Dating Services

Recipient
Senior People Meet

Senior People Meet is the 2013 Editor's choice for the Top Pick - Senior Award. This is the fourth time in which this dating site has won this award. This year we decided on honouring Senior People Meet not only because it is one of the largest seniors only dating sites but because they make it easy for singles 50 years and older to meet each other online in a fun and safe way.

It takes about 2 minutes to create a basic profile which will allow you to then look over the site and search for members in your city. Searching and sending email to your favorite members is straight forward and can be done in just a few clicks. Just make sure you finish your profile first and include a couple of good photos so the person you sent the message too has a better idea of who is contacting them.

Besides email you can also communicate with members by creating a video greeting, and chatting via text or a live video connection (at least one person must have a video camera). If you are inundated with too many communication requests SeniorPeopleMeet.com also allows you to specify an age range and the gender of the person with whom is allowed to contact you.

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

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

We all know that people post older or misleading photos on their online dating profiles from time to time - photos from when they were younger, thinner, or had more hair - just to attract more people. This phenomenon is nothing new, but it's something that frustrates and puts a damper on people's online dating experiences, even though they might not complain to the dating site about it.

But what if a profile is even more deceptive - what if someone has posted a false identity with fake pictures to lure you in? What about extreme cases, like catfishing, where you've been swindled out of some money? Does the dating website have accountability in this situation?

According to a Florida mother and part-time model, Match.com should be held accountable for engaging in 'one of the biggest conspiracies ever executed on the Internet.'

According to a lawsuit Yuliana Avalos filed against the popular dating website, more than 200 bogus Match.com profiles were created using her pictures. She maintains that hundreds, possibly thousands of fake profiles are posted on the site, including those using her pictures, even though she's never signed up for the site.

The lawsuit also claims that "thousands" of others - including celebrities, soldiers and adult actresses, have had their pictures taken from Facebook and other sites and used in creating fake profiles for Match.com. Avalos maintains in the suit that people (mostly in other countries) use the photos and fake profiles to scam people out of money. She says Match.com knows this and looks the other way, because the IP addresses of scammers show that they originate in other countries, even though the Match.com profile claims to be posting from inside the U.S.

Avalos maintains that Match.com could crack down on these fake profiles if they wanted to, simply by using facial recognition software, but they choose not to.

In the suit Avalos asks for $500 million in money damages for the thousands of victims, and another $1 billion in punitive damages.

Although Match.com has been sued over fake profiles before, these suits have been dropped because of the terms of its user agreement. Match.com says it isn't required for them to police the site and so the company isn't responsible for fraudulent information people may post.

The outcome of this lawsuit could change the online dating landscape - especially if companies are required to take action and crack down on those posting bogus information. Online dating could get more expensive for members. It could also bring down membership numbers that are used to boost ratings and attract people to various sites. But then hopefully, it would protect people from being manipulated and cut down on the amount of catfishing taking place in the online community.

We'll see what happens next in Avalos' case.

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