General News

eHarmony is having a free communication event this weekend which starts Friday November 16th and runs to Monday November 19th. This 4 day event is available on both eHarmony US and Canada websites.

This probably will be the last free communication event until the Christmas Holidays so if you are thinking of trying eHarmony this fall, over the next few days would be a good time to try it out to see if you like the dating service. So how does free communication work at eHarmony? If you do not have a membership yet you first need to create one. This will just take you a couple of minutes. Once completed you will then need to complete the personality profile. This is the key to how eHarmony is so successful at matchmaking so you need to complete it truthfully and accurately. It takes most people about a half an hour to do. If you run out of time and cannot finish the personality profile that is not a problem. You can save what you have completed and finish it at a later date. A basic membership and personality profile at eHarmony is always free and so is receiving matches. Once you have finished the profile eHarmony will send you your first batch of matches. When the free communication event starts you can then send messages to one or more of your matches at no cost. Free communication weekends do not include photos and Secure Call (a phone service). No credit cards are required so there is no obligation and who knows, maybe you will find a date for this Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday! 😉

The last free eHarmony communication weekend was during the Labor day long weekend (see Story). By our count on eHarmony.com this free communication event with be number 42.

To find out more about this dating site which helps singles create long-term relationships, please read our eHarmony review.

You may not have heard of IAC, but you've definitely heard about what IAC is doing.

Back in 2005, the Internet-focused conglomerate owned a diverse range of businesses that included Expedia, the Home Shopping Network, and Ticketmaster. All were fast-growing businesses, but they failed to work together as a coherent whole.

Over the next three years IAC streamlined, whittling down its assets to 23 businesses and more than 150 Web and media-related brands. Now, in 2012, IAC's ventures total 5.91 billion pages views per month.

IAC will continue to transform, but one thing is certain: the company isn't going away any time soon. Its two main businesses - online dating and Internet search - are thriving and show no signs of doing anything but that for a long time to come. IAC dominates the online dating industry as owner of Match.com and 30 other dating sites, and offers search services through Ask.com and a collection of apps.

Some think of fall as the time for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Others think of fall as time for the celebration of Movember, a tradition run since 2004 by the Movember Foundation.

What is Movember?

Movember is an annual, month-long event that hopes to "change the face of men's health" by raising awareness of prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and other men's health issues. On November 1st, Movember participants - known as Mo Bros - begin the event clean shaven. For the rest of the month, Mo Bros grow and groom their 'staches and raise money for the Movember Foundation by seeking sponsorship for their efforts. At the end of the month, Mo Bros celebrate their achievement by throwing a Movember party or attending one of the official galas held around the world.

This year Zoosk is celebrating the month of Movember by surveying members about their thoughts on facial hair and how it plays out in their relationships. Here's what they found:

Facial hair is becoming more popular in America.

• Only 50% of American men say their father had facial hair.
• But today, 64% of American men report having facial hair.
• "Mustache" may be a French word, but only 40% of French men currently embrace facial hair.

The most common reason for growing facial hair is confidence.

• 44% of men around the world say they feel more confident when they have facial hair.
• Other common reasons for growing facial hair are: to feel more attractive, to feel more sophisticated, and to feel more intelligent.

The majority of women are a-ok with facial hair, and the goatee is their favorite form.

• 80% of American women and 69% of women in the UK and Canada don't mind their men with facial hair.
• But most women in Australia, France, Mexico and Denmark prefer clean-shaven men.
• The goatee is the preferred form of facial hair, as voted by 36% of American women, while the soul patch is the least-liked form.

Participating in Movember might actually increase your chances of finding love.

• 63% of American women say that they would be more open to romance with a man who grew facial hair for a worthy cause.
• Only 27% of French women say they would feel more romantic with a man who grew facial hair for a cause.

Men and women disagree over which celebrity sports the best facial hair.

• More than 50% of women think it's Johnny Depp.
• Men, on the other hand, say Depp's facial hair is second to James Bond himself: Sean Connery.

See the infographic here. To find out more about this dating site you can read our Zoosk review.

We have added a new review to the United Kingdom dating category for the dating service called “Girls Date For Free”.

As the name suggests females on GirlsDateForFree.com can use the site for free while men are required to pay if they wish to communicate with other members. The thinking behind this is, if the women do not have to pay for the service, more of them will use it. And, as you know, where the women are, men will surely follow.

GirlsDateForFree.com has become very popular in Europe where the site sees over 350 thousand visitors every month. Over the last year they also have been gaining traction in North America. The site appears to have a younger demographic and singles use the site more for finding a good time than searching for long-term relationships.

To find out more about this British dating site you can read our new Girls Date For Free review now.

We have added a new review for the dating site called How About We.

HowAboutWe.com has been around for a number of years now and approaches online dating in an interesting and unique way. Instead of concentrating mainly on the physical and personality attributes of a member, HowAboutWe.com wants you to find members based on their favorite date ideas. Every date idea starts with “How about we…” hence the name of the site 😉. Basically you are looking for a date based on what you like to do. This process stream lines the online dating experience since it tries to get you offline and dating as soon as possible. Your date is already planned so there is a lot less messaging. Once someone is intrigued with your date idea, all you need to do is agree to go on the date and then figure out when.

To find out more about this dating service with a unique twist you can check out our new How About We review now.

You enjoy dating.

You enjoy playing games.

Therefore, it stands to reason that you would enjoy playing games about dating, especially if you can do it with your mobile phone.

Angry Birds is out, ladies and gentlemen, and The Game is in.

The Game is a new mobile app for iPhone and Android that promises to inject a little fun back into your love life. Online dating has changed the world, but scrolling through endless profiles on eHarmony or OkCupid gets boring. Enter The Game, which hopes to make the experience of using technology to meet your match a little less formal and a lot more conversational.

Starting is as simple as downloading the app to your device and signing in with your Facebook account. Once you're logged on, you're presented with three potential partners selected by the app based on the demographic and geographic information found in your Facebook profiles. You're immediately encouraged to interact with someone who could turn out to be your next Saturday night date by answering the ice-breaking multiple choice questions that come along with each match.

The more interactions you engage in with other players, the more points you earn. Points can later be redeemed for digital gifts or compliments. Players must continue to interact with new people in order to remain in the game - those who stop conversing with other players risk being kicked out. Those who continue to meet new people and earn more points are rewarded by getting one new potential partner each day. As players become more familiar with each other, they have the option of taking their conversation offline or meeting in person.

The Game creates a safe environment in which to meet people by using Facebook Connect to validate that users are who they say they are. Players are also never given access to each other's' personal information, and are required to have at least 50 Facebook friends (to prove that they have adequate social abilities) before playing the game.

"Our mission at The Game is to make dating fun again," says David Semerad, founder and CEO of The Game. "Dating should be enjoyable, there is no need for it to involve long forms and paperwork and create stress for people who already have busy, interesting lives. With The Game, we wanted to change the online dating model, and inject a large dose of playfulness and engagement."

Addictive Facebook games? Please. Farmville is so 2011. It's all about The Game in 2012.