The Latest Dating Sites Aren’t What You Think

Online dating sites are the future, right?

Well...maybe. If you ask Stephanie Rosenbloom, author of a new piece in the New York Times called "No Scrolling Required at New Dating Sites," that future may have already come and gone. The latest crop of dating sites aren't the kind of sites you find online at all - they're the kind of physical sites tourists travel to see in foreign countries, and the kind of sites that singles are now traveling to to meet potential dates for Saturday night.

Take "Me So Far," a monthly event in Chicago that gives attendees 6 minutes to create a presentation about themselves to around 6 dozen other eligible singles. Their presentations begin with stories about songs they love and experiences that have touched them, as well as slide shows of their refrigerator contents and taste in interior design. A happy hour is held after the miniature monologues are completed, during which daters who are sick of trying their luck online can meet each other in a newer, even more modern format.

"People were just sort of battle-weary from online dating," said Lakshmi Rengarajan, the advertising professional who founded Me So Far in an attempt to move away from the automated questions and scientific algorithms that have come to define online dating. "I think it's really important that we build spaces and places for people to meet that don't feel so data-driven or impersonal."

Now it seems the dating services that are climbing the ranks are a blend of retro dating fads, like in-person meetups for singles, and modern technology. There are singles parties so massive that they have to be organized on the Internet, and matchmakers who are relying on Klout scores in addition to intuition to pair up clients. The resurgence of face-to-face interactions is also clear in the rising popularity of location-based apps like Grindr, Blendr, Singles Around Me, and Skout.

As fascinating as new technology is, perhaps the old adage fits here - "Don't fix it if it ain't broke." Traditional dating methods have been working for...well...ever. Is adding layer upon layer of modern technology actually making things more complicated instead of less? And what's wrong with good old-fashioned friendly introductions, anyway?

Plenty of new dating services are asking those very questions, though the final answers remain to be seen. Read about some of the other up-and-coming dating services that are attempting to bridge the gap between dating's past and dating's future at the original article.