Spark Networks

Online dating launched and you thought “This couldn't get any more convenient.”

Then mobile dating apps happened, and you thought “Nevermind, this is the pinnacle of dating convenience.”

Soon, if Zoosk has a say, even dating on your smartphone might seem passé. The dating service is rolling out a smartwatch app that integrates with Android Wear technology to take convenience to the next level.

The app, available for download on the Google Play store, brings Zoosk’s Behavioral Matchmaking™ algorithm to the sleek smartwatch interface, offering wearers on-the-go access to potential matches throughout the day. For now the app is free to use for browsing potential matches, but a subscription fee is charged for access to premium features like messaging.

Online dating is hard. Dating is hard, period. What could be weirder than two total strangers trying to become not-total strangers? Let's just say the potential for comedic (and not so) mishaps is high.

With all that weirdness waiting to be unleashed at any second, it's no surprise we're desperate for any tip, trick, or nugget of wisdom that might stave it off. We've studied some seriously strange things in the name of cracking the online dating code, and although some are as weird as the weirdness they're trying to prevent, they're always interesting.

Check out a few unusual online dating facts below. You're bound to be surprised by at least one.

1. Men aren't into receiving short messages. Forget all the stereotypes about men hating it when women talk too much. A message from a woman to a man is 40% more likely to get a response if it's longer than a tweet (140 characters).
2. Men are, however, into women who make the first move. Women are 73% more likely to get a response if they mention “dinner,” “drinks,” or “lunch.” Speaking of stereotypes, maybe the one about “the quickest way to a man's heart” is true.
3. Online dating has a seasonal peak. The busiest time for online dating is between Christmas and Valentine's Day. According to Zoosk, the single most popular day is January 5, when 54% more people sign up.
4. There's an art to using smileys. Put aside emojis for a second and go back to the good old days of the classic smiley. If you send one with a nose :-), you're 13% more likely to get a response. If your smiley is lacking that key facial feature :), it's 66% less likely to get a message back.
5. Being active is attractive. Ok, maybe this one isn't so surprising, but it's still interesting. Wired made an infographic showing 380 of the 1,000 most commonly used words in profiles. Active, outdoorsy words like “surfing,” “skiing,” and “yoga” topped the list.
6. People actually prefer selfies. Joke about selfies all you want, but they're shockingly effective if you're looking for a date. A Zoosk study found that 84% of people favor selfies over formal profile pictures.
7. Too much online chit-chat can ruin a good thing. Because safety is a consideration when meeting a stranger over the Internet, you may think it's best to prolong the convo for as long as possible before meeting up in person. However, a 2013 study in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication suggests that too much communication could be problematic. The more you talk before a first date, the more time you have to idealize the person and the greater the risk of a letdown when you finally meet face-to-face.

Back in December of 2014 Zoosk abandoned their IPO and hired a new CEO Kelly Steckelberg. This month she did an interview with Fortune in which she discussed the future of the dating service and how she plans to turn it around.

Zoosk earned over $178 million and was profitable in 2013. In 2014 the company earned more than $200 million, but they again slipped into the red and lost money. For this reason they let go 15% of their staff and canceled the planned IPO.

With her eye on Zoosk being profitable again, this pass November Kelly switched Zoosk to a premium model. This means a subscription is now required for Zoosk members to send messages. It is still free to create a profile and search for other Zooskers though and this is the same model that other companies like Match.com, eHarmony and Christian Mingle uses. Zoosk also plans to introduce a number of other new features for their premium service to entice more users to pay. This includes a photo verification system and a badge to identify members who have been verified.

So far it appears the turn around of Zoosk (or at least the start of it) has been a success. Kelly Steckelberg says Zoosk will soon announced that the first quarter of 2015 was profitable.

For more on this dating service you can read our Zoosk review.

There's something magical about springtime. After a winter of hibernation, everyone is ready throw on shorts and venture outside for the first time in three months, blinking and stumbling into the light like survivors of a disaster movie.

Unless, like me, you live in New York City and spent your first day of spring cowering under a blanket, watching snow fall outside your window and cursing the weather gods. It's not all shorts and sundresses yet, but come May sunbathing in Central Park will feel that much more glorious.

For those of you who didn't just get pummeled by snow, the flowers are blooming and so is romance. New data from Zoosk suggests that online dating rates go up in spring, meaning “spring fever” might be a very real thing.

Zoosk's data scientists analyzed 9.6 million conversations, over 850,000 signups, and over 66 million member sessions in search of scientific evidence for spring fever. Is it real? Is it possible to quantify the condition? Do people date differently in spring compared to other seasons?

By comparing the data of Zoosk members from the first two weeks of spring to the data from a month prior, Zoosk claims to have found “conclusive evidence” that spring fever is indeed a real phenomenon.

