people can now connect in a virtual dating environment. Time describes how websites are allowing people to meet for an avatar based, graphically enabled virtual date without leaving their homes. [8] (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ...


According to NBC [9] and TIME[10], OmniDate is one example of virtual dating. This article is about the television network. ... This article is about the concept of time. ...


Researchers at MIT and Harvard have found that "people who had had a chance to interact with each other (by computer only) on a virtual tour of a museum subsequently had more successful face-to-face meetings than people who had viewed only profiles." [11]


Problems with Online Dating Services

There can be a variety of problems when utilizing online dating sites.

  • Some sites expect members to sign up "blind," meaning that users have no preview of the profiles they will get to see. eHarmony is one example of this kind of site. On other services, some profiles are not actually real people, but "bait" that has been placed there by the site owners to attract new paying members. Both Yahoo Personals and Match.com have received several complaints of using this tactic. Some users spam sites with "fake" profiles that are in reality advertisements to other services, such as prostitution, multi-level marketing, or other personals websites. A majority of dating sites keep profiles online for months or even years since the last time the person has logged in, thereby making it seem as though they have more available members than they actually do. Many sites offer the option to sort search results based on activity, however.
  • Most members are enticed to join dating websites with free or low-priced "trial" memberships advertised on many other websites. These trial memberships lack many of the features of the full membership, including the ability to contact other members or reply to e-mail from other members. On sites which require credit card information to join at all, these trial memberships may automatically become full memberships at the end of the trial period and charge the full monthly fee, without any additional action from the member, regardless of whether the member has actually used the services or not. For paying members, it is often unclear whether a potential contact has a full subscription and whether he or she will be able to reply at all. There are still, however, a few established free dating sites that allow users to reply to messages, among them: DateHookup.com and MatchDoctor.com. Niche sites cater to people with special interests (e.g. sports fans, nerds), professions, political preferences, conditions (e.g. HIV+, obese), religions (e.g. Jewish), racing and automotive fans such as RacersDating.com [3], or even logistics (e.g. rural farm communities such as FarmersOnly.com).
  • Some members have expressed complaints about the billing practices of certain dating sites. In some cases, trial memberships that were canceled within the trial period were automatically re-billed even after canceling. To avoid these potential problems, some users have advised using a virtual credit card number which is offered by several credit card companies.
  • Even when members' profiles are "real", there is still an inherent lack of trust with other members. Many members misrepresent themselves by telling flattering 'white lies' about their height, weight, age, or by using old and misleading photos. Members can, of course, ask for an up-to-date photograph before meeting others. Matrimonials Sites are a variant of online dating sites, and these are geared towards meeting people for the purpose of getting married. Gross misrepresentation is less likely on these sites than on 'casual dating' sites. Casual dating sites are often geared more towards short term (and implicitly sexual) relationships.
  • Online predators find online dating sites especially attractive, because such sites give them an unending supply of new targets of opportunity for Internet fraud. A recent study, led by Dr. Paige Padgett from the University of Texas Health Science Center, found that there was a false degree of safety assumed by women looking for love on the internet, exposing them to stalking, fraud, and sexual violence.[12] Some online dating sites conduct background checks on their members in an attempt to avoid problems of this nature.
  • On any given dating site, the sex ratio is commonly unbalanced. For example, eHarmony's membership is about 58% female and 42% male, whereas the ratio at Match.com is about the reverse of that. When you get into the specialty niche websites such as RacersDating.com where the primary demographic is male, you typically get a very unbalanced ratio of male to female or female to male.[13]
  • Disreputable sites such as Quechup may harvest users' personal information and contacts for use in e-mail spam.[14]

Multi-level marketing (MLM), also known as Network Marketing is a business distribution model that allows a parent multi-level marketing company to market their products directly to consumers by means of relationship referral and direct selling. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... An online predator is an Internet user who exploits vulnerable people, usually for sexual or financial purposes. ... The term Internet fraud generally refers to any type of fraud scheme that uses one or more online services - such as chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, or Web sites - to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial... Quechup is a controversial social networking website that used automatic spamming of invitations to the entire list of e-mail addresses in the address book of people who signed up to their service. ... E-mail spam, also known as bulk e-mail or junk e-mail is a subset of spam that involves sending nearly identical messages to numerous recipients by e-mail. ...

Discrimination

Gay rights groups have complained that certain websites that restrict their dating services to heterosexual couples are discriminating against homosexuals. This is most often taking place among Christian dating sites or sites run by Christians that do not support homosexual relationships. The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ...


eHarmony was sued in 2007 by a lesbian claiming that, "Such outright discrimination is hurtful and disappointing for a business open to the public in this day and age," [15] eHarmony is a venture capital-funded,[1] marriage-oriented matchmaking website. ... This article is about same-sex desire and sexuality among women. ...


