Recently, an offshoot of Match.com is taking a "scientific" approach to matchmaking by introduced Chemistry.com.
As a matter of fact, we know dating is a drag, find the right date or even a long-term relationship or marriage minded partner is even hard. There was a time when we thought the computer was going to make it all better. As a result, one out of every 100 Internet users now posts a personal ad. But most of us learned the hard way that finding someone who shares our love of film noir and obscure garage bands does not a perfect match make. So why not try science instead? In other words, can the length of your index finger or your ability to judge spatial relationships land you Mr. or Ms. Right? That's what Chemistry.com is coming to help.
So you have your doubts about it, is it working? You won't know until you give it a try for free. On Oct. 11, 2005, the largest online dating site on the Internet, Match.com, launched Chemistry.com, a new service that attempts to use neuroscience to come up with the ideal match for its subscribers. The centerpiece is a lengthy questionnaire designed by Helen Fisher, an anthropologist at Rutgers University whose recent book, Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love, lays out the biology behind our romantic choices. Answer the questions, pay your subscription fee, and Match.com promises to grace your inbox with possibilities.
So how does Chemistry.com do its magic? By studying brain scans and behavioral studies, Fisher theorizes that the type of person who can ring your bell is hard-wired into your neurons. Embedded in each of our brains is a "love map," she says, that guides our choice of a mate. Chemistry.com's questions are meant to decipher that map. It then runs each profile through a proprietary computer algorithm to find that special someone who will light up your neurons.
Chemistry.com is the latest in a series of online profiling services. Fast-growing dating sites like eHarmony.com, True.com, and PerfectMatch.com require subscribers to spend up to an hour filling out questionnaires. EHarmony even rejects potential subscribers whose profiles don't meet their mainstream criteria. Ouch.
Dating sites can't be too choosy, though. Although some 22 million Americans subscribe to online dating sites, Jupiter Research estimates that industry revenues will total a relatively modest $500 million this year. And with many users tiring of constantly searching through ads for "The one," growth is slowing dramatically -- to 9% annually, from 19% in 2004 and 77% in 2003.
To find more about Chemistry.com, click below:
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Find a Better Lover Through Chemistry?
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Match.com Review
Match.com is one of the oldest (and most popular) dating sites online. And throughout the years, Match.com has continued to improve its service, versus remaining stagnant like its sister site, Udate.
Match.com is extremely rich in features, although many of those features will cost you extra money beyond your subscription.
The results Match.com provides are very clean and well organized. When you search, there are 10 results returned on each page, each in its own frame, allowing you to see the person's username, age, location, age of who they are seeking, subject header, and description. In addition, you have the option to send an email, chat (if the person is online), wink at the person, leave a voicemail for the person, or add the person to your favorites.
One of the best things about the search results is that Match.com allows users to state the age range of who they are seeking. This is prominently displayed in the search results. So hopefully this helps filter out a 23 year old female (seeking someone 20-29) from getting messages from 55 year old men. More sites need to use this feature.
I really like how Match.com handles the communication phase. When you go to send an email to someone, a very user friendly email screen pops up that shows the picture of the person and what they said about themselves (so you can refer to it as you write). But the big winner on this screen is the "What to say: seven terrific tips" that gives the writer insight into making a stronger impact with an opening email message.
Another interesting thing about Match.com is that after you send an email to a member, Match.com shows you a list of other members whose profiles were like the one of the person you just emailed. This reminds me of Amazon.com, which gives you a list of similar books to the one you just ordered. My first time seeing this, I had mixed feelings. My interest was in the person I was emailing and suddenly I'm shown other "similar" ones. It's a nice feature, although I personally like to just communicate with just a few people at a time.
The keyword search really sets Match.com apart from other services. I love this feature. The way it works is you type in a word or interest and the system searches matches where the other person has mentioned that in their profile. Here's a tip, though. When typing in more than one word, use quotes. For example, when I searched "roller coaster" (and didn't use quotes), it returned results about roller skating and roller blading. But when you use quotes around your search term then it searches for that specific match. Match.com takes this feature further by allowing you to designate and age range, location range, and whether to only return results with photos. This is a perfect way to find people near you who share a major passion. For example, let's say you love swing dancing. Type in "swing dancing" as your keyword, set your other parameters and soon you'll be presented with profiles of people near you who have specifically mentioned swing dancing.
Match.com also includes a personality survey and quizlets that help you get to know yourself better. Called "self-discovery," these quizlets are easy to take and the results are fun to view. And there are dozens of quizlets - everything from "are you snob?" to "is your honey high maintenance?"
Conclusion
Match.com has more features than any other online dating service. Also, I can't say enough about its keyword search. In many ways, Match.com is setting the standard for other online dating services to follow. But success sometimes comes with a price. With Match.com that price is that there are too many people. And when you have so many people, the physically attractive ones seem to get all the attention - and quite a bit! So for someone who keeps in shape and has an awesome personality, but doesn't look like a model, finding results may be a little more difficult.
Match.com is definitely the best of the "see 'em and pick 'em" type online dating services, but it has a little ways to go to present other forms of strongly matching people, like eHarmony presents. But then again, that may not be their goal, just as it isn't the goal of eHarmony to allow you to see all users signed up on its service - only ones that match you in great detail.
Pros - Cons
well known - too many ads
a lot of people - too many people
real life events - lots of charges for extras
nice personality matching - must sign up to respond
BlackSingles.com Review
Are you looking for a specific ethnicity to date? Look no further than Blacksingles.com, the place to go and find beautiful black ladies or handsome black men! They have an extensive listing of profiles of people of African American descent. The site is at least six years old, but a specific launch date is not divulged. Overall, the site is fast and extremely easy to navigate. Profiles are thorough and offer many details about a person and their life. Multiple photos can be uploaded for each profile, but only one will be shown to basic members. The pictures that are posted are of decent size - you can actually see what a person looks like!
Before you create a profile, you get a limited search of their member profiles. Two pages of thumbnail pictures with basic details such as city, age and state came up. In order to view the answers to the full profile, you have to create your own. There are many features open to members of Blacksingles.com The membership is listed in the thousands but not with a specific number. They do have an extensive testimonial page with lots of success stories.
Membership types / cost - FREE basic, premium memberships
Geographic Regions covered - US
Site Features - messaging, chat, photos, message boards, cards and ice breakers
Browse without signup - yes/limited data
Services offered / Relationships types - matchmaking, dating for straight African American singles or persons looking for relationships
Target age groups - Adult
Special offers - NA
Male / Female ratio - NA
Year established - circa 1998
Adult content? No
Approx number members - thousands
Site Languages - English
