Types (Niche)

Surprisingly over 2 percent of users on JDate are not Jewish. This doesn't mean 2 percent of users have lied on JDate, they have just answered profile questions like Do you attend synagogue? or Do you keep kosher? with the options "I will tell you later" or "Never". They usually also select “Willing to convert” under religious background as well. Anonymous non-Jewish JDaters have noted a number of reasons for using a dating site designed just for Jews. Reasons include having a number of Jewish friends and knowing a lot of the religion, to hearing about other single's success on the dating service.

Some of the Jewish members have complained about allowing non-Jews on JDate. They use the site specifically to meet other single Jews, and do not want to deal with any members who are not. I understand were these members are coming from but I do not see the harm in allowing non-Jewish members from joining if they are serious about meeting someone. All members, who don't want to see non-Jewish profiles, have to do is update there search preferences and deselect "Willing to convert" and "Will tell you later" from the Religion preference. Once the preferences are saved these members will never come up in a search again.

I don't think JDate.com will ever not allow non-Jewish members from joining. The percentage who do join is small and if they ever did prevent them then, JDate may get slapped with a legal suit by a unhappy member like eHarmony was in a similar case were they did not allowing same-sex relationships (see Story).

For more details on this Jewish dating community, read our JDate review.

According to a Times article, matchmakers in China have seen an increase in clients ever since the economy started its downturn last year. With the job market frozen in China many young college graduates are not finding any work and are experiencing financial difficulties because of the huge debt of going to school. It is estimated that only 35 percent of the 6.1 million students who graduate this year will find a job. Many young woman are using marriage as a means to ease the financial burden.

Unlike online dating, the matchmaking industry mediates dating through a broker. People who want to find a spouse register at a given agency, and the broker will pick and arrange their dates based on their requirements. The first date usually takes place at the office of the matchmaking business.

Marriage is very important to the Chinese and it is seen almost as a compulsory step for woman. As woman grow older the pressure increases not only though family but friends and the media as well. Many parents agree with their college grad daughters in getting married when work is not found. Some parents will even go out and hand pick the man for them to marry.

New Chinese dating sites like Xiaoyuanlove.com (which means Love on Campus) have seen their member numbers swell. While online dating is not as popular as a personal matchmaking services in China, things are changing fast.

Visit Time for the complete story about Matchmakers in China.

Craigslist is in the news again about their Casual Encounters section of the classifieds website. The last story in March was about a Chicago Sheriff who sued Craigslist for being one of the largest source of prostitution on the internet (see Story).

The New York Times takes a look at Craigslist, specifically the Casual Encounters section.

Like bathhouses and sex clubs, the Casual Encounters section caters to the erotic underbelly of society, where courtship gives way to expediency and anonymity is a virtue (or at least a turn-on). The section was introduced in late 2000 and is available in all cities served by Craigslist, for users gay and straight, male and female. The ads range from prim to raunchy; a good number of people include photographs of precisely what they have to offer.

I found a recent article were the author asked the question, Are free dating site like Plenty of Fish good or evil? By this the author means, if hooking up has become so easy through free dating sites, does it affect relationships and marriages, and in the end, just add to the divorce rate. He then goes on and actually compares Plenty of Fish to a gun. The analogy he uses is, are free dating sites only bad when someone misuses it? He further expands on his analogy by comparing a safety of a gun to features like site registrations and paying membership fees.

The first thing I have to wonder is, why are only free dating sites under attack? Sure more scammers, etc.. can access free sites easier than paid dating sites since there is no real barrier to creating a membership but, does this have much to do with people cheating online? I would think affair dating sites like Ashley Madison, which actually promote cheating would be his target. It is not like spending $40 on a membership is a huge financial burden for anyone.

Comparing a dating site to a gun is a little extreme. I haven't read many newspaper stories were a dating site was used to kill somebody. Some people consider guns bad, even if they are not misused. Plus, almost anything can be misused and therefore bad in certain circumstances.

For the full article, visit Muncie Free Press. For more information on this free dating site, read our Plenty of Fish review.

We have found a few articles lately which looked at what most people like to call Sugar Daddy dating sites. These sites for the most part offer a place for wealthy men to find attractive woman who are looking for the finer things in life (to put it politely). Similar sites also use the terms Wealthy, Millionaire, Sugar Baby and Gold Diggers. An article from ABC news recently asked the question if these type of sites promote a form of prostitution (see Story). This time, the New York Times is taking a look at the topic.

In an article called Keeping Up With Being Kept, the New York Times calls Sugar Daddy dating sites a down-and-dirty marketplace. The article is seven pages and goes into detail on several peoples experiences at the website called SeekingArrangement.com. Founder Brandon Wade says the site creates relationships that are mutually beneficial. With more than 300,000 registered members, nearly half the sugar daddies on Seeking Arrangement are married.

From a CNN article about Matchmakers thriving in the current economy I learned that there is a Matchmaker Institute which was established in 2003. Described as the go to place for everything matchmaking, the website is designed for the Matchmaker business professional. It is a place you can go to become a Matchmaker or to improve your Matchmaking business. They offer training and certification as well as a Matchmakers Network, the industry trade association. Among other things they also offer business software, Home Study Kits (that can run thousands of dollars), and the Matchmakers Multiple Listing Service (MMLS) to help in your business as well.

The Matchmaker Network does have a Code of Ethics which looks good on the surface but it is unknown to us what happens to a Matchmakers Certification if he or she has one or more infractions. A code of ethics is useless if not enforced.

According to the institute there are about 1,500 independent matchmakers who operate in the United States, I was unable to find how many actually belong. The Matchmaker Network is a good idea as long as they are ridged with their rules and are not in it just to make money. It would be beneficial if something similar was setup for online dating sites, with a similar set of code of ethics. We all know dating sites are all over the map when it comes to how they treat their members.

For more information visit the Matchmaking Institute. If you are looking to hire a personal Matchmaker, visit our Matchmaking Services category.