General News

This time of year is notoriously good for online dating sites. Spurred on by the warm fuzzy feelings left by the holidays, the promise of Valentine's Day approaching, and the feelings of annoyance left over from relatives prying into love lives during family dinners, new members flock to dating sites and old members double their efforts to find love in the new year.

But this isn't the only good time for online dating, and OkCupid took a look at the data for New York City to determine exactly which days are hits and which days are misses for singles in cyberspace.

January 1, 2011 actually had the fewest messages and logins for the whole year, though the next day logins increased to 37,900 and 60,718 messages were sent. The remainder of the week continued with messages sent in the 50 and 60Ks, proving that this time of year really is a peak time for online dating.

As expected, the days around Valentine's Day were also a popular time for singles to test the waters of online dating. There were 40,900 logins and 51,364 messages on the day itself, but the days immediately before and after were both more active than the actual holiday.

Memorial Day Weekend brought the biggest day for messages, with 62,560 sent on Sunday the 30th. July 4th was a big day for daters, with 45,028 logins and 62,988 messages, but the days that followed were even bigger, with messages in the 70Ks! Thanksgiving Day was a comparatively low day (too much tryptophan, perhaps?), but the days after Thanksgiving all saw high numbers.

And then there were the more random fluctuations, like the spikes that occurred the day following Osama Bin Laden's death and the day Barack Obama visited New York City. The political scandal known as "Weinergate" could have scared potential online daters away, but instead OkCupid had a high of nearly 50K people logging in and 66,462 messages sent as the scandal unfurled.

The oddly early snows of October 2011 saw a rise in online dating for singles in the Big Apple, but natural disasters appear to be a mixed bag for daters. The day of the East Coast Earthquake saw a decrease in logins and messages from the day before (I guess undeserved panic and online dating don't mix), but the weekend of Hurricane Irene was a huge success that garnered logins in the 50Ks and messages as high as 88,402.

Looking ahead to 2012, major holidays may not be the best time to meet your match but daters should consider logging on during the busy days before and after. And although some natural disasters cause a little too much panic to sign into a dating site, any disaster that forces people to stay inside to avoid the elements may be prime time to look for love online.

For more on this story you can read the blog at Village Voice. For more information on this dating site please read our OkCupid.com review.

Britain's Got Talent auditions are currently being taped and for one dating site, it's talent for matching was shown. The panel of 4 judges, including Simon Cowell, were joking with a contestant couple who performed with a piano. One judge made a reference to Simon's recent breakup with his finance. The couple then mentioned that they had met on the dating site ChristianCafe.com. The same judge then told Simon he should maybe try out the website.

This Britain's Got Talent episode has been reported to be airing in March of 2012.

For more on this story you can read the Mirror. To find out more about the dating site mentioned in this article you can read our review of ChristianCafe.com.

POF reported on their blog that it was a good year for the dating site. They said that it nearly double in size (I am assuming here that they mean the number of members in their database) and that they hit a record of 50 thousand signups in a single day earlier this month.

Other big moments in 2011 for POF were:

• POF is now available in multiple languages
• Hired Administrators and a Tech Team
• Created a new POF chat system (designed in house)
• Name changed from Plenty of Fish to POF
• Site Redesigned
• New POF Apps for Mobile

For more information you can check out the POF blog and to find out more about this dating service you can read our POF review.

2012 is upon us, and so is an annual rush to join online dating sites in the new year.

It's known as the Holiday Effect - the 15 to 20 percent increase in online daters from December to February. Every year online dating sites experience a surge in membership over the holiday season, as singles who didn't have someone to kiss under the mistletoe or at midnight on New Year's Eve turn to the Internet for a fresh start in the new year.

There are a number of reasons that January has become such a busy month for online dating. New Years resolutions are on everyone's mind, focusing many people's attention on improving their current relationships or finding a partner if they're single. The idea of making a fresh start for the new year is also a strong motivator that draws traffic to online dating sites, as is the pressure from family and friends to settle down that singles often experience during the holidays.

"There is also the anticipated Valentines Day event which many single people dread more than any other day of the year," says Penny Russell, a spokesperson for a single parent dating site, "and this often spurs them into action and a determination to seek out a new partner before that day arrives."

Doree Lewak, author of The Panic Years: A Guide to Surviving Smug Married Friends, Bad Taffeta and Life on the Wrong Side of 25 Without a Ring, believes that the pressure to be attached during this time of year is especially strong on women. "Women still feel huge pressure around the holidays," she told USA Today, "and certainly exacerbated by New Year's - to have a date. I don't think that moment has passed."

Dating sites all across the Web experience the Holiday Effect from both men and women, from Match.com who say that their busiest season is December 26 to February 14, to PlentyOfFish.com who report a 15% spike in sign ups and a 20% increase in activity from current users during that period.

And it's not just the dating sites themselves that benefit from the Holiday Effect. As more and more members join the sites, the pool of potential dates increases dramatically, improving everyone's chance of finding love in the new year. Many dating sites respond to this trend by offering special rates around the holiday season, so if you're in the market for a membership take advantage of their holiday gift and start the new year off right.

If you are interested in finding a service to join this year, you should take a look at our list of reviewed dating sites or try our dating site search tool.

Are you looking for PerfectMatch.com promotions? Here are the ones we found that give you a range of ways to try this dating site, from a trial offer to free months when purchasing a membership.

Trial Offer

• 3-Day Free Trial

Save Money

• Save 55% on a 3 Month Membership

Free Months

• Buy 1 Month and get 1 Month Free
• Buy 2 Months and get 2 Months Free

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

This is the busy season for online dating sites. Chemistry has decided that this would be a great opportunity to have a free weekend promotion. So starting Friday, January 13, all day Saturday, and until the end of day on Sunday, January 15 all members of Chemistry.com will be able to flirt, communicate and connect for free.

The year 2012 will be an exciting year for Chemistry and its members as the dating service has updated the look of their website along with adding a number of new features for making connections easier.

November 2011 was when the last time Chemistry had a free communication weekend. To find out more about this matchmaking service you can read our Chemistry.com review.