Online Dating

For 17 days eHarmony in the United Kingdom is offering free trial memberships to new members. From the 15^th December 2017 to 1^st January, 2018 are when these trial memberships are available.

eHarmony specializes in creating long term relationships using their automated matchmaking system. To participate in this promotion all you need to do is sign-up for a free membership at eHarmony.co.uk. This process takes about 30 minutes to complete which includes filling in your profile and taking the relationship questionnaire. No credit card is required either. Once you have finish signing up you will receive your first batch of matches which you can look over and communicate with the ones you wish. Everyday you will continue to receive quality matches that you can look over and send messages to those that you like.

eHarmony belongs to the Online Dating Association (ODA). Companies which belong follow the Online Dating Association Code of Practice which includes rules based on honest and clear communications and protection of user data and privacy.

For more information about this matchmaking service, please read our eHarmony review for the UK.

Image: ABC

Sick and tired of the relentless positivity of people trying to put their best foot forward on dating apps? Brendan Alper has the solution - now with Mark Cuban’s blessing, Shark Tank stardom, and a six-digit investment.

Alper is the brains behind Hater, an unusual take on digital dating that matches users based on things they can’t stand. Instead of mutual likes, Hater searches for mutual dislikes, prompting singles to bond over their most despised people, places, things, and concepts.

Following a successful public debut around Valentine’s Day in 2017, Alper appeared this month on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank to take Hater to the next level.

Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of female-friendly dating app Bumble, was just named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list, and is featured on its December 2017 cover. This is no small feat – her dating app has amassed a large following with 70% year-on-year growth, according to the article, and has 22 million registered users. In comparison Tinder has 46 million registered users and last year saw growth at 10%.

The company is also being eyed by Match Group, owner of dating app rival Tinder, and is said to be in talks for over a billion dollars as an asking price. Herd turned down the company’s original offer of $450 million, according to recent reports.

The concept of a blind date is nothing new, but you haven’t seen it quite like this before.

Taffy is a new app that attacks the problem of superficiality in dating by blurring a potential match’s photos until you’ve gotten to know each other better. Users initially see the hazy images with a catchy headline superimposed on top (something like “Looking for a guy with a sense of adventure,” suggests the app, though calling that “catchy” seems like a stretch). Only after initiating communication are the clear images revealed.

“Taffy is a new way to meet people that puts personality on the same level as physical attraction by putting conversation first,” explains the website. “Photos are blurry until you start chatting. The more you chat the more you see!”

The swipe has become the symbol of a generation. To the right, it’s shorthand for like, lust, and if you’re lucky, love. To the left, it signifies dislike, disgust, and disappointment. It seems shocking that a simple gesture has come to mean so much, but it was no accident.

Tinder’s creators worked tirelessly to create a fun physical mechanism for the app, tapping UX designer Loren Brichter (who created the familiar pull-to-refresh feature now used by most apps) to design their own iconic gesture. The groundbreaking swiping interface turned dating into a game - and an addictive one at that.

Sean Rad, one of Tinder’s two co-founders, once told TIME, “Nobody joins Tinder because they’re looking for something. They join because they want to have fun. It doesn’t even matter if you match because swiping is so fun.”

Henry Badenhorst, founder of the groundbreaking dating site Gaydar, has died in his native South Africa at age 51 following a fall from a tower block. His tragic passing comes a decade after his co-founder and former partner Gary Frisch fell to his death in a similar fashion in London.

According to BuzzFeed News, Badenhorst fell from the 23rd floor of the Michaelangelo Towers, a hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, on 11 November 2017. Initial reports suggest he took his own life, though the exact details surrounding his death remain unclear.

“Eighteen years ago, Henry and his partner Gary revolutionised the way that gay men meet and in doing so created a safer environment for LGBT people everywhere,” said Gaydar’s current managing director, Rob Curtis. “We are shocked and saddened to hear of Henry’s passing and send our sincerest sympathies to Henry’s friends and family.”

The duo launched Gaydar in 1999, after a friend complained that he was too busy to find a partner.