Rejection isn't easy to take, but dishing it out isn't a walk in the park either. Most of us aren't out to hurt feelings or break hearts, so when it comes time to let someone down gently, we really do want it to be gentle.

If you're unprepared to be asked out, your response can be awkward or unintentionally hurtful. If it's already happened, well, these tips won't help much. But keep them in mind so you can handle things like a pro next time.

• Obey the golden rule. Treat others how you would want to be treated. A “no” that sounds offended or disgusted is a harsh response. Unless the person is intentionally being offensive or disgusting, try to remember that it takes courage to approach someone and that they did so because they think highly of you. Keep your tone polite and calm, while still sounding assured.
• Don't drag it out. Although you do want to handle someone's feelings with care, honesty is the best policy. If you know you're not interested, say so swiftly and directly. Agreeing to a date out of pity, being unclear about your intentions, or remaining silent to avoid confrontation only lead to more hurt down the road. Give a definitive answer so both of you can move on with your lives.
• Make it about you. Yes, turning down a date really is an “It's not you, it's me” situation. If you choose to offer an explanation for your “no,” keep it focused on yourself. No one wants to hear a list of reasons why they don't measure up. Use "I" statements instead. Think “I don't feel that connection between us” or “I'm not looking to date someone right now.”
• Don't keep them on the hook. When you turn someone down, make sure they know it's final. It's important to be kind, but being overly sympathetic or friendly can backfire. Don't give hope when there's none there. It should be clear that your “no” isn't a “not right now” or “let's see where things go” or “keep trying until I say yes.”

When the conversation is happening online, the rules are a little different. Although kindness and clearness are both still encouraged, online dating offers more wiggle room. Most people reach out to as many possible dates as they can, so they're unlikely to be strongly invested in any single one.

If all they do is send you a “Hey or a “What's up?” a response probably isn't warranted at all. If they've written a more detailed message, a polite-but-firm sentence or two is all you need. Wish them good luck and call it a day.

On Tuesday Match Group which is a subsidiary of IAC/InterActiveCorp purchased PlentyofFish Media for $575 million in cash. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. Markus Frind which is the founder and sole owner of POF started PlentyofFish.com way back in 2003. It was a side project for him to learn a new programming language. It quickly exploded and by 2008 he was earning $10 million a year from the dating site with only a couple of employees. Early this year POF.com reach a milestone and hit 100 million users. The company also predicted it would earn $100 million for the year 2015. On its newly launch responsive mobile site POF currently reports the following statistics:

• 3.5 million singles log into POF.com daily (through the website and dating apps)
• Those same singles generate more than 9 million conversation every day
• From those conversations 1 million relationships are created every year

In the past two years I have heard several rumors about Match being interested in purchasing POF.com. I had heard around $300 million was offered at one point, but it was turned down. For a site earning $100 million in a year with no debt and it’s only real expense is it’s 75 employees that was a pretty low offer (if it is true). Obviously there was some negotiations going on which resulted in Markus walking away with over half a billion dollars. Funny enough, the general rule of thumb in purchasing a website (now these are much smaller sites [smilely: ;]]), is that it is worth about 4 years’ worth of the income it generates. I guess from using this purchase as an example, that the rule is not too far off!

The Match Group has purchased a number of dating services over the past 6 years:

• In 2014 Match purchased How About We
• In 2012 Match buys DateHookup.com
• In 2011 OkCupid was bought by Match.com for $50 Million
• In 2009 People Media was acquired for $72 Million

Combining all of these sites along with Tinder (which Match had funded pretty early on) and adding POF to the mix, this will make the Match Group the undisputed power house in dating online and on our phones for years to come. Acquiring POF will also make the Match Group’s proposed IPO that much more enticing to investors when it happens, which is most likely near the end of the year.

POF is currently a free dating site that offers a paid subscription for an upgraded membership. This upgraded membership offers a number of features like no ads, viewing extended profiles and seeing who has viewed your emails. I am curious to see if the Match Group plans any tweaks to this formula. If they change POF to a completely paid dating site like Match.com (which I highly doubt by the way), then I am sure POF users would be up in arms. I have a feeling they will leave POF.com pretty much the same for now and let it continue as is, in the same way Match Group let OkCupid continue to operate.

