General News

As an English major, I'm always excited when I come across a new word. Today's new word is "gamification," an odd-sounding term that's apparently the future of Zoosk.

Zoosk shot to the top of the list of the most successful dating services on the Web since its inception 5 years ago, and the company's latest attempt to stay on top of the game is "gamification": "the use of game-like incentives such as achievements in non-gaming apps." GamesBeat recently interviewed Shayan Zadeh, CEO of Zoosk, to learn more about the new gamification feature.

"Leveraging our virtual currency system," said Zadeh, "we are able to build incentives into the product that help guide users towards deeper engagement and other behaviors we find useful." In other words, the more active you are on Zoosk, the more rewards you receive. Engaged users receive more profile views, more messages, and more friend requests, all of which add up to increased popularity (and who doesn't want to be popular?).

Zoosk's aim is to stay ahead of the competition by giving members more ways to promote their profiles. Zoosk users receive feedback on how they compare to other users, letting them know what counts towards their ranking and giving them a "badge" for their popularity. Users can also purchase advertising on the site using virtual currency, a fairly unique feature among online dating sites.

Zadeh says that implementing gamification features has gotten "more out of the system both for the users and for the business." "Providing a positive feedback loop on "good engagement" to our users has not only given them more incentive to engage with the product," he continued, "but also has been driving the members to send more thoughtful messages."

When asked about what has made Zoosk so successful, Zadeh gave credit to the interactive social networking feel of the site. In contrast to other dating sites, which have static profiles that function more as "bulletin boards," Zoosk members "build a special purpose social graph on the site which consists of people they would be interested in dating." Over time the graph evolves, allowing for "a more natural progression of relationships from the initial wink to actually going on a date."

Zadeh also believes that the young demographic that uses the site has made Zoosk an online dating success story. The vast majority of Match users are over 35, though most of the single population is younger than 35. Zoosk, on the other hand, makes online dating accessible to a younger generation - in fact, 70 percent of their member base is younger than 35 years old.

Up next for Zoosk are new features "that will allow people in a relationship to continue using Zoosk by building a digital home for their relationship." Zoosk hopes to continue to provide support for couples who met on the site, found love, and have entered committed relationships.

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

For all of you single Windows Phone 7 users out there, Match.com recently released a dating app for your phone. Match.com is one of the few dating sites that I know of who offers an app for your phone which is good news since they are one of the most popular dating service.

Like Match's other dating apps, the Windows Phone one is free to download and offers most features of their website. You can create a profile, search for members and view members profiles and pictures. If you have a Match.com subscription, you will also be able to communicate with members as well. The Windows Phone app is currently available in Canada and the United States only.

Match.com also offers a mobile version of their website along with dating apps for the following phones: iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Palm. By my count Match.com supports the most number of phone operating systems (5 in total).

For more information on this dating service you can read our Match.com review.

The Internet has been a-buzz lately with bad news for my northern neighbors: STDs are on the rise.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, the per capita rate of new syphilis cases throughout the country has surged nearly 10-fold since 2000. Chlamydia rates fell through most of the 90s, but have jumped 66% since 2000. In 2009, more than 87,000 new cases were reported and HIV, too, saw a steady decline through the 1990s but has been climbing again in the 2000s. Many of those new patients are heterosexuals and women, say public health agency statistics, two groups that are typically considered to be at a lower risk for HIV.

So what's responsible for the sudden soaring rates of STD infection? Are the diseases themselves more tenacious? Are we simply being less careful?

The answer, some health experts believe, is something else that's been on the rise during the last decade: online dating. In North America alone, the online dating industry has soared from bringing in $40-million in revenue in 2000 to bringing in more more than $1.5-billion currently. A quarter of Canadians have taken part in Internet dating, says a survey taken last year, and 16% reported having sex with someone they met online.

Many of the new singles flocking to dating sites are middle-aged and older, age brackets that are less likely than younger daters to practice safe sex and that are now responsible for many of the new STD infections. Experts believe that online dating may create a false sense of security and intimacy for members, subconsciously leading daters to take more risks in their sex lives.

"By the time you meet and start having sexual activity," says Pam Krause, executive director of the Calgary Sexual Health Centre, "perhaps you have this sense that you're really comfortable and you know this person well. So there's no need to negotiate safer sex."

Dr. Jill Grimes, author of Seductive Delusions - How Everyday People Catch STDs, says that patients frequently report feeling an increased sense of intimacy with partners they meet online. "You feel like you know them because you've had this correspondence," she says, "and physical intimacy proceeds a lot faster." The mistake we make is thinking that the more we know someone, the less likely they are to have an STD.

To combat the rising STD rates, dating sites are being encouraged to include features like a safe-sex option in member profiles, lists of HIV testing locations, and e-cards to inform partners of positive results. Many experts, including officials with the Ontario and Alberta health departments, believe that there is no hard evidence of a link between the popularity of online dating and the growth of STD infections, but smart daters will chose partners wisely and practice safe sex - whether dating online or not.

It looks like that MillionaireMatch.com received a homepage facelift. The color scheme is the same but I think the new graphics definitely enhances the style of the dating site and gives it a much more professional look. I also think having less text on the homepage helps in this regard as well.

MillionaireMatch.com has also expanded into Asia and Europe. They are now available in 3 languages. Along with the Americans, Canadians and Britians, Germans and Japanese singles can also enjoy this dating service in their native language.

For more information on this niche dating site, please read our Millionaire Match review.

I notice several comments this week about users not liking the fact that Plenty Of Fish has now made the dating feature "Viewed Me" for paid users only. I had thought this was done a while ago but after some further research it looks like only the ability to see when someone had looked at your profile was removed. You could still see who had viewed you, not just when.

Well earlier this week it looks like you now cannot see who has viewed your profile anymore on POF.com, if you are a free member. You will now have to pay for this privilege.

For more information on this popular dating site, you can read our POF.com review.

eHarmony let us know that they are offering free communication this weekend in the United States and Canada. This promotions starts in the morning at 12:01am on Friday March 16th and ends in the evening of Monday March 19th at 11:59pm.

For singles interested in trying our eHarmony, this 4 day event is a great way to do it for free and with no credit card required. To start all you need to do is sign in and create a free profile on eHarmony. Once you are finished with creating the profile and taking the in-depth questionnaire, you will then receive your first set of matches. After you have reviewed your matches you can then start the guided communication process and contact your preferred matches. Features not included during free communication events are photos, Secure Call or Skip to Email.

This will be eHarmony's 38th free communication event (by our count) with the last one happening around Valentine's Day (see Story).

To find further information about this online dating site, you can read our eHarmony.com review.