OurTime

Recipient
OurTime.com

The Editor's choice for the Top Pick - Senior Award of 2014 is Our Time. This dating site for 50 plus singles is the largest dating site that is dedicated to matching seniors together.

OurTime.com has many features which makes online dating easier. The member’s home page is well laid out and it makes navigating the site simple. One neat and useful feature that OurTime has implement involves communication. When you create your profile you have the option of adding Message Starter Ideas. These make first contact messages much easier as it gives the person sending the message and idea of what you want to know about your matches. The type of questions you can select from include asking about their family to what your main goals in life are.

It doesn’t take long to create a starter profile on OurTime which allows you to log in and see what this dating site is all about. You just need to go through a six step process and in about a few minutes you will be done. From there, you can search and view other profiles for free. If you find someone you like and want to communicate with you can add the rest of the details to your profile (including pictures, your interests, and your physical attributes). After paying a small monthly fee you will then be able to send and receive messages and chat with other members who are online the same time you are.

Read our review of OurTime.com for more information about this dating service or visit OurTime directly.

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

I've met a lot of very attractive women who have come through a divorce or break-up looking to meet someone new. The problem? The men who are their ages (in their 40s and 50s) seem to want to date younger women only.

Many women wonder why this is. After all, they aren't looking at only younger men. It doesn't seem fair, does it?

There is an element of truth to this notion: many men do prefer to date younger women, and we see this reflected in TV shows and movies. It's not a problem for a man to date someone half his age, and in fact it's expected. Maybe it's due to biology, or maybe he just wants to ignore his own aging process.

There's also a certain amount of relief in dating a younger woman because she likely doesn't have the baggage that an older woman does. Chances are he looks for simplicity above all else - a woman who has no children, not much debt, or no messy break-up that has taken a toll on her psyche and finances.

So then we wonder - is it possible to find older men who are interested in women their own age?

Absolutely. Just because you've noticed a pattern in your own life or among your friends (or even in a Hollywood movie) doesn't mean that it is true for everyone. There are many single men in the world, and a lot of them enjoy the company of women their own age. You just have to know where to look and what to look for.

First of all, it might be time to refresh your online dating profile. Make sure you are focusing on what you want to bring into your life, not on what has happened in the past. Mention your interests, your career, or whatever makes you happy - and let that be the tone with which you craft your profile. Men can pick up on the energy and tone a woman sends from a profile or a first message. It's important to keep it positive so you can attract as many men as possible.

Second, I would suggest picking a new dating site. OkCupid and PlentyofFish are great for people looking for something casual (i.e. younger), but if you're looking for an emotional connection, it's better to go with a paid site like eHarmony or Match. OurTime is a good niche option specifically for older daters, so you know that your dates won't discount you because of your age.

Third, keep an open mind about the possibilities open to you right now. Say yes to more men that you might not normally consider, just to see what dating someone new is like. Allow yourself a little more fun in the dating process - it doesn't have to be so focused on the end result. It's a journey, after all.

Things we were into in 2013: Nelson Mandela, the iPhone 5s, bingewatching, twerking, Bitcoin, Bat-Kid, Breaking Bad, the royal baby, Grumpy Cat, and screaming goats.

Earlier this month Google released its annual Zeitgeist List, a collection of the top Google searches for the last 365 days that reveal what defined the year in pop culture, politics, technology, and more. "Every day, around the world, we search," Amit Singhal, senior vice president and Google Fellow, wrote in a Dec. 17 blog post. "We want to find out more about our heroes, explore far-away destinations or settle a dinner-table dispute between friends."

Because of that compulsive urge to search anything and everything online, Google is given unprecedented access to what captures the public imagination. The year-end Zeitgeist list uses Google Trends and other internal data tools to tap into the top trending searches of 2013 from 72 countries, and create a snapshot of the biggest people, places, moments, companies, and gadgets of the year.

Online dating plays an increasingly large role in the way we meet and choose our partners, so naturally Google included the year's most popular online dating services on the list. According to Google Zeitgeist, 2013's top ten dating services are:

1. Match.com
2. Chemistry.com
3. PlentyOfFish.com
4. Zoosk.com
5. eHarmony.com
6. FriendFinder.com
7. Tinder
8. Hinge
9. OurTime.com
10. OkCupid

Many of last year's entries are back again, though none retained the same positions. Match moved up a spot from #2 to #1, while PlentyOfFish dropped from the first place to third. OkCupid took a major hit in 2013, falling to #10 from #3 in 2012. Zoosk climbed a couple of spots to the forth position, and eHarmony fell slightly to fifth.

DateHookup, ChristianMingle, AdultFriendFinder, JDate, and SinglesNet all ranked last year but failed to make it on the 2013 Zeitgeist list. Instead, FriendFinder, OurTime, Chemistry, Tinder, and Hinge came from behind to take their place.