Tired of feeling like you’re in a dating rut? Sometimes Tinder is fun, but it doesn’t yield the long-term results you crave. If you really want things to change, you’re going to have to explore other options and mix up your routine.

Change is hard – it requires getting out of your comfort zone and putting in some effort. I think that Tinder has been such an attractive app because it takes all of the effort out of dating, leaving it to be more of a game to pass the time. Don’t get me wrong – there are couples who met over Tinder, but they also made an effort to meet each other in person, too. Dating has to happen for a relationship to evolve.

Instead of relying on your dating apps like Tinder, it’s time to explore your options. Traditional online dating sites – especially those that charge a fee for their matching services – tend to attract daters who are a little more serious, a bit more invested. Mix up your routine by joining Match.com or eHarmony, and enlisting a friend to help craft your profile. (I find that many people aren’t very accurate with describing themselves – either they try to create a certain “image” and don’t come across as trustworthy or real, or they downplay their assets, thinking humility is a good trait to attract someone romantically. It’s not.

Matchmaking services are also an interesting option, because they are a little more curated and provide a higher level of customized service. If this kind of thing intimidates you, start with a service like “It’s Just Lunch.” It’s Just Lunch provides a way to cut to the chase, where you are set up on a simple lunch date with a match to see if you click. It’s casual, but at least you get to meet in person to see if there’s any chemistry, rather than dealing with messages from dating apps which go nowhere.

Dating apps are a good thing, they just aren’t able to provide a different type of experience – they are for quick views and snap judgments, and people move rather quickly through them. When you meet someone via an online dating site or service however, the process moves a bit slower – you message back and forth, you are encouraged to meet in person, and you get a chance to “date” rather than sort through endless options. There’s something to be said for taking your time.

With online access to virtually everything, we have become accustomed to getting what we want quickly. Instead of driving from store to store, we find exactly what we need searching the Web.

Because of our ability to find anything online – including a date – we have taken this to mean that the perfect date can be made-to-order. We are no longer bound by our circles of friends and family, but have access to virtually anyone in the world we want to meet (provided they are also online). Which means we can filter out the types of people we don’t want based on age, location, political beliefs, height or weight, or any of a number of factors. But this also means that we miss out on opportunities.

Online dating is marketed as being convenient and easy – you can meet anyone with a swipe of the screen or by accepting a match. But really, dating is the same as it ever was. As I state in my book Date Expectations, meeting someone is the easy part. The next step – getting to know someone over a series of dates – is where the connection really counts. But too often, we aren’t willing to wait to get to that part. Instead, we crave instant attraction or chemistry or we walk away. There is no in-between, because it’s too easy to move on to the next person.

If we scroll through people in real life, rejecting and judging before we’ve even gotten to know them, we miss out on forming any real connections. Sure, chemistry is fantastic, but it’s not lasting or a real indication of the success of the relationship. Real connection takes time.

Far too often, people aren’t what they seem when you first meet them. This isn’t saying they misrepresent themselves, but rather, they are putting on a bit of a performance trying to be the ideal date. Maybe they tried really hard to be witty, or they were so nervous they could barely form a coherent sentence. Or maybe your date had a bad week and isn’t really trying to make a good impression. In other words, who you first meet isn’t necessarily the person you get in a relationship. It takes a few dates to peel away the layers and see if there is a connection.

In other words, we have to try and be more patient when we date. It’s not a race to the finish line, or looking for instant connection, or assessing someone’s worth as a potential spouse – instead, it’s a process. Like anything worth having in life, it requires time and effort. It requires something of you – namely, to leave yourself open to possibility and to take your time navigating your way, rather than trying to fight off the currents by rejecting as many candidates as possible to get to the “right one.” The right relationship happens thanks to two people willing to see where things might lead.

