Online Dating

eHarmony is saying 'Hola!' to a new site designed to serve Spanish-speaking singles. The company says the new addition to the eHarmony family, eHarmony.com/espanol, will provide a fully translated, localized experience for the 37 percent of bilingual users who speak Spanish.

As always, eHarmony used its famous research-based approach to build the compatibility model that is the backbone of the Spanish site. To update it for a new audience, the algorithim now takes into account linguistic and cultural nuances that are important in the matching process.

“In the last few years, we have seen online dating come into its own and today we are seeing growth in every user demographic,” said Dr. Neil Clark Warren. “That trend continues around the world as online dating is recognized as a way to meet someone special. Our purpose has always been to help our users find lasting, meaningful relationships and the launch of this site represents another way to reach those who are hoping to be found by that perfect partner and confidant.”

The development of this new site speaks directly to the company’s continued growth as a global brand. eHarmony hopes to appeal to an increasingly large demographic of online daters in Latin America, where online dating is growing at a rate of 20 percent year over year according to independent market research.

New features will become available on the site in the coming months, including mobile access and localized experiences for Spanish-speakers around the world. Beginning in December, current eHarmony users can elect to fill out a mini-questionnaire in Spanish to be better matched with those who set up their profiles in Spanish.

eHarmony has every reason to be invested in its global growth. According to a report published on eHarmony.co.uk, 50 percent of all relationships could begin online by 2031. By 2040, that number could jump to 70 percent. As profits increase along with the number of users, eHarmony wants to be at the forefront of every new development.

To celebrate the release of eHarmony.com/espanol, eHarmony has introduced a friends and family special. New users can get three months free when using the promo code “AMIGOS2015”. eHarmony.com/espanol is currently available in the United States and will be introduced in several other countries, including Mexico and Spain, over the course of 2016.

For more information, visit eHarmony.com/espanol or read our eHarmony review or eHarmony.co.uk review

Usually makeovers come with the New Year and the soon-to-be-forgotten resolutions, but Spark Networks is starting early. The company has given its two most recognized brands, JDate and ChristianMingle, a head-to-toe refresh for the end of 2015.

Both brands have been redesigned inside and out. In addition to sleek new appearances, the sites have been updated with improved back-end platforms, new mobile-optimized features and easier-to-use functionality.

This is all part of Spark Networks' year-long strategic vision for boosting profits and subscriber engagement. Despite its strong legacy in the online dating business, Spark Networks had stalled while the rest of the industry modernized. With the relaunch of its two core brands, the company hopes to reposition itself once again as a leader in the niche dating world.

JDate is the first of the two legacy brands to debut the results of its makeover. Some of the updates and new product offerings include:

• A cleaner, more streamlined user experience that simplifies interactions
• A new “daily matches” feature that presents a curated collection of matches tailored to each member
• An improved user experience for iPad/tablet users
• An expanded mobile presence and improved mobile capabilities
• A redesigned inbox to make interactions between users even easier

ChristianMingle has not yet debuted its renovation, but look for it in the coming weeks. Not only will it incorporate many of the features from the new JDate platform, it will also reposition the site as a more open, contemporary and diverse community based on the Christian faith and values.

After a year of ups and downs, this could be the breakthrough Spark Networks has been looking for. The company revealed a drop in year-on-year revenue and a net income loss of $822,000 for the quarter when it shared its Q3 2015 financial results. On the plus side, subscriber growth was on the uptick for the first time since Q1 2013 and Spark's mobile presence has expanded significantly this year.

“At the beginning of this year we set an aggressive plan to rebuild our two key brands – JDate and ChristianMingle – to become relevant again to our customers and drive fundamental change in business performance,” said Michael Egan, Chief Executive Officer of Spark Networks.

“It has been an exciting and successful year with tremendous growth and development momentum. The changes and upgrades we are debuting today are the first step to strengthening our portfolio to become more nimble and innovative, as we build valuable products and services for our members.”

For more information on these 2 dating services you can read our reviews of JDate and Christian Mingle.

If only you were as discerning in your dating life as you are at mealtimes. Your palate is as refined as it gets, but when it comes to shacking up, you're prone to making decisions that aren't exactly Michelin star material.

But what if you could combine your search for love with your love of food? As online dating continues down the road to world domination, more and more dating services dedicated to niche communities appear. And yes, foodies, that absolutely includes you.

Maybe you're a wiz in the kitchen. Or have specific dietary needs. Or are simply passionate about dining out. Whatever form of food-obsessed singleton you are, there are dating sites that cater to helping you find the perfect partner to break bread with. If your kitchen could use some romance, try one of these online dating websites for foodies:

Remember how much you hated your Econ class in high school? Now would be a good time to dig up your old notes. It turns out economics can teach you about online dating.

Paul Oyer, an economics proessor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online Dating, says the marketplace of romantic partners functions a lot like any other marketplace. Throw in the fact that Oyer met his match online and, well... he may be onto something.

How exactly is online dating like economics? It starts with the market. An online dating site with more members is better than one with fewer, as you'll be exposed to more options over time and have a better chance of meeting someone who suits you. This, explains Oyer, is called a “thick market.” More options means greater efficiency and a greater chance of finding what you need.

You could argue that the thick market approach means niche dating sites are a bad bet, but Oyer says it's not always the case. If you're a specialist dater – someone with a serious dealbreaker requirement – your personal thick market is a site targeted to that criteria. But take note, specialists: niche sites are a significantly more viable option in densely populated areas, where there is a larger pool of people who meet your requirements.

