Recipient
Senior People Meet

Senior People Meet is the recipient of the 2015 Editor's Top Pick - Senior Award. This popular dating service by People Media is designed to match singles 55 years and older. It can be accessed via the website at SeniorPeopleMeet.com or via your phone through the dating app available at iTunes and Google Play.

It takes about 2 minutes to create a basic free membership account on Senior People Meet. From there you are allowed to search and view member profiles and photos, and send flirts. You also get access to Today's Matches which gives you 5 matches every day that meet your criteria and location. After viewing the profiles of these matches you can answer Yes, No or Maybe if you agree that they could be a possible match. If you both agree that you are a possible match then communication can start.

After creating a free account it is recommended that you upload a photo since only member's with photos appear in the search results. You should also update your profile as it will only be about 15% completed after registration with only the basic information entered. Under your profile you will also find Message Ideas that you can select which one's you would want singles to ask you. These are present to members who wish to message you and are are great way to break the ice.

When you find some matches you like and you wish to chat live with them or send a message, you will need to pay for a subscription which can cost under $2 a week.

Senior People Meet takes your privacy and safety seriously. Under My Account you can setup features to control who sees your profile, block users, and change your online status.

Read our review of Senior People Meet for more information about this dating service or visit Senior People Meet directly.

This Year's Runner Up for this award is: OurTime.com

Looking to get the year started on a more romantic note? Now’s the perfect time to join online dating sites. According to Match.com and other notable online dating sites and apps, the biggest surge of new member signups happen between January 1^st and Valentine’s Day.

So, you have a lot of time to see who’s out there and try a new app.

This year, eHarmony reported a 21% increase in mobile registrations since the holidays began, and dating app Zoosk also expected a 20% jump in users the first two weeks of January. Grindr, a dating app for gay men, typically experiences a 30-50% increase in users over the holidays, and Match expects an increase of 60% in new members before Valentine’s Day. Most dating apps agree that this is the busiest time of year for them.

The desire to sign up for an online dating site now may be for personal reasons. Most people have spent the holidays together with family members, creating a sense of warmth and togetherness that some singles feel might be missing from their lives. For those who spent the holidays alone, this time of year can feel particularly isolating, which can provide inspiration for expanding social networks and dating. There’s also the plethora of Instagram photos of happy couples taking vacations together, not to mention the announcement of engagement or baby news over social media, which can also create the desire for more people to want to meet someone special. And what about New Year’s resolutions to date and meet more people?

It seems there’s something about this time of year that motivates people to try online dating – but perhaps it’s less about emotion and more about having the time off for the holidays. People have the opportunity to look at their personal lives and see what they could be doing when they have free time.

According to news website MarketWatch, there’s evidence that people tend to join online dating sites when they have time off work and want to look forward to something personal. So it makes sense that the biggest online dating membership surge the Sunday after New Year’s Eve, when most people are still enjoying the holiday break but know that work is about to start up again.

Interestingly, this theory holds true outside of the winter holidays. Some dating sites, including Zoosk, also saw a surge in new members during the U.S. government shutdown in 2013, when many people’s jobs were affected and they were prevented from going to work.

Regardless, this is the best time of year to join a dating website or download a dating app. More people are online now than ever, which means more opportunities. For more information on the popular dating services mentioned you can read our Match.com review and our eHarmony review.

Happy dating in 2016!

Recipient
MillionaireMatch

The 2015 Top Pick - Wealthy Award from the Editor's goes to the dating service MillionaireMatch. This service has been online since 2001 and has had over 2.6 million singles sign up for a membership. By our estimation this dating service is the largest dating service in it's niche of matching wealthy singles and admirers.

2015 was about growth for MillionaireMatch. With the release in the previous year of the Android and iOS dating apps is has allowed MillionaireMatch to expand their market share and reach more people. One of the reasons for MillionaireMatch's popularity is the ability to have your photos and millionaire status verified. Verified members are marked with a Diamond icon. Being able to trust that the information in a profile is correct is very important and leads to a lot more communication requests by other members.

The service also has a host of other features which keeps it in the running (every year) for the Editor's top pick award. These include:

• Customer support being available by phone and live chat
• Ability to find out if the mail you sent to a member was read
• Can post questions on profiles and see other answers
• Check latest activity of your favorite members
• Private Photo Albums
• Gold Members can contact all members

Read our review of Millionaire Match for more information about this dating service or visit MillionaireMatch directly.

This Year's Runner Up for this award is: Sugardaddie.com

Recipient
Christian Mingle

Christian Mingle is the recipient of the 2015 Editor's Top Pick - Christian Award. This dating service is available via their website and dating apps for both the iPhone and Android devices. From our estimation using a number of online traffic tools we found that it is the leading dating service for Christian singles seeking like minded people.

