General News

The second week of October is National Pet Peeve Week, that special time of year when friends and family gather together to get on each others' nerves. To celebrate the occasion, San Francisco-based dating site Zoosk asked its members to reveal their biggest dating pet peeves.

The top 10 responses they received were:

Texting: The most common pet peeve, hands down, was excessive cell phone use during a date. Unless it's an emergency, your phone belongs in your pocket or purse until the date is over. Dating is all about getting to know someone new, which you can't do if your focus is on your mobile device instead of your date. Be present and engaged, mind your manners, make a good first impression, and only check your phone when you excuse yourself to use the bathroom.

Lateness: Being late is rude and obnoxious in any context, but exponentially more annoying on a date. Being late to meet someone sends the message that you're not really interested in them after all, and that you're selfish when it comes to your relationships with other people. If you find yourself running late, give your date as much of a heads up as possible.

Discussing the ex: Zoosk user Marty puts it best - "I also hate it when a girl talks about her ex to me on a first date... I mean, come on! It's not like us boys are all connected in some way. We don't have a network that runs between us all. If you want to talk about someone else, at least make it someone we both know." Talking about your ex, as the Zoosk blog notes, makes your current date feel unpleasantly "un" - uncomfortable, unworthy, and unwanted. The past belongs in the past - focus on the future, let go of any negativity, and don't approach new relationships with the baggage left over from old relationships.

Turning it physical: There's nothing wrong with casual relationships - unless one date is looking for a hookup, and one date is looking for something more serious. For relationship-minded singles, taking things too quickly can be off-putting and disastrous. "My biggest peeve would have to be being expected to jump into bed with someone I just met.," says Zoosk member MagicBandit. "If you think about it, if they are prepared to have sex with you after just meeting you, would you really think you're the only one? I want to get to know the person first."

Stay tuned for the rest of the countdown...

For more on the dating site mentioned here you can check out our review of Zoosk.com.

Chemistry.com is have a free weekend promotion starting tomorrow. From Friday, October 15 to the end of day on Sunday, October 17 all members of Chemistry will be able to flirt, communicate and connect for free.

Chemistry will be advertising this promotion on TV so you can expect this dating service to have many new singles online actively looking for love. All you need to do is sign up as a free member and take the personality test to join in on the fun.

June was when the last free communication weekend was held by Chemistry (see Story). To find out more about this online dating site, please read our review of Chemistry.

I am not sure if I missed this before when PlentyOfFish starting offering a new paid membership but I noticed today this statement from their upgrade page:

PlentyOfFish will automatically continue your subscription for the same period and amount as your current upgrade.

PlentyOfFish previous memberships never automatically renewed, so it looks like PlentyOfFish changed their position on this point.

For more on this dating site you can go ahead and read our Plenty Of Fish review.

Last month we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001, Match.com paid tribute to New York City by conducting an investigation of the Big Apple's dating scene. As home to the largest population of singles in the United States, the city had plenty of interesting information to offer.

Despite their prickly reputation, New Yorkers are softies at heart. 94% of city-dwelling singles said that they are looking to settle down with a long-term partner. Fortunately for romantic-at-heart New Yorkers, their chances of finding love seem to be good: 47% of people who moved to NYC within the last 5 years claimed to be dating more since their relocation. 56% of those singles stated that they felt like they had a much larger dating pool to explore after becoming New Yorkers.

As they say in real estate, it's all about location, location, location. The borough that you call home has an effect on your love life, according to the Match survey. 94% of singles said that they would be willing to date outside their borough, though Manhattan's prime location still makes it the center of the NYC dating scene. Staten Island, on the other hand, is the least popular borough, thanks to its more remote location. The maximum amount of time the average New Yorker is willing to travel for a date, says the poll, is 39 minutes and 59 seconds.

Location continues to be an important factor when it comes to planning a first date. The West Village was voted the best neighborhood for a date (44%), while Astoria, with only 5% of the vote, was voted the worst neighborhood for a romantic outing. Popular date ideas are:

• Seeing a Broadway show (32%)

• Having a picnic in Central Park (23%)

• Attending a sporting event (17%)

New York singles also show a fondness for museums (particularly the Met) and watching the sunset from landmarks like the Chelsea Piers, Highline, and Brooklyn Bridge. What won't work when it comes to wooing a New Yorker is a trip to Times Square, a meal at a chain restaurant, or a night of karaoke.

The survey also found that:

• When it's time to escape the city for a romantic weekend getaway, Long Island is New Yorkers' top choice, followed by Newport and Fire Island.

• New York a surprisingly good place to be broke: 57% of single women in NYC said they would be happy to split the bill on a date.

• Singles in NYC have fairly traditional taste in partners. Women consider firemen (30%) and Wall Street execs (26%) the sexiest potential dates, while men find actresses (34%) and women working in the fashion industry (29%) most appealing.

If you're in an Empire State Of Mind, check out Match.com's infographic here. For more information on the dating service you can read our review of Match.

The online dating site Christian Cafe has received a lot of media attention lately. Sam Moorcroft, the founder of ChristianCafe.com, was first on the radio for the Boundless Show as an online dating expert. This episode of the show took a look at behind the scenes of online dating. Sam and his wife Polly was part of a round table discussion in which a panel of online daters got to ask him a number of questions. You can find a pod cast of the show here on iTunes.

Next, Sam was on a Canadian Christian TV show called Full Circle. He appears around the 6:00 minute mark and discusses the history of Christian Cafe and how to best succeed in online dating. A former host, Denise, was also on the show with her husband whom she met on Christian Cafe. To view a video of the show you can visit Full Circle.

For more information on this online dating service please check out our review of ChristianCafe.com.

Match.com (Match.ca in Canada) is now powering online dating at Yahoo! Canada. Yahoo in the United States has been using Match.com since May of 2010 (see Story). Previously Lavalife had partnered with Yahoo! Canada to provide online dating to their visitors (see Story).

To find out more about this dating site you can check out our Match.com review.