Types (Niche)

When we say “online personal ad sites,” we’re talking about those sites that are really no more than a listing. An advertisement of you, who you are and what you’re looking for. For that matter, really anything you do or don’t want to share. While these sites usually require a username and password to set up your profile or ad, many are free or only have minimal membership fees.

Unlike the online matchmaker types of sites like Match.com and eHarmony, online personal ad sites are static in nature. You likely won’t receive emails from the site with updates or members you might be interested in and the website’s functionality will likely be minimal. Making contact with other members will be left strictly up to you.

If you’re the type of person that doesn’t want all the bells and whistles of a full-on online matchmaking dating site, then the online personal ad realm might be the ticket. Sites like Yahoo! Personals and SinglesNet.com both offer bare-bones online personal ad options. While with Yahoo! Personals, you can opt to dig deeper into a wider range of services, the site began as purely an online personal ad portal. On sites like these, you can search at-will for other members and not be bogged down with any “meddling” in your affairs.

If you happen to be more comfortable on a site where you get highly in-depth information about other members and prefer to have matches brought to your doorstep, online personal ad sites probably won’t be your best bet. Profiles on these sites are usually less intensive than on the online matchmaker sites. Most won’t have mobile options for your smart phone, either.

If you’re trying to decide if an online personal ad site is your cup of tea, sign up for a free trial and take a tour. Create a profile in two different types of sites and see what happens. You’ll know quickly if you’re going to be overwhelmed by the site’s many options or completely underwhelmed by the lack thereof.

For more information on the dating sites mentioned in this article, read our Match.com review and our eHarmony review.

For the first article in this series, read: Types of Online Dating Services: Overview

What are you to do when you’re looking to share your time with someone and everyone is telling you to go online? With all of the sites available out there, it’s difficult to know which online dating site is the right type for your needs. We’re starting a new series here at Dating Sites Reviews to help you wade through the mud and muck of online romance and take the guesswork out of your computer work!

We’ll be covering the wide variety of online dating sites our there: pros, cons, features and differences of each. While it may not be readily apparent which site or sites will ultimately make you feel the most “at home,” we’ll do our best to help you narrow-down the process. After all – wouldn’t you spend more time looking for love in the right place than wasting your time looking in the wrong ones?

Here are a few things that all types of online dating sites have in common:

• Profiles are posted by the actual user and the site is consensual.
• All have “privacy” features. These can range from blind email exchange to usernames.
• All require a username and password to access your profile information (so keep these secret).

All types of online dating sites understand that your privacy is important. Make sure that you don’t reveal too much information too soon (like personal email addresses, home addresses and phone numbers) and use these privacy features to your advantage. Safety, for men and women alike, is paramount, and you will likely gravitate towards the online dating sites that you find to be the safest and thus, the most comfortable.

While preferences vary, we’ll do our best to walk you through the types of sites one article at a time and hope that if you have feedback for us, you’ll let us know!

Read about Online Matchmaking Sites

Read about Online Personal Ad Sites

Read about Speed Dating Sites

First came the Match.com App for the iPhone (see Story), and then the dating app for the Palm Pre (see Story). Now Match.com has released an application for the Palm Pixi. This phone is available now on the Sprint network.

This new Match application is designed for users in the United States and Canada. It allows Match.com members to search for matches, send winks, and email. You can also find other members by using the built in location based capabilities of the Palm Pixi. With the application you can also edit your profile and headline text.

The App is currently in Beta and can be downloaded from the Pixi's App Catalog. For more information you can visit this Match.com Palm Pixi page or read the press release.

For more information on this popular dating site, read our Match.com review.

It’s pretty cool that no matter where you’re at, you can access your online dating profiles with your phone. Waiting in line at the DMV or the doctor’s office suddenly became a lot more appealing, right? We’ve got a lot to thank the online dating site for when it came to developing these mobile applications.

But you need to know how to use them safely.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the “connect with people around you” capabilities. As a woman, I’m fiercely protective of my location at all times. The same should go for men as well. Whenever I boot up Match.com’s iPhone app and it asks me “to use my current location,” I always select “don’t allow.” My feelings are if someone is interested in contacting or connecting with me, they can use Match.com’s anonymous messaging system. No one I’ve never met ever needs to know where I am or even have the opportunity to connect with me without my explicit permission.

Edward Butler, a senior analyst at IBISWorld, used Australian Bureau of Statistics data and industry surveys to review and crunch data on the global sex services industry. He determined that the $1.2 billion industry has seen a 6 percent ($74 million) decline since the global financial crisis started. Brothels, tobacco and alcohol are usually recession proof but that doesn't appear to be the case this time.

Some analysis like Butler think that the popularity of adult dating sites have taken business from the sex industry. Adult dating sites make it easier for consenting adults to be frank about what they want and need in terms of sex. It has never been cheaper for like-minded individuals to organise casual liaisons with the rise of adult and casual dating services.

About 1.5 million men and women now have accounts in Australia with sites such popular dating sites as RSVP, Match.com and eHarmony. Most of these singles are not looking for casual sex and are intent on finding a partner for a long term relationship. Adult FriendFinder, one of the more popular casual sex dating sites reports on having just over 892 thousand profile listings from Australia.

For more on the story, read The Sydney Morning Herald.

Sam Yagan indicated that an iPhone application was in the works for OkCupid earlier this month (see Story), and now it is out (much sooner than I was expecting). This is a full featured dating application that offers:

• Sending and receiving of your OkCupid mail messages.
• Instant Messaging with members.
• Updating your profile and photos.
• Spend time answering those famous OkCupid match questions.
• Search for users.
• Search for matches based on your current location.
• Find out who has been checking you out.