General News

Online dating can seem a bit intimidating - meeting a complete stranger and seeing if you click. But what if the potential dates you meet are friends of friends, or people connected to you through a social network? Would that make a difference?

Circl.es is betting on it. This dating app uses Facebook to help you find other single friends of your friends - ones you might not necessarily run into in real life. (Especially if you prefer to spend time interacting with people online rather than in person.)

Even though they just launched in April, Circl.es is already steadily gaining active users. There is no "online dating profile" per se, or a long list of questions to answer before you see your matches, just your basic stats. When you join, you share the basics of what you're looking for - body type, age, etc. and you can scroll through its list of friends of friends in your vicinity. It pulls your basic Facebook information - like birthday, where you live, and general info and likes to match you. It's pretty simple, and it won't match you with your own friends so you don't have to explain that embarrassing situation.

A great feature: there is a disclaimer when you join, stating that Circl.es won't show up in your timeline, and that your information won't be shared with anyone who doesn't fit your criteria. Your information is kept pretty private, as long as you're willing to share some of your Facebook life with potential dates. But keep in mind there isn't the same privacy and anonymity you have with online dating sites.

With Circl.es, your Facebook information isn't visible unless you meet a few criteria, namely that you have a friend in common and that you match each other's basic criteria in a partner (including being single). So, it's not like you're disclosing your Facebook page to just anyone - but keep in mind, you're still putting your information out there for non-friends to see, so be sure to keep the full disclosures and drunken photos to a minimum. (See my previous articles on how to use Facebook as a dating tool for more information.)

Circl.es isn't the first dating app to utilize the vast network of Facebook, and probably won't be the last. I have to admit, social media lends itself to dating, if only because we are addicted to checking in with our friends and followers all day long - social media captures our attention and engages us, so why not find a date while we're updating our status?

On August 31, 2012 Plenty of Fish released a new update for their Android dating app. The new version number is 1.4.1.9627 and it includes a number of new features and bug fixes. The new features include:

• Username search
• Additional search filters on profile attributes
• You can now register on POF through the App (done through web before)
• Auto-refresh for conversations
• Local event notifications
• User interface modifications

I haven't had any problems logging in with the new version but more than a few members have complained about not being able to use the app due to time out issues or notifications that the service is down for scheduled maintenance. A reviewer also mention that the Apps MeetMe feature could use additional search filters so you can have tighter control on which members are displayed.

Check out the Google Play Store on your Android phone and search for POF to download the app. To find out more about this popular free dating site you can read our POF.com review.

I am not sure if this is the right type of publicity a company wants but the Gay dating app called Grindr is being blamed for the rise of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The Christchurch Sexual Health Clinic in New Zealand has been quoted as saying that these type of apps which allow Gay men to find others nearby have been associated with a 50 percent increase in cases of Syphilis in 2012.

Globally Syphilis has been making a comeback in recent years. It is recommended that you always use protection. In fact Grindr has a policy which bans its members from looking for unprotected intimate encounters. If a member violates this regulation their profile will be removed.

For more on this story you can read The New Age.

In a not too surprising move IAC announced last Friday that it has acquired the free dating site DateHookup.com. No financial terms of the agreement have been disclosed. IAC already owns such popular dating sites as Match.com, Chemistry.com and OkCupid. Datehookup.com was founded by Dustin Weirich in 2002 and has grown over the years to become the 6th most visited dating site on the internet. Every month DateHookup.com receives over 1 million unique visitors.

Over the past few years IAC has acquired a number of dating sites. Here are their most recent purchases:

• 2011 – OkCupid for $50 million (see Story)
• 2010 – Singlesnet (see Story)
• 2009 – People Media for $80 million (see Story)

Every year since 2009 IAC has bought a dating site. If the pattern holds true I wonder who they plan to purchase in 2013? I heard rumors a while ago that they may be interested in Cupid PLC since they are performing well in the European market. I have my doubts it will happen though, since Cupid PLC does operate some adult oriented dating services.

For more on the story you can read the IAC press release. To find out more about the dating sites involved you can read our Match.com review and DateHookup.com review.

Markus Frind who is the founder of Plenty of Fish still has his own blog over at Wordpress.com but the actual dating site got a new blog in June it looks like. It is called "The POF Blog: Catch of the Day" and can be found here. There are only 2 posts at the moment and both are written by Shannon Smith. She is the Plentyoffish Media Inc. PR Coordinator.

Plenty of Fish has also grown some more and now has 66 employees. This is over 50 percent more employees than they had just 6 months ago. In January of this year they had 40 and back in 2009 the dating site had only 4.

For more on this story you can read the Online Personals Watch. To find out what this free dating site is all about you can read our Plenty of Fish review.

eHarmony here in the United States and Canada is having a free communication event this weekend which starts Friday August 31, 2012. It will run for 4 days and end at 11:59 pm on Monday September 3, 2012.

Free communication weekends are for both new and existing eHarmony members. If you do not have a membership yet all you need to do is signup for the service. No credit card is required. Once you have become a member and completed the personality profile eHarmony will pre-screen your matches and only send you the profiles of members that have the greatest chance of creating a long-term relationship with you. Once you have selected the matches you like you can then communicate with these matches for free all weekend. Free communication weekends do not include photos, Secure Call (a phone service), or Skip to Email (via the guided communication process).

The last free communication weekend at eHarmony happen in July on the Independence Day holiday (see Story). By our count this will be the 41st free communication event at eHarmony.com.

To find out more about this popular matchmaking service and how it compares with others, you can check out our eHarmony review.