Every day online dating sites get just a little bit smarter. With every piece of info typed into a profile or search bar, dating platforms collect a new piece of data about how singles look for a partner and what they want in their relationships.

It gets more sophisticated all the time (facial recognition software, anyone?), which has to make you at least wonder if one day the Internet will be better at finding love for us than we are at finding it for ourselves. There's the plot to a Hollywood thriller in there somewhere...

But I digress. To discover how some of the biggest dating sites in the world are matching members, Mashable spoke with the talented men and women behind some of the most high-tech algorithms out there. If you've ever wondered how your personal data is used to find the love of your life, wonder no more.

MATCH

As the largest dating site in the world, Match.com has unprecedented access to dating data. Members fill out anywhere from 15 to 100 questions, as well as free-response essays, and are assigned points based on each parameter in the system. Those with similar point scores have a higher chance of being compatible.

Match also looks into what members say they want in a partner vs. who they actually pursue on the site. By carefully observing members' behavior, Match gets a more accurate picture of what they're really looking for. Match constantly updates and refines its algorithm to make it as effective as possible.

HowAboutWe

HowAboutWe takes a different approach to online dating by encouraging members to get offline and on actual dates.

"Our deepest insight is that it's difficult to predict chemistry online," said Aaron Schildkrout, HowAboutWe co-founder and co-CEO. "That's why our ultimate focus is on actual dates. Get offline - that's where the chemistry happens."

Like Match, HowAboutWe relies on analyzing user behavior to make recommendations. Self-reported data, like political affiliation, is much less important on the site.

COFFEE MEETS BAGEL

Coffee Meets Bagel is at the forefront of the social dating revolution. CMB matches users through a mix of behavior on the site and personal info culled from Facebook.

"People talk a lot about big data these days, but the biggest area of opportunity is incorporating social elements into that through user inputs such as friend recommendations," said Coffee Meets Bagel CEO Arum Kang.

"Ultimately," she added, "we believe, like Facebook does, that our members do a better job than algorithms at regulating human interactions."

Perhaps the rise of free Internet porn has come at a cost to some large companies. FriendFinder Networks Inc. (FFNTQ), publisher of Penthouse Magazine and a number of adult entertainment websites, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

FriendFinder said that it has struck a deal with debt holders to reduce its debt by $300 million if accepted by the U.S. Bankruptcy court in Delaware. One note holder will get ownership of the sex entertainment business if the plan goes through.

The company built its network by buying and starting up social media, dating, and sex sites such as adultfriendfinder.com (for casual relationships), Amigos.com for Latin dating, and BigChurch.com (aimed at those more spiritual). Together the FriendFinder network includes 8,000 websites with 220 million members and 750,000 subscribers. But they haven't turned a profit since 2008.

FriendFinder Networks was originally formed in 2003 when founders Marc Bell and Daniel Staton purchased the publisher of Penthouse from bankruptcy. A year later they'd planned to launch an initial public offering with $460 million, but when the IPO was completed in 2011, they'd only managed to raise $46 million.

The company had also tried to purchase Playboy Enterprises in 2010, but the deal fell through.

The founders primarily blame the financial problems on the $400 million acquisition of Various, a network of dating sites that didn't generate the revenue expected, and the fact that credit card companies wouldn't process payments from sex website members. Others are looking at the bigger picture of the industry itself.

The question that perhaps the company's founders hadn't planned on was: who needs to pay a monthly fee to look for sex and porn when the Internet (and mobile apps) are rife with free options?

The question of the growing popularity of the mobile platform is one to consider as well. Dating app Tinder has exploded, and FriendFinder was rapidly trying to move its business into the mobile space since roughly 80% of its traffic was migrating from the desktop.

And what about Penthouse? Its flagship business has expanded into European broadcasting, a video business and does licensing deals as well, but surprisingly, the print edition of the magazine is still available even though it's struggling.

FriendFinder isn't the only casualty in the wake of free Internet porn. Earlier this year, LodgeNet Interactive, which provided adult films and video games to hotel guests, filed for bankruptcy, partly due to Internet competition.

The yearly German festival of drinking and debauchery known as Oktoberfest arrived last month again. For most revelers, that means giant pretzels, women in dirndls, liter-sized mugs of beer, and nights they will never remember. For Zoosk, that means an opportunity for another study.

Zoosk surveyed more than 2,800 single beer drinkers in hopes of discovering what their beer choices say about their dating preferences and personalities. As it turns out, the types of beer you and your date prefer might actually offer clues about your compatibility:

• If you're looking to settle down soon, hope your date orders a domestic beer. Domestic beer drinkers are most likely to be looking for marriage (20%). They are also more likely to be traditional when it comes to dating, so expect them to go the dinner-and-a-movie route and don't overwhelm them with public displays of affection.
• If you're not ready to settle down, look for a date who is into microbrews. 31% of men who opt for microbrews say they're in the market for fun, but nothing long-term. Unsurprisingly, then, microbrew drinkers are the most likely to have had a one night stand (74%) and to want physical intimacy every day (54%). They're also the most likely to prefer an outdoor adventure for a first date.
• If stability is what you're looking for, find an ultra-light beer drinker. Singles who count their calories prefer romantic evenings spent sharing their hopes, dreams, and goals for the future. They have the highest percentage of long-term relationships on average, at 75%. They are also the most likely to refer to themselves as homebodies (37%).
• If you'd like an introvert in your life, choose an import drinker. They're the least likely to have a one night stand and the most likely, on average, to be a virgin (4%). Reserved import drinkers prefer dogs to cats where pets are concerned and say they often spend time daydreaming about their next vacation.
• If you need a family-friendly date, a light beer drinker is the one for you. 92% of light beer fans say they're open to dating someone with kids, and 64% say they like to spend their free time with family and friends. Light beer drinkers are second only to ultra-light drinkers when it comes to success in lasting relationships.

