Dating Services

First there was Singlesnet. Then there was Singlesnet via Match.com. Now there's Kiss.com, the latest evolution of an online dating service that's been in business since 1997.

There was once a time when Singlesnet was the most visited dating site in the United States, but its popularity peaked in December 2008 and steadily declined until a major drop in February 2009. Despite the drastic drop in traffic, Match.com purchased the company in 2010 and Match CEO Greg Blatt had high hopes for the new acquisition.

"While Singlesnet's traffic is currently in decline," he said at the time, "we believe that by applying our category expertise we can reverse that trend, increase the site's profitability and improve the overall user experience."

Quinn Lipin, Singlesnet founder and CEO, was also hopeful that the new partnership would mean a brighter future. "Match.com has been the standard-bearer for the entire online dating industry, so we're excited to team up with them," he said. "I believe working with Match.com will enable us to re-start growth in the business."

Three years have passed, and the company has undergone yet another transformation. The site was rebranded for 2013 as Kiss.com, a sleek, simple, and streamlined dating site better suited to the current online dating climate.

The Kiss.com sign up process begins with an easy fill-in-the-blank questionnaire that makes completing your profile a snap. After you've answered the Mad Libs-style forms, you can then choose the hobbies and interests that most represent you from a selection of cute and colorful cartoon drawings. The list is surprisingly extensive (even pet rocks have an entry!). The same picture-style survey also answers questions about your beliefs regarding politics, religion, and astrology.

Finally, you're given the opportunity to answer in your own words. Two free-response questions let your creativity flow: 'If you only had 4 seconds, what would you say about yourself?' and 'What if you had an hour to describe yourself to someone, what would you say?' If you're not ready to answer every question just yet, you can hit the SKIP button at any point and come back later.

While the look of the site is different, the price structure has barely changed since it was Singlesnet:

• One month for $24.95
• Three months for $16.65 per month ($3.00 cheaper)
• Twelve months for $7.49 per month

Members who choose to upgrade their subscriptions receive better placement in search results, priority access to new features, and unlimited communication with both featured and non-featured members.

Will a makeover prove to be all Kiss.com needs to climb its way back to the top?

Well, well, well...Plenty of Fish is really determined to make its reputation makeover a success, isn't it?

The site announced a new look on its blog over the weekend:

The header looks much more modern now. Is this the first of many cosmetic changes? Stay tuned.

POF has never been my cup of tea, but my curiosity was piqued enough to take a look. The changes aren't huge - it's more of a subtle nip/tuck than an entire facelift - but they're a step in the right direction. The new site looks cleaner and more modern than older versions, an adjustment it's needed since forever.

Why did it take so long for POF to join the modern era of dating? No idea. Does it still have a long way to go? Undoubtedly. But am I happy to see them inching towards becoming a dating site I might actually consider using? Of course.

It all started a couple of months ago when POF CEO Markus Frind announced plans to refocus the mission of the dating site. "In sticking with my vision that POF is all about Relationships," he wrote in a message to customers, "I'm going to make a bunch of changes to ensure it stays a relationship-focused site." Three modifications were implemented:

1. Any first contact between users containing sexual references was banned and automatically not sent by the site.
2. An age requirement went into effect, allowing users to contact people +/- 14 years of their age only.
3. The Intimate Encounters section of the site was removed.

Admittedly, I was skeptical. Plenty of Fish was one of the first dating sites I ever explored, and it was nearly enough to turn me off online dating for good. I wasn't interested in the people POF seemed to attract, and I couldn't stand the look of the site. It was cluttered and ugly - nothing like the sleek, clean, easy-to-navigate competition.

And now? Well...it's hard to shake the old feelings about POF completely, but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. The new look is definitely an improvement. It's clearly still Plenty of Fish, but it's a better-looking version that seems to be designed for the more serious dater. And it sounds like more aesthetic tweaks are on the way that might make it even better.

The question is: will a cosmetic makeover, combined with Frind's changes to the workings of the site, be enough to bring POF on par with dating's major players?

For our full review on this dating site you should take a look at our Plenty of Fish page.

The trajectory of online dating has been interesting, to say the least. When online dating services launched, they were the future - a whole new way of meeting people that was conducted entirely over the Internet.

Now that the vast majority of us are comfortable with the idea of online dating, the industry is changing again, and this time it's moving offline. The new trend in online dating is in-person events that forego using the World Wide Web entirely. The latest of these social gatherings is an offline game night hosted by Match.com.

Match is no stranger to online dating innovation. The 18-year-old company introduced Stir, an offline events program, in May 2012 and has since hosted more than 2,850 mixers with more than 225,000 singles in attendance. Around the same time, Match also introduced an online games feature that offered singles a new way to get to know each other.

The games were designed to be a quick (just one to five minutes) and easy way to engage with new people. The initial seven games included Best & Worst, Food Critic, Romance Rip Off, Name That Dance, Gut Reaction, Drawn Together, and If I Could. Match's recent launch combines the playfulness of the online games with the huge success of Stir events, bringing them together into offline Stir Game Nights in partnership with the board game industry.

Match describes its new foray into offline events as "less about strategy and competition and more about laughing and having fun together." Two types of events are planned. At the first, Game Night Mashups, facilitators will lead participating singles through the games. At the second, Game Night Happy Hours, singles will borrow from a library of games to play on their own. Several publishers have partnered with the dating site, including Buffalo Games, Bananagrams, Blue Orange Games, and Wiggity Bang Games.

