Dating Services

Recipient
eHarmony

The recipient of the Editor’s Top Pick - Match System award goes to eHarmony. Singles join this service because they want a matchmaking system they can trust. They don’t want an endless list of profiles to stream through looking for the one which is literally like trying to pick a needle out of a haystack. You can tell the care that went into their matching algorithms by the questions eHarmony asks when you create a profile. Every answer is an important part of their matching system and provides a signal to what type of person you will not only have fun with but will be compatible with you as a person in the long run.

Did you know that 69% of male members meet their spouse on eHarmony within one year. For women that number is even higher at 71%. Your match also is usually not that far away with the average being a bit under 21 miles. Men tend to be about 2.39 years older and of those 600,000 couples who have met on eHarmony and married it took them an average of 22 months to tie the knot.

eHarmony is free to join and to review your matches. They allow limited communication for no cost which gives you a good idea if the site is a right fit for you. About once a month eHarmony has a Free Communication Event which allows members to send and receive messages. These events are an ideal time to try out this service and give it a test drive before you spend any money.

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

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

You might have heard by now that eHarmony has added a new personal service to their dating website membership options called eHarmony+. For a mere $5,000 per year, you can get the added benefit of personalized counseling with a real-life love counselor (who is also a professional therapist).

What prompted this move by eHarmony is another interesting story. According to a recent interview the website conducted with actor/ producer Ben Stiller, his new movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty may have something to do with it.

Producers worked closely with eHarmony while developing the movie, since the dating service plays a large role in the storyline. One of the characters written into the story is an eHarmony relationship counselor who helps Mitty with his online dating profile. The movie depicts a counselor who seems to be on call around the clock for Mitty (to answer such urgent questions as "should I send her a wink?" in the middle of the night).

Before the movie's release, eHarmony offered only traditional online dating services where people create their own profiles, fill out questionnaires and are matched by computer algorithms as opposed to actual people. But as eHarmony staff worked with producers on the script, they decided to make changes to the actual service, so that it provided customized help like it does in the movie (making it a more accurate depiction).

eHarmony's vice-president of customer experience, Grant Langston, tells The Hollywood Reporter, "As I read the script, I realized it couldn't be accurate because that's not the way we model our service. EHarmony is a self-serve model." So, they decided to make changes in time for the movie's release so that premium members can now receive one-on-one counseling.

Interestingly, this wasn't a paid advertising opportunity for eHarmony. In fact, Langston says on eHarmony's website that they paid no money to be part of the film, that writers included it as part of the script from the beginning. Instead, they were on the receiving end - asked by producers whether the script depicted the service accurately. Because it wasn't a true depiction, instead of changing the script, Langston saw an opportunity to create an eHarmony that was more like the one in the movie, that provided members real human counseling.

"We discussed internally asking them to change the film to suit the real eHarmony user experience - people take the relationship questionnaire, get matches, go through guided communication, etc.," Lagston says on eHarmony's blog. "But where's the drama in that? Would it be interesting to watch Ben Stiller quietly answer questions and communicate with matches? It would not."

Langston says, "I was asked to lead the effort to build this new product and once we started to discuss it, I began to understand Walter's attraction to this version of eHarmony. You're talking to a human being who cares about your success. That's nice. This person is reaching out to you and listening to your feedback. Who wouldn't love that?"

To learn more about this service you can read our eHarmony review.

Think Tinder is only about hooking up? Not so much. The app is now venturing outside of being a dating app and into the friend zone.

The latest version of Tinder (on the iPhone) keeps the same basic functionality of choosing each potential date based on a photo and a few bits of information gleaned from Facebook. But this time, you aren't just rating a date, but a potential friend - also with one swipe. Once you and your platonic interest have selected each other as friends, you can add each other to your "friend" list and be able to chat via Tinder. (I'm guessing you can swap notes on people you are hooking up with.)

The list feature in the latest version of the app allows users to customize according to how they want to categorize the people they've approved/ met over Tinder. Maybe according to city where they live, hair color, or height? If you are spending a lot of time meeting people on Tinder, it's a good way to keep everyone straight.

Another addition to 3.0 is the ability to add up to six profile photos, so you don't have to rely on just one to prove how hot you might be. (All photos are visible at the same time, so you don't have to worry about which one potential matches will see first.) Tinder has also improved its algorithms so that you end up with more accurate potential matches.

Founder Sean Rad told website TechCrunch that "eventually, Tinder will create automatic, dynamic lists for users, based on its relevancy algorithm and user preferences, location and interests." In other words, Tinder will notice where you are and who you are interested in (and for what purpose - dating, friendship, work, etc.) and become smarter about sending you matches based on your past swiping preferences.

