Tips

In a hurry? Tired of coffee dates that seem to go nowhere? Wait no more! In addition to the other matchmaker and classified-type online dating sites, speed dating is on the rise.

Most of these websites have a significant offline component. These are the actual dating event where you meet anywhere from 8 to 15 people over the course of an evening. While both SpeedDate.com and HuryyDate.com have an online component as well with such features as IM and matching, most are online portals to direct you to a live event.

Benefits of Speed Dating

If you haven’t had success with one-on-one encounters that have the potential to drag on or you’re just too nice a person to say “no, thank you,” then speed dating might be something to try. Your “dates” last anywhere from five to eight minutes, after which you move on to the next candidate. There’s not really an opportunity for awkward silence and whether you fancy them of not, five to eight minutes isn’t really enough time to say anything you might regret!

Drawbacks to Speed Dating

If you’re more comfortable getting to know someone over a more anonymous forum prior to meeting, then speed dating probably won’t be your ideal fit. Since these are primarily live events, you’ll probably enjoy the online dating sites like Match.com or JDate.com more as they protect your privacy and let you prepare for face-to-face meetings at your own speed.

Tips for Speed Dating

Since your dates go by so quickly, have a few questions you’d like to ask your dates in the bag. Otherwise, try to have fun! Make it less of an interview and more of a conversation and your date across the table will be able to let loose and show you a little glimpse of themselves. If you drill ‘em, you’re going to see less “them” and more “defensive them.” Go easy on that guy or gal, as they’re just as interested in making a quality connection as you are.

If you are interested in a dating site which offers this service, you should read our review of HurryDate.

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

Perhaps the most popular in the online dating world, online matchmaking sites are the ones you’ve heard the most about. Match.com, eHarmony, Chemistry.com – they are all designed to make recommendations about other users who might be a good fit for you. While many of these sites allow you to search on your own, some take the reins and handle the matchmaking process for you 100%.

If you’re a hand-on type person, sites like eHarmony and Chemistry.com may not be the best option for you as they have the strongest control on the matchmaking process. They’ll send you members to review (sometimes only a certain number per week), and then you can choose whether or not to initiate contact with them. However, if you’re looking for a little more help in the online dating department, this type of site might be ideal since they minimize your search time and bring results directly to your inbox.

Sites like Match.com, Date.com and others allow you to take control of the search process and will email you updates of users you might like to review. However, they don’t control your access to other members’ profiles and let you pretty much look at whomever you’d like. If you’re that hands-on type of person, sites like these are ideal since they allow you to remain in control of the “seek and ye shall find” process. If you’re easily overwhelmed by reading profiles and filtering results, you may want to stick with one of the pure matchmaking sites we mentioned above.

One of the benefits of the online matchmaking sites are that you can set up customizable searches to make the process simpler. They will email you results from your searches and help draw attention to new members who have recently joined who meet your search criteria. The custom search features are an excellent way to focus your time and save yourself from wading through profiles that are not going to deliver the type of person you dream about spending time with.

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

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

No one wants to be alone at the holidays. If you’ve ever thought about delving into online dating, well – what’s stopping you? The holiday season offers plenty of opportunity to get out on the town and find someone to snuggle-up with inside. There’s no reason to lock yourself up and stare at the Yule log solo. Here are five tips to get you in the mix of things with online dating this holiday season!

Tip 1: The community is hopping! There’s no better way to break the ice (or bear the cold) than by taking on the town with a partner in crime. Whether it’s a festival of lights or a special engagement of The Nutcracker, the holiday season is ripe with activity. Find a partner at an online dating site and keep one another company while seeing the holidays from the streets of town.

Tip 2: It’s a time for sharing. Enjoy meeting new people this holiday season. Don’t think of it as dating – think of it as an adventure with people! Whether over coffee or a meal, it’s a treat when someone lets you see a glimpse of their life. Even if you’re not a match, walk away richer in spirit after sharing your time with someone.

Many online dating sites are all about service. They’ll email you new members, people who match your search criteria and make it easy for your to contact them just by clicking on a link in that friendly, service-oriented email.

But you shouldn’t. And here’s why:

The only information you have at that point is a face you find attractive. Is that really worth a click?

It is no different than when you are out with your best guy or gal pals for an evening of fun and you spot someone across the room. Even in this case, you have more than just a pretty face. You have body language, their entire physical appearance and whether or not they seem to be having fun. However, you’re still in “just a pretty face” until you get into the meat of who that person is and actually have the chance to learn about all the things below the surface.

Next time you get one of those update emails from your online dating site of choice, thin before you click to “wink” or “send a message.” Instead, why not click through to their profile and give it a read? They’re putting it out there for your review, so by golly – give it a go! You may find out that he or she is, indeed, your dream girl. Or better yet, that pretty face may not want to date someone with kids and you’ve got two that you adore. Why waste your time? Move on to someone who’s a better fit right from the start instead of starting a conversation that isn’t going to go anywhere.

The bottom line is you should always be reading the profiles for anyone you wish to contact at an online dating site before initiating a conversation. Not only does it give you common ground to build a conversation around, it’s polite. Remember how you felt when the last person who obviously hadn’t read your profile sent you a message or a wink? You were probably a bit annoyed because they weren’t anything like you were looking for. If only they’d read your profile, right?