It began with messages. Zoosk reports that 34% more first messages are sent daily during springtime. After months of online food orders and Netflix being our only companions, it appears spring brings out our desire to connect with other humans again. And it's not just about quantity. The messages sent during spring are also “deeper” - meaning that each user in the conversation sends at least two messages. 28% more messages started daily in spring meet the criteria.

Of course, in order to get to the talking part, people have to sign up in the first place. And they do. Zoosk discovered an 11% increase in daily registrations in spring.

It makes perfect sense when you stop to think about it. This is, after all, the season during which most of Mother Nature's creatures feel a little extra frisky. And it's much easier to find the motivation to dress up and go out when you don't run the risk of developing frostbite by doing so. Not to mention that the mind is much more inclined to wander when you're looking at short sleeves and skirts, rather than knee-length down coats, clunky snow boots, and balaclavas. Dress it up all you want, but “bank robber” is never a good look.

Now that Valentine’s Day is behind us, many will forget the flowers and pink hearts lining the stores. But they won’t stop dating.

In fact, there are more studies than ever about the state of dating today – starting with Match.com’s annual survey of singles across America. Match found that daters were pretty optimistic, especially guys. More men than women believe in love at first sight, (and more women than men are afraid of commitment). 

Match.com also reveal women prefer their independence, much more than men do. Ninety percent of women want more personal space, 93% want to pursue their own hobbies and interests, and 64% want more time with friends. Most women prefer to wait 1-2 years before moving in, whereas men prefer to move faster – 6-12 months of dating before shacking up.

Also, there is something Dr. Fisher calls “The Clooney Effect” taking place. That is, men are going for intelligent, powerful women. 87% of single men would date a woman who makes ‘considerably more’ money and who is considerably better-educated and more intellectual than themselves; 86% seek a woman who is confident and self-assured, and 39% would also make a long-term commitment to a woman who is 10 or more years older.

So what’s holding you back ladies? It seems like you are in the driver’s seat when it comes to establishing a new relationship. “Technology is dramatically changing how we court, but it can’t change the brain systems for romance and attachment. And today’s singles are setting a high bar for courtship and marriage,” said Dr. Helen Fisher, anthropologist and lead researcher for Match.com’s study.

Zoosk has also come out with a study about the habits and preferences of online daters, so we can get a better picture of what singles are looking for. According to its figures, women like outdoor types – guys who posted pictures hiking, biking and other outdoor activities received 19% more messages than those who didn’t.

Also, selfies aren’t a great thing to use, unless you are expert with the camera. Women who took selfies received 4% more messages, while guys who posted selfies took a hit – they received 8% fewer messages. But the women who took full-body selfies? They received a whopping 203% more messages.

In both studies, men and women both preferred people who had a grasp of good grammar and spelling. If you chose to answer messages with “cuz” “im” or “u” – on average, you received 13% fewer messages on Zoosk. Match.com revealed this was the number one turn-off for daters (even over text), with 54% of women and 36% of men agreeing.

So if you’re looking for love in 2015, put a little time and effort into your search, and keep a positive outlook – you are in good company!

Recipient of Gold
Match.com

Recipient of Silver
eHarmony

Recipient of Bronze
Zoosk

We launched the 2014 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award poll in September of 2014 and we closed the poll to voting during the first week of January, 2015. After running for about 4 months we had 359 voters participate. The first question of the poll is about which dating service you believe deserves to win our top 2014 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award. The top spot for this award receives Gold, followed by Silver and then Bronze. For this question we listed the top 7 dating services you can cast one vote for.

The recipient of the Gold 2014 Single's Choice Award is Match.com. Match.com grew in popularity this year and received almost 5% more votes than last year. For 2014 Match received 24.3% of the vote which works out to 87 voters. The silver award winner received 5% less votes.

The recipient of the Silver 2014 Single's Choice Award is eHarmony. It was a huge year for eHarmony. After Dr. Neil Clarke Warren came back as CEO, eHarmony was able to grow their membership base by an astonishing 54%. This year eHarmony received 71 votes by our visitors which is 19.83% of the total votes cast.

The recipient of the Bronze 2014 Single's Choice Award is Zoosk. For 2014 Zoosk received 54 votes. This is 15.08% of all the votes. It was a tight race for Bronze as we saw the dating service Are You Interested receive 49 votes which is just 5 less than Zoosk.

Here are this year's standings for the Single's Choice award for all dating sites in the poll.

1. Match.com
2. eHarmony
3. Zoosk
4. Are You Interested
5. Christian Mingle
6. How About We
7. Badoo

We would like to thank everyone who cast a vote this year for our Single’s Choice Award. The results of this award help guide our visitors to choose the best dating service for them as each of the winning services receives an award badge for the year which designates them as a winner. All award winners are also added to the 2014 Award category.