But the ability to distinguish your Tinder contacts into categories that suit your life - dating, work, or friendship - is a huge breakthrough according to Rad.

"You have certain co-workers, acquaintances, and whatnot, and it would be socially awkward if you added them on Facebook," Rad says in TechCrunch. For instance, if you were to come across a co-worker or colleague on Tinder, you could swipe right and be added to each other's business contact or friends list. It replaces the Facebook dilemna of whether or not to add someone when there isn't much of a personal connection - and perhaps there are some things you post that you don't want them to see. "That's the breakthrough with Tinder," he adds. "That signal has been gone until now."

Recipient
Christian Cafe

This year the Editor's Top Pick - Christian Award for 2013 goes to the dating site Christian Cafe. Christian Café was launched in 1999 and over the last decade it has become a popular online dating service in the United States and Canada. It is owned and operated by a the Moorcroft family who’s Christian faith is an important part of their lives. ChristianCafe.com brings Christian values to the world of online dating.

This dating site has been featured on the television show 100 Huntley Street and the Christian Broadcasting Network. Christian Cafe also has had numerous articles written about it in publications like Faith Today and the National Post. Most critics agree that this service is ideal for single Christians to meet and develop long-term relationships.

Christian Café does offer a 10 day free trial which allows new members to try out all aspects of the service for no cost and no credit card required. With this trial you can create a profile and communicate with any member though email during the trial period. If you are happy with the service you can then continue it as a paid member if you desire.

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

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

I guess this is how you know you've officially "made it." A film is being made about ChristianMingle.com.

Appropriately named "Christian Mingle," the film is written and directed by Corbin Bernsen and will be produced by his production company, Home Theater Films. The new romantic comedy will partner with the ChristianMingle website itself, which holds the distinction of being the world's largest and fastest-growing Christian community.

The movie tells the story of Gweneth Hayden (played by Lacey Chabert best-known for her role as Gretchen Wieners in "Mean Girls"), a 30-something marketing executive who has a top-notch career, a killer wardrobe, her dream apartment and a fantastic circle of friends. In other words, she believes that the only thing missing from her otherwise-perfect life is a man (played by Jonathan Patrick Moore of "L.A. Complex").

In a moment of desperation, she signs up for ChristianMingle.com to find him. But her Christianity is more than a little rusty, and her attempts at impressing her dream guy end in disaster when he calls her out on her "faux faith." As a result, Gweneth comes to the realization that it's not her lack of a relationship that's keeping her from happiness, but rather her lack faith. She commits to leaving her superficial life behind and renewing her relationship with God. In the end, Gweneth gets what she wanted most: a "life-changing" love.

"'Christian Mingle' is about a young, modern, single woman. She's trying to achieve it all - a successful career, amazing friends and finding Mr. Right," Bernsen said. "She stumbles into the world of online dating looking for an instant 'soul mate solution,' but ultimately ends up taking a personal journey transforming her life."

"Our goal at Home Theater Films is to inspire and entertain our audience," Bernsen continued. "We want to make great movies that everyone can enjoy and elevate them with contemporary, relatable characters that naturally demonstrate their faith in real-world situations."

Other members of the case include Erin Bethea, who notably portrayed female lead Catherine Holt in the film "Fireproof," Stephen Tobolowsky ("Groundhog Day"), and John O'Hurley ("Seinfeld"). Behind the scenes, "Christian Mingle" is written and directed by Bernsen and produced by Chris Aronoff. Matt Swanson and Charlie Schafer serve as Executive Producers. The film will include music from Capitol Christian Distribution, who will also handle the home entertainment distribution.

Production began in Turlock, California, at the end of 2013 and will wrap in Los Angeles with the theatrical release planned for Spring 2014. To find out more about this dating site you can read our Christian Mingle review

Recipient
Millionaire Match

MillionaireMatch.com is the recipient of the Editor’s Top Pick - Wealthy Award for 2013. Millionaire Match is one of the original sugar daddy dating services and has now been in business for over 13 years. With plenty of exposure on national media networks like CNN, CBS and ABC this dating site continues to grow which means more matches and selection for its members whether you are someone looking to find a wealthy match or who wants to meet an attractive single looking for a good time.

Millionaire Match was one of the first dating sites to bring you verified members. If a member so chooses they can submit the appropriate documents and have their photo and profile verified along with their income level. This makes it much easier for members to trust each other and also means that you have a much less chance of running into scams when compared to similar dating sites. They also have recently released an iPhone and Android dating app which allows you to answer messages and perform searches while on the go.

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: Seeking Arrangement