General News

When online dating first came along, everyone was horrified. "Meeting someone? Online? Sounds like a service for freaks and losers and axe murderers."

Then we all warmed up to the idea. "Online dating? It's awesome. You can meet people from all over the world without leaving your couch and you don't have to spend every Saturday night deflecting losers at the bar."

Now online dating seems almost...old-fashioned. Dating algorithms and static profiles nearly feel like a thing of the past, while low-key social networking is all the rage.

Zoosk, from day one, has managed to take the best of online dating and merge it with social networking, creating a site that's always ahead of the curve and stands a real chance of becoming the future of modern romance. Shayan Zadeh, co-founder and co-CEO of Zoosk, recently had a chat with The Washington Times about where online dating is heading and what Zoosk is doing to stay on top of the game.

Zoosk's strategy is about one thing and one thing only: staying competitive. Zoosk began on the Facebook platform in 2007, then expanded into a website and mobile dating as the market changed. "We've focused on bringing together the best aspects of social networking (like news feed, live chat and video conversations) to the world of online romance," said Zadeh, ensuring that Zoosk is always relevant.

Now the market is changing again, and Zoosk is adapting to keep up. The question Zadeh and Zoosk are currently working to answer is "How could we keep Zoosk members engaged with the site, even after they found love?

Their solution - Couple Profiles - was launched in April. Couple Profiles give couples - whether or not they originally met on Zoosk - a "dedicated place to celebrate their relationship online" where they can "share photos and relationship milestones, like anniversaries, vacations and special events, with family and friends." Zoosk is aiming to turn itself into a "romantic social network," not just a dating site.

"We really see social networking for couples as being the next evolution of modern romance," explained Zadeh. A survey found that 77% of Zoosk members use technology to connect with their partners throughout the day (the majority interacted with their significant others 3 or more times each day). That's a massive market that Zoosk intends to conquer, with the new Couple Profiles feature and its mobile services.

The days of romantic social networking may have just begun, but I like the idea already. Can't wait to see where it goes.

To find out more about this popular dating site you can read our Zoosk.com review.

When you're dating, it's easy to fall into unhealthy patterns, especially when things aren't going your way. Do you tend to complain about your bad dates with your friends? Maybe you get together over drinks to whine about the latest round of awful dating experiences or the state of your love lives. While it feels good to let off some steam, could it actually be making things worse?

According to Trevor Blake, an entrepreneur and author of Three Simple Steps: A Map to Success in Business and Life, listening to too much complaining is bad for your brain. In a recent interview for Inc. Magazine, he outlines how neuroscientists have learned to measure brain activity when faced with various stimuli, including a long gripe session.

For instance, his research shows that exposure to 30 minutes or more of negativity actually peels away neurons in the brain's hippocampus. "That's the part of your brain you need for problem solving," he says. "Basically, it turns your brain to mush."

Worse than that, Blake claims the brain acts like a muscle, and the more we are around someone who's negative the more we act that way ourselves.

So how do you protect yourself from all of that negativity, especially when you feel a need to vent? Following are some of his suggestions:

Distance yourself. Blake says to look at complaining like second-hand smoking. Just because you're not doing it yourself doesn't mean that it's not affecting you. Instead of sitting in a room with a complainer and passively listening to their rant, remove yourself, sooner than later.

Find a solution. This is not so easy to do. Blake suggests you try asking the complainer what he or she would do to fix the problem. Usually when someone leans toward complaining, they aren't looking for a solution - they are looking for other people to listen and sympathize with their rants. But throwing the question out there might help them get the hint that you're not willing to listen to their problems anymore unless they do something about it.

Protect yourself. There's nothing wrong with a little creative visualization. If you can picture yourself in another location that you find relaxing - like an island or beach, it will help keep your mind from absorbing all the negativity. You could also picture a shield protecting you from the negative chatter around you - much like athletes do during tense moments in a game. It helps to block out the noise from the crowd when you have an invisible protective barrier around you.

Bottom line: be aware of the complainers in your life, especially if you are one yourself! It's time to start protecting yourself from negative energy.

We have added a new review to the Social Networks dating category for the site Meetup. Like the other Social Networks that we have reviewed, Meetup is not strictly a dating or singles site. Meetup allows visitors to find various types of local groups in their neighbourhood. These groups have topics that range from fitness and hobbies, to businesses helping businesses. A large number of groups Meetup has though deal with singles looking to meet other singles. That is why we thought Meetup would be a good site to review since it does offer a way for singles to meet locally both online and off.

To find out more about this popular free group networking site please read our new Meetup review now.