Many sites require members specify themselves as "male" or "female", complicating matters for intersexed and transgendered individuals. An intersexual is a person (or individual of any unisexual species) who is born with genitalia and/or secondary sexual characteristics of indeterminate sex, or which combine features of both sexes. ... Transgender is generally used as a catch-all umbrella term for a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups centered around the full or partial reversal of gender roles; however, compare other definitions below. ...


There have been some sites that have been created due to this discrimination like myPartner to service these type of individuals.


United States government regulation of online dating services

US government regulation of dating services began with the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) [16] which took effect in March 2007 after a federal judge in Georgia upheld a challenge from the dating site European Connections. The law requires internationally oriented dating services to conduct, among other procedures, sex offender checks on US customers before communication can occur with a foreigner.


New Jersey became the first state to enact a law requiring the sites to disclose whether they perform background checks.[17]


Pop culture

  • You've Got Mail, a 1998 film in which the two protagonists conduct a relationship entirely over email before meeting each other.
  • Napoleon Dynamite, a 2003 film in a which one subplot involves a central character's online (and later physical) relationship.
  • Euro Trip, a 2004 film in which the central character has a relationship wholly via email with a girl from Berlin
  • Must Love Dogs, a 2005 film about two people trying to find love through online dating.
  • Another Gay Movie, a 2006 film where a student finds his high school English teacher online.
  • "Because I Said So", a 2007 film in which a mother creates an online dating profile for her daughter.
  • Jewtopia, a play which revolves around Jewish dating service, JDate.
  • Pomme C, a 2007 song by Calogero, the title refers to the Apple keyboard shortcut (⌘ Cmd+C)

Youve Got Mail is an American romantic comedy released in 1998 by Warner Brothers. ... This article is about the movie. ... EuroTrip is a 2004 American comedy film about a group of young Americans and their adventures traveling around Europe. ... Must Love Dogs film poster Must Love Dogs is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Gary David Goldberg. ... Another Gay Movie is a 2006 feature film, directed by Todd Stephens, humorously and satirically exploring gay coming of age through the lives of four gay male friends. ... Because I Said So is a 2002 Canadian talk show television series hosted by former lawyer, stand-up comedian, and actress Maggie Cassella. ... Jewtopia is a comic play written by and starring Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson currently running off-Broadway in New York City. ... JDate is an online dating service aimed at Jewish singles. ...

See also

Dating coaches offer their services to men and women who want to improve their success in dating and relationships. ... The term Internet fraud generally refers to any type of fraud scheme that uses one or more online services - such as chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, or Web sites - to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Online chat can refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, but is primarily meant to refer to direct one-on-one chat or text-based group chat (formally also known as synchronous conferencing), using tools such as instant messaging applications—computer programs, Internet Relay Chat, talkers and possibly... An online predator is an Internet user who exploits vulnerable people, usually for sexual or financial purposes. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Matchmaker. ... A Screenshot of Yahoo! Personals shows ads Yahoo! Personals is a dating service provided by Yahoo!. The site lets people post ads for free, and offers a premier service. ...

References

  1. ^ SouthCoastToday.com: No need to whisper. Meeting online is OK
  2. ^ Wired 10.11: VIEW
  3. ^ Science of love. Chicago Tribune Red Eye. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  4. ^ a b Let’s Say You Want to Date a Hog Farmer. New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-04-28.
  5. ^ Niche Dating Sites Grow Steadily As Mainstream Ones Flail. Tech Crunch. Retrieved on 2006-04-24.
  6. ^ The hottest trends in online dating. Network World. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
  7. ^ The Truth about Online Dating: Scientific American
  8. ^ Internet Dating 2.0 - TIME
  9. ^ Virtual Dating Is Catching On - News - Turnto10
  10. ^ Internet Dating 2.0 - TIME
  11. ^ The Truth about Online Dating: Scientific American
  12. ^ http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/MagArticle.cfm?Article=748 Look Who’s Googling: New acquaintances and secret admirers may already know all about you
  13. ^ [1] Accessed 21 November 2007
  14. ^ Social network launches worldwide spam campaign E-consultancy.com, Accessed 10 September 2007
  15. ^ Woman sues eHarmony for discrimination - USATODAY.com
  16. ^ [2]PDF (96.2 KiB)
  17. ^ ‘‘ Online dating squabbles over background checks’’ at CNN. Retrieved on February 13, 2008.

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 114th day of the year (115th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 114th day of the year (115th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... “PDF” redirects here. ... A kibibyte (a contraction of kilo binary byte) is a unit of information or computer storage, commonly abbreviated KiB (never kiB). 1 kibibyte = 210 bytes = 1,024 bytes The kibibyte is closely related to the kilobyte, which can be used either as a synonym for kibibyte or to refer to... is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links


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