Here's one thing that might surprise you: Oyer says lying in an online dating profile makes economic sense. “Economists think of lying as a rational thing to increase utility, or happiness,” he explains. “Where parties’ interests aren’t completely aligned, we expect some people will misrepresent the truth.”

In other words, lying while online dating is a logcial strategy to try to increase the number of responses your profile gets. And even if you're completely honest, you should expect that your competition (or your dates) are twisting the truth.

Before you go swapping your photos for a professional model's, Oyer adds that the utility of lying has its limits. You cannot stretch the truth beyond belief, because when it's obvious that you're faking it, people will be less likely to believe you in the future. Dishonesty isn't always the best policy.

Oyer also weighs on in on the pickiness problem of online daters. He calls it “romantic unemployment” - a condition inspired by a type of search theory, in which people cannot find exactly what they want, even if it exists, because the act of searching is too costly. Singles hold out for better and better dates, like a company holds out for better and better job candidates, both potentially passing up good matches along the way.

Ultimately, Oyer says, “economics is the study of scarcity.” When it comes to online dating, the scarce resource is time. It doesn't pay to be too choosy. You can try to keep trading up, but according to search theory, there's a point where it's no longer worth the trouble.

Bing! Your computer's notification noise goes off and there it is: a new message in your inbox. You click it with a mix of nerves and excitement. Maybe this one, finally, will be the one that sticks.

Or not. Maybe they'll look nothing like their profile picture. Maybe they'll be “fun-employed” and living with their parents. Maybe they're cheating on their significant other. Maybe they're a con artist or a serial killer. For all you know, they could be all of the above.

That's the gamble of online dating. It's an bundle of pros and an assortment of cons, wrapped up in one package and tied with a digital bow.

You have questions. Whether you're new to online dating or a frustrated long-time dater, you've run into challenges and confusion. You want answers that will make your experience better. You want to know what’s happening behind the scenes – and your screen.

These are 4 questions all online daters wonder about (and their answers).

1. Is anyone actually reading my profile? You've heard that it's all about the picture, that a photo can make or break your profile, because it's 2015 and no one can be bothered to read anymore. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Because of the way most dating sites and apps are designed, photos are prominent. They're what we see first, and what we use to decide if we want to explore the profile. In fact, there's a scientific reason for it: we're drawn to images over text because our brains can process visual information and make inferences more quickly. So yes, people will read your profile, but only if they like your photo first.
2. Can I skip the photo? See above. You could omit the pictures if you're concerned about privacy, but it will dramatically impact the results you get. Few people will click through your profile and, if they reach out to you, a request for photos is likely the first thing they'll send.
3. Can I try online dating if I live in a small town? There's no point in using online dating if it's slim pickings, right? Wrong. Living in a small town is a great reason to try onilne dating, provided you're willing to search outside your immediate area. If you're open to the idea of traveling, online dating can dramatically increase the size of your dating pool.
4. Why can't I find someone when there are millions of possibilities? This is the other side of the small town coin. It may seem counterintuitive, but it can be harder to find what you’re looking for when you have a larger number of options. A bigger population means more people online, and those people tend to be pickier. Because they are surrounded by so many potential partners at all times, they constantly wonder if there is something better out there. FOMO is not an ingredient in any successful long-term relationship.

Are you a Scorpio? Do you only date Geminis? If you plan your love life according to astrological charts, there’s a new dating app for you called Align.

Align works as you might assume – asking for your birth date and a few personality traits that describe you before finding you matches based on the alignment of your stars. These features are all part of the app’s design, too, which includes a galaxy backdrop.

You sign in with Facebook, as with most apps that require some sort of identity verification. Then Align offers you words to choose to describe yourself, such as “bossy,” “generous,” or “charming.” If you’re a more visual person, you can choose from a range of emojis to describe yourself, too.

Align then goes to work to match you according to your personality (and of course, your chart). And each day, Align will send you five matches that it thinks will suit you, handed to you as photo bubbles or “constellations” of varying sizes, depending on how much of a match the app thinks you are. (The bigger the constellation, the better the match.) You then have 24 hours to accept your matches, or they will be replaced the next day with another five.

The app also uses colors to identify your match in terms of personal compatibility with you. For example, yellow signifies an air sign, which means you’re matched with analyzers, intellectuals, idealists, thinkers, and problem solvers - while green covers earth signs, or those who are driven, goal-oriented, practical, and dependable, for example.

When you and a potential match both decide you like each other, you are then “Aligned” and can start messaging in the app. (Everyone you align with shows up in your “Connections” screen.)

The app was designed to appeal to people who are looking for deeper online connections without spending too much time filling out questionnaires, as you would with personality-based dating apps and websites like eHarmony. Helen Grossman and Aliza Kelly Faragher, the two creators of the app, were tired of feeling disconnected from other online daters and noted on their website that: “these soulless swipes were going nowhere.”

According to Aliza, over 45 million Millennials believe in Astrology, or at least think it contributes to a good match for dating. So, the founders decided to get Astrological when developing their app.

Astrology might not be the only thing that is important when you are looking for love online, but at least it provides a point of reference beyond a photo, and can start up some interesting conversation. I mean, who wouldn’t want to ponder why the last two Leo boyfriends didn’t work out, or why you seem to be attracted to Virgos?

Align is available as a free download in the iTunes store.