Is there an online dating downer worse than finding out your new flame looks nothing like their profile picture? Total letdown, right? As online dating offenses go, it's high on the list.

Zoosk devised a solution to this all-too-common problem back in 2014. The feature, dubbed Photo Verification, confirms the authenticity of members' profile photos. If your photos pass the test, you receive a green Photo Verified badge.

Photos are verified under the Verification section (surprise) of your profile. Select Verify Photos and you’ll be prompted to record a short video of yourself. Zoosk’s moderators review the video and, if they feel your photo is an accurate representation, you'll receive an email letting you know that your photos are verified. The badge will automatically be added to your profile and your video selfie remains private.

The Photo Verification feature made Zoosk the first company to address this prominent online dating concern. With its launch came newfound levels of transparency, increased trust between online daters, and better first-date satisfaction.

“One of the most important concerns of online daters is going out with someone who doesn’t really resemble their profile picture,” said Shayan Zadeh, co-founder and CEO of Zoosk. “By innovating a system for our members to validate the accuracy of existing profile photos, we believe we can create better first-date experiences that will lead to lasting relationships.”

Photo Verification will now take a starring role in Zoosk's “First Comes Like” advertising campaign. “The message from our last campaign was successful in differentiating us from other sites,” Katherine Knight, brand manager for Zoosk, told Marketing Daily. “For our new campaign, we wanted to build on that and take it to the next level.”

The “First Comes Like” initiative highlights the fact that building a lasting relationship requires time, and that “love at first sight” is rare. In one ad, a woman uses Zoosk's mobile site while a voiceover explains the message of the campaign. Another 15-second spot hones in on the photo verification feature, showing a man trying to identify his date in a crowded coffee shop using the Zoosk app.

“Everybody wants love to be a big, huge fairy tale. But the reality is, before all that can happen, you have to fall in like first,” said Tony Zimney, creative director at Muh-tay-zik Hof-fer, the agency that created the campaign. “Each one of our spots highlights this moment of like.”

The commercials will begin airing nationally in the beginning of July.

Extroverts – those people who thrive in social situations – are really fun to be around. Many of us enjoy their company and find a sense of relief that someone else can steer the conversation and be entertaining at parties, but when it comes to dating an extrovert one-on-one it can be a little intimidating, especially if you’re an introvert or somewhat shy.

If you are attracted to people with high energy who typically seem “on” – who love to be the center of attention and make others laugh – it can be challenging. After all, you are attracted to their energy and enthusiasm, and the way an extrovert can draw people in. But you might also find yourself feeling isolated or overwhelmed when you are dating him/ her. Maybe you find yourself retreating into solitude at parties or wanting to spend less time socializing and more time just staying in for the night.

So how do you approach dating an extrovert in a more balanced way when you don’t want to be social all the time, and your extrovert is not so happy to stay in and cook dinner as much as you are?

There can be a happy medium – it just takes some effort and understanding from both of you. Here are some tips:

Decide your level of comfort in social settings. Do you feel pressured to be social by your date, or are you attracted to a man who can coax you out of the house on fun excursions or adventures? Most of us lie somewhere in between the introvert/ extrovert spectrum – so know how much you are willing to go beyond your comfort zone, and when you need to take a step back and regroup. Everyone will be different, so don’t feel pressured to do things that lead to feeling resentful. State your boundaries.

Pay attention to communication. Don’t ignore your feelings if you think he’s not paying enough attention to you or if he thinks you don’t understand him. Acknowledge your differences instead of trying to prove the value of your own point of view to each other. You can both get your needs met, as long as you both know what they are.

Go your own ways. Sometimes he might feel like going to a party when you don’t. Instead of dragging yourself to it and feeling resentful, allow him to go on his own while you enjoy a nice quiet night on your own. Then you will both feel more connected when you see each other again.

Check in with each other. Sometimes extroverts need more down time, and perhaps she gets quiet when she’s alone with you. There’s no need to feel anxious that you’re not entertaining enough or that she’s bored by your relationship. Everyone needs time to recharge – and she feels safe doing that around you.