OkCupid has a reputation for being the hippest of the online dating sites, and after seeing the banners they recently put up for users using ad-blockers, I have to agree that it's a reputation well-deserved.

Ad-blockers are great for users...but they're not so great for ad-supported sites, like OkCupid, that rely on advertisements to stay in business. Now OkCupid is taking on the issue of ad-blockers in a creative, humorous way that I think has a real chance of swaying its users.

"So normally there would be an ad in this spot. But you're using an ad-blocker like a boss. Here's a solution: You donate $5 to us once, & we remove all ads from the site forever." That's part of the text from OkCupid's new banner that appears to members with ad-blocking software installed. It's not a premium service offered for an extra fee - OkCupid has that already - instead, it's a direct and clever appeal to those using ad-blockers to support the site they love.

The reality is that no site wants to bombard its users with off-putting ads, but in order to remain free, ads are necessary to make ends meet. "Imagine running a restaurant where 40% of the people who came and ate didn't pay," explains Ars Technica. "Most sites... are paid on a per view basis. If you have an ad blocker running, and you load 10 pages on the site, you consume resources...but provide...no revenue."

Hardly seems fair when it's put that way, does it?

OkCupid's new solution to the problem works like this:

So normally there would be an ad in this spot. But you're using an ad-blocker like a boss; like a boss who hates ads. & that's cool, except that OkCupid is ad-supported, & we need money to run this beast. Here's a solution: You donate $5 to us once, & we remove all ads from the site forever. You don't have to see garbage ads; we make a little of the money back that we're losing from the blocker. Everyone wins.

A plea like this could come off as desperate in the wrong hands, but in OkCupid's hands it works brilliantly. It's not asking users to put up with ads anyway, or pay an exorbitant fee for a package of (mostly useless) extra features that includes ad removal. It also doesn't feel like OkCupid is selling out or trying to overhaul its entire business model. Instead, the banner's direct, funny, and intelligent tone fits in perfectly with the attitude of the rest of the site, giving users a little bit more of what they love about OkCupid in the first place.

To find out more about this dating service please read our review of OkCupid.

eHarmony in Australia is offering a free communication weekend that starts Friday the 28th of September and runs until end of day on Monday the 1st of October.

This is a great chance for singles in all parts of Australia to visit eHarmony.com.au and create a profile since eHarmony becomes extra busy during a free communication weekend. Once your eHarmony profile is complete and you have answered the personality questions you will be able to receive matches and view the matches profiles. When you have determined which matches you wish to contact you can then go ahead and communicate with those matches at no cost. This promotion is available to new and existing eHarmony Australia members.

To find out more about what this online dating site in Australia offers, please read our eHarmony review.

I'm not a big fan of shows like The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, or even the more tongue-in-cheek show The Choice. Sure, they're fun to watch. But I think people make the mistake of thinking this is how love happens in real life, that gorgeous people just show up and we get to choose. That love will come to us.

I just don't buy into the chance of real love blooming between two people when it involves TV cameras on every date. While it seems romantic to some that twenty or so gorgeous women are vying for the attention of one hot, successful single man, I can't help but cringe.

Is it even possible that all these women have fallen in love with the same guy? Maybe I'm a cynic, but I don't think real love happens in front of the cameras. It happens when we recognize it, deep in our gut - and it doesn't always happen with the person we expect.

That's why I'm intrigued that Oprah has her hand in a new reality love connection show called "Love Town, U.S.A." I've always been a big fan of hers, but I had to admit - I was skeptical. I mean, she is looking for ratings, right?

But this show takes a very different approach from all the roses and evening gowns and flirtations between gorgeous people. For one, it focuses its attention on the people of one small town in Georgia. For another, it involves not only the singles looking for love, but their families, friends, and other members of the town with whom they share a little history - good and bad.

From what I could tell, the show focuses on helping people get past their histories. There is one man who is deemed a player and it's hard for him to be taken seriously by any woman, and another woman who is shy and afraid of putting herself out there. Then of course, there are broken families that need to heal before a young man or woman can find real, lasting love. How does the show tackle all of this?

Oprah hired two prominent matchmakers, Paul Carrick Brunson and Kailen Rosenberg, to help singles in the town "to build love." What this means is guiding them towards mending broken relationships as well as inspiring feelings of kindness, forgiveness and gratitude. This in turn will lead to greater possibilities in romantic love. The matchmakers are firm believers in love - that you have to give it in order to receive it - and that often means making yourself vulnerable so you can let it in.

Regardless of how the show turns out, I'm inspired by its intention - that giving love will help bring love into your own life.