"Match.com believes that connecting with new people should be fun," said Luke Zaientz, VP of Events at Match.com. "Over the last year, we've seen it happen time and time again at our Stir events -- whether it's during a game of kickball, trivia, Ping-Pong or at our first wildly successful game night. We're excited to help our members connect over some of the best board games around, from well-known titles to the industry's newest hidden gems."

The full list of participating games includes:

• Bananagrams: Bananagrams, Zip-It
• Buffalo Games: Last Word, Likewise!, Chronology, Gotcha!
• Endless Games: Name 5, Oddly Obvious
• Blue Orange Games: Spot It!
• Spontuneous Games: Spontuneous
• Wiggity Bang Games: Open Up
• Marbles the Brain Store: Touchy Feely, Splickety Lit, Mind Your Marbles

Stir Game Nights will be hosted at bars and restaurants throughout the summer and fall.

Are you addicted to social media? Are you compelled to check your Facebook account when you first get up in the morning? If your digital life is important to you, it might be hurting your ability to move on after a break-up.

Facebook keeps us connected to all the people we don't see on a regular basis, and keeps our pasts ever-present. While it's great to see what's going on with your old high school pal, it's another thing to see your ex posting pictures of his new girlfriend, or changing his status to "in a relationship" before you can even say "broken up."

While I wish we all had the courage to de-friend people who we're no longer involved with, it is a hard thing to do immediately. Maybe we can block a phone number or avoid places where you both used to go together, but tearing yourself away digitally is another challenge.

Following are some tips to help you break-up digitally:

Give yourself a digital break. There's nothing wrong with taking a brief time-out from Facebook, Twitter, etc. If it's hurting you to see his posts every time you login, then you'll be doing yourself a favor. Just take a breather - your friends will be there when you return.

Avoid posting about the relationship on your wall. While you might want the opinion of all your Facebook friends about whether or not your ex is a jerk, please don't post missives on your wall and then wait for people to comment. If you have to share your hurt and frustration with someone, then share in person. There's no need to make it a public forum. It's better if you don't know what his friends think of you, too - likely they will come to his defense. On Facebook.

Delete your relationship status. There's no need to let everyone know you're single, or "it's complicated," or anything else that might cause digital conversation. Just leave it blank for now. If anyone questions you, don't feel pressured to answer.

De-friend if you can. If your ex is always on Facebook, posting about his life, the people in it, or his musings, then you're causing yourself more emotional pain when you keep him as a friend. Even if you both decided in real life to stay friends, everybody needs time to heal when a relationship ends. This means taking a true break. De-friend him so you don't have to get his posts. You can always revisit your friendship status later, when both of you have moved on.

eHarmony.com and eHarmony.ca are having a free communication weekend that starts tomorrow and runs for 4 days (Aug 14 - Aug 18). This will probably be the last FCW of the summer so if you want to give eHarmony a try, these next few days will give you a chance to not only create a profile and view your matches but send emails as well.

During free communication weekends no credit card is required. Other dating sites during free trials tend to require a credit card before you can continue. eHarmony knows they offer a good service and believes singles who are looking for a long-term relationship shouldn't have a problem finding a match if they follow their process. One thing I will recommend you do is take the time and fill in your profile with the best answers possible. Do not rush it as this is the information the eHarmony matching algorithm uses to select your matches. If you are unsure what to write or select in any one question, usually the first answer that came to your mind is probably the correct one. If you still are unsure you can always skip the question, reflect on the answer, and come back later.

Please note FCW do not include the following features: photos in profiles, secure call over your phone, or skip the guided communication process to go straight to email.

For more on this dating site you should read our eHarmony review and take a look at the user reviews other visitors have posted. eHarmony also had a free communication weekend in July (see Story).

Wake up. Scan your Facebook news feed. Check your notifications on Twitter. Post to your Tumblr. Favorite a friend's photo on Instagram. Share an interesting article on Google+. Add a pin to your newest Pinterest board. Update your qualifications on LinkedIn. Then check your email, blog, and online dating profile.

And that's before you've even had breakfast.

We're living in a social media-saturated world, and there's plenty of evidence to suggest that our obsession with digital connectivity has changed the way we relate to each other. Now, what started as a fun and ground-breaking way to meet new friends and keep in touch with old ones may be turning into a time-consuming chore.

According to a recent survey conducted by E-Score, consumer attitude towards social media could be shifting. While awareness and usage of social media sites continues to remain high, the allure of using them is starting to fade.

The survey identified the social media sites with the most consumer awareness, as well as the appeal of those sites. Facebook scored the highest for both awareness and appeal, with 140 million unique monthly visitors in the US. Twitter came in second, followed by Google+. Dating sites eHarmony and Match.com rounded out the top 5.

Though two online dating sites were among the top five most recognizable social media brands, they were also among the lowest when ranked by appeal. Online dating has overcome many hurdles since its inception, but it seems it still has a few to clear.

Both Facebook and Twitter also earned surprising scores. They are two of the most recognizable and popular social media platforms, but they scored unexpectedly low in the appeal ratings. The survey's findings suggest that these social media sites are either habit-forming (and I think few of us who use them would disagree with that) or viewed as a necessity rather than a pastime.

"During the past five years, the role of social media has shifted from a leisure activity to an integral and, at times, mandatory, part of our lives," said Gerry Philpott, president of E-Poll Market Research. Social media fatigue could be setting in as using social media sites becomes more about obligation and less about fun.

I don't think the fall of social media is happening any time soon, but it's an intriguing prospect. Will something we once thought was a positive addition to our lives become something we can't stand?

What do you think: are we experiencing social media burnout?