This dating service has gone through a lot of changes this year. We have seen a number of updates for their dating app which brought in new features like new search criteria, complete layout redesign, and a updated registration process to improve access to the app. With the streamlined user experience which simplifies interactions between members we also saw the new Daily Matches feature which presents to the user when they sign in a collection of matches. Tablet and iPad users were not forgotten as the app layout takes advantage of the larger screen real estate that these devices offer.

Christian Mingle didn't forget about their website either. In December we saw a brand new interface as well which included a lot of new improvements along with a vastly updated layout which makes finding all the different features of this dating service easier. Interaction between members also have improved since now both the website and dating apps now share the same communication platform.

Christian Mingle’s also held onto their high rating at the Better Business Bureau (BBB). They are a BBB Accredited Business and have been a member since 1999 and continue to hold a A- rating. According to the BBB Spark Networks (which owns Christian Mingle) is "commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints".

Read our review of Christian Mingle for more information about this dating service or visit Christian Mingle directly.

This Year's Runner Up for this award is: Christian Cafe

Have you ever followed up with a date over text, the flirty banter going back and forth for a couple of weeks, when suddenly it tapers off? Or maybe he disappears altogether? Before you wonder what you might have done wrong, or what might have happened, it’s time to set the record straight about texting.

Texting is fun and flirtatious. It is a great, low-maintenance way to keep the fire burning if you and your date had some chemistry together. But many of us feel too comfortable behind the screen – to the point where it actually hinders real relationships, and interferes with our romantic life.

Texting is not a substitute for dating. We need that real in-person connection in order for something to grow. When you text or message someone, sharing flirty banter or even more personal thoughts, it feels like you are growing closer. But texting and messaging don’t help you develop a relationship – they create a false sense of connection. In fact, if texting is your barometer for how well your relationship is going, you’re going to be completely misled.

When someone really wants to pursue a relationship with you, they want to see you in person. They want to set up dates. Flirting over text might be part of the fun, but it is only part of it. If a man you are seeing is only communicating with you over text, no matter how charming he is, he isn’t really interested in pursuing a relationship. If he was, he would be asking you out.

You deserve a real-life relationship.

Consider the last relationship you had that was great over text, but fizzled out quickly. There could be any number of reasons this happened. Texting might be a fun way to pass the time for the object of your affection, or a distraction from thinking about an ex, or even a Plan B in case the other person he’s interested in doesn’t pan out. It can also be a quick ego boost. Whatever the case, it doesn’t make a difference. The fact is, there isn’t a chance for a real relationship to happen if your main interaction is through text.

Instead of relying on your texting chemistry after a good first meeting or date, it’s better to see what happens on a second date, or a third. Don’t just assume that texting will eventually get you to the place you want in a relationship. Let your dates know what you want. Ask him or her out. Don’t accept anything less than real-life interaction – there is no substitute. If someone keeps putting you off, claiming they are busy, or only texts you to hook up at the last-minute, move on. They aren’t the right relationship for you.

Online daters – especially women – often complain about unwanted and lude messages they get from potential matches on dating apps. Some guys are so aggressive with initial contact that they send intimate photos of themselves - the so-called “d*ck pic” - which is offensive to many women, if not even a bit scary. But there is little control dating apps have over messages between two people who swiped right and started communicating, which is why many find it such a frustrating experience.

Dating app The Grade aims to change that. Back in October, they launched the controversial “Peer Review” feature on their dating app, essentially letting other users provide direct feedback for online and offline experiences with other singles on the app.  This move was met with skepticism, with some wondering if angry and jilted matches might lash out and tarnish the reputation of someone else on the site, simply because there was no third party witness. Essentially, users could say whatever they wanted about a date.

The Grade surveyed its users to see how they actually felt about the new feature, and according to the company’s findings, 71% of people believe that Peer Review helps weed out the creeps.

Case in point: the majority of The Grade’s female users believe Peer Review provides a safer and better-informed dating experience. And according to a statement released from the company… it finally eliminates the "d*ck pics." Of the 11% of men who admitted to sending an unsolicited photo of their private parts, 90% reported that they would stop if they knew a match could review them.

Could this lead to better dating behavior – knowing that other people are watching and reviewing you?

It seems likely. The Peer Review feature provides feedback from other singles, mainly to help inform users’ decisions to swipe right or left. In fact, The Grade reports that 78% of singles are more likely to “like” (or swipe right) someone with a good Peer Review grade, while 88% are less likely to “like” someone with a bad Peer Review grade.

Ninety-five percent of The Grade’s users are pro-Peer Review, and 85% of the 15,000 peer reviews submitted so far have been positive. Results show that the most common reason a user would give someone a negative review is if that person was already in an existing relationship or lied about their profile details.

Despite the controversy, The Grade might be on to something – accountability for behavior in online dating. That is something most of us can get behind.