The most interesting additions to the list are, without a doubt, those last two. Tinder uses Facebook profiles to match members who respond with a simple left or right swipe to say "Yes" or "No." Hinge appears similar at first glance, but uses a "romance graph" to pair you with friends of friends that best suit your style - in other words, Tinder might get you a great hookup, but Hinge will find you a great relationship. Mobile dating took off in a big way this year, and shows no sign of stopping, so expect to see even more mobile services on the 2014 Zeitgeist report.

Baby boomers may be getting older, but online dating is proving that it will never get old.

OurTime.com is the largest dating community for singles aged 50 plus, which also makes it home to one of the fastest-growing demographics in the market. Boomer dating is experiencing a colossal boom, and OurTime.com is right at the front lines of the action.

According to the 2012 US census, more than 1/3 of the 107 million singles in the country are over the age of 50. But despite their growing numbers and increasing influence, the senior set is a dating demographic that is still largely misunderstood. OurTime is out to change that, with a new set of mature dating statistics that prove tech-savvy singles come in every age.

The 50+ singles scene is made up of a diverse group of daters:

• The membership ratio for OurTime.com is 45% men to 55% women.
• 69% of OurTime members are single parents.
• Nearly 70% have already been married at least once. 54% are divorced, and 15% are widowed. Only 50% of users in their 50s say they're interested in getting married again, a percentage which decreases dramatically once they reach their 60s (8%) and their 70s (5%).

Seniors don't have a reputation for being the most technologically advanced age group, but online dating is proving that they know their way around a computer just as well as their younger counterparts.

• OurTime members log-on an average of 44 times and view 81 profiles during a 90-day period.
• 1 in 5 Our Time members users a mobile device to log-on. Their device of choice? The iPad, of course.
• OurTime.com's membership has jumped 66% over the last two years.
• Senior dating has been particularly popular in Kansas City, MO, Tuscon, AZ, San Diego, CA, Rochester, NY, and St. Louis, MO.

Here's what singles are looking for in their more mature years:

• "Nature and Outdoors" is the #1 interest listed on profiles by both male and female OurTime members.
• For men, sports ranks second and fitness comes in third.
• For women, family and friends takes the #2 spot and travel comes in at #3.
• Physical attraction is also an important factor: 87% of singles ages 50-70 say it's a must-have.

"This is a vibrant, growing community of singles that's taking the dating scene by storm," said Dr. Terri Orbuch, relationship expert for OurTime.com, "and rightfully so. By and large this age group is happier, more secure, and even feeling sexier than their younger counterparts. They also are a better judge of the type of person who will make them happy, so it's the perfect stage of life to be looking for love."

It is clearly OurTime's time to shine. For more information on this dating site you can read our review of OurTime.

Recipient
OurTime.com

The Editor's choice for the Top Pick - Senior Award goes to a dating site that has become very popular over the last few years, OurTime.com. This online service has seen very solid membership growth in 2012 and it has continued this trend for 2013. It is now one of the largest dating sites for seniors (singles 50 plus).

OurTime.com is a simple dating site to use. Buttons are clearly labeled as to their function and the tabs at the top of the website make it easy to visit each part of the site. Searching is kept simple by choosing the gender you are looking for, the age range, and your location by entering your State or Zip Code. You can also specify to show profiles that have photos, videos and/or audio greetings. When the search results are returned you can sort by new members, distance from you, and the last time they visited Our Time. If you want more, advanced search options are available for those interested in certain ethnicities, relationship expectations, religion and other important profile attributes.

For seniors interested in online dating, OurTime.com is one of the top dating sites for singles 50 years and older. You can sign up as a member for free to check out the different features offered by the service and search for other seniors who have joined. If the site meets with your expectations and you wish to message other members a small monthly fee will be required.

Read our review of OurTime.com for more information about this dating service or visit OurTime directly.

This Year's Runner Up for this award is: Senior People Meet

A dating site for singles 50-plus called OurTime.com was launched the other day by People Media. People Media is owned by IAC which also owns the popular dating services Match.com and Chemistry.

OurTime.com launched with over 1 million profiles in its database. These profiles were gathered from some of IAC's existing dating sites that had singles which matched a number of criteria, including being over the age of 50. Combining all of these profiles into one dating site makes OurTime.com one of the larger services online to cater this niche.

Singles visiting OurTime.com can expect the members to be more interested in long-term relationships and companionship rather than marriage. Members tend also to be more traditional in their thinking and much happier with their personal lives when compared to someone younger.

For more on this story you can read the press release. At the moment we do not have a review of OurTime.com but for a similar dating service you should check out our Senior People Meet review.

Update: Our new review of OurTime.com is now available online.