I guess your brew of choice says a whole lot more about you than just your taste in beer. No word on what happens if your date orders wine instead...

Dating can be tricky, and not just because it's hard to meet people and potentially enter into a new relationship. Dating has changed in the past few years, so much so that many people are choosing to be more relaxed about it, preferring to "hang out" instead of putting forth the effort to make it an official date.

Hanging out is a broad term that could mean you are getting together as friends, as a hook-up, or as potential romantic partners, making dating even more confusing than it already is. In addition, hanging out could mean going out together one-on-one or going out as a group, making the dating waters even murkier.

So what should you do if you're constantly being asked to "hang out," rather than go on a proper date?

This can be tricky, since the terms are becoming more interchangeable. I think the main point to consider is what exactly you want. Are you happy to have a lot of friends, maybe with some benefits? Are you looking to date, but not exclusively? Or are you seeking a long-term relationship?

It's very important to know what you want when you're single. You are the only one who can set up boundaries for yourself - nobody else is going to draw them for you. So if it irritates you that the men you like want to just "hang out" and see if something happens after a few beers or cocktails, then don't agree to this. If you prefer being asked out and meeting each other one-on-one (on a date), let him know. If he's not interested, then it's better to know early than to go down a murky road of getting together from time to time, not knowing if he's interested in you or what exactly he wants.

If he's uncomfortable with the idea of dating, or if you both are, then consider it an experiment. Try doing something together instead of having dinner and worrying about what to say to each other. Maybe you can ride bikes, or see a game, or check out an art museum.

Try to take the pressure off of yourselves by thinking of a date as simply a meeting to get to know each other. Maybe you're interested, maybe you're not, and that's okay - it is the point of having a date - to see if there's any chemistry between you.

If you'd rather date in a group, or prefer the casual approach of hanging out and seeing what happens, then it's your choice, too. Just make sure you know what you want, and that you're not just accepting something that makes you uncomfortable. Life and romance are too short to play games or to sit around and wait. Take charge of your romantic life now.

For a certain generation, MTV's Cribs - in which celebrities give on-camera tours of their over-the-top homes - will always be a legendary TV show.

TechCrunch's take on Cribs might not have the same legendary status as MTV's version of the show (and you'll probably never see Mariah Carey make an appearance on it), but it's still interesting to see the inner workings of some of the tech industry's hottest companies. The latest episode of the series took a peek inside the office of eHarmony, one of online dating's biggest pioneers.

TechCrunch's Colleen Taylor met with Arvind Mishra, VP of Product at eHarmony, for a tour of the site's offices in Santa Monica. The first thing you notice about the interior of eHarmony HQ is that love is in the air (and everywhere else). eHarmony definitely doesn't skimp on the romantic decorations - there are hearts everywhere, signs that say "LOVE" in curling script, and pictures of happy couples lining almost every wall.

Upon entering the lobby, visitors and employees are faced with larger-than-life letters that spell out the name of the company. Mishra calls the massive sign "an homage to our larger-than-life mission: we're trying to lower the divorce rate." Big letters = big mission, he explains, as Taylor looks hilariously incredulous.

In addition to the constant reminders of the company's mission, the eHarmony offices are also home to many trophies. The office likes to hold challenges - like a pinewood derby race and a contest to display photos sent in by happy couples - to encourage bonding amongst the staff.

As Taylor and Mishra continue their tour, they pass an extremely yellow kitchen, the pet (stuffed) giraffe that makes its home amongst the social team, and a collection of bikes that employees can check out in order to take their lunch break at the beach 20 miles away.

eHarmony does its best to encourage creativity, individuality, and a sense of fun amongst its employees. Various colorful pieces of flair can be found on all the staff's desks. A beanbag-filled room named Malibu - so called after the site's recent redesign - was built to be a creative space. A game room features pool, foosball, and guitars on the wall. And a Donkey Kong machine with 200 games can be found in the main lunch room.

The heart of eHarmony, other than all the actual hearts that fill the building, seems to be the kitchen. Once every week, the entire company gathers to have lunch together (Hey there, Neil Clark Warren, sneakily making an appearance in the video while having lunch with your employees!). That sense of community is what really makes eHarmony special. "When you're this small," Mishra explains, "you want to make sure that everybody knows and likes everybody else."

When you’re actively looking for love, there’s one sinkhole that can be difficult to avoid: jealousy. Sure, jealousy is something that you can encounter in any facet of life, but in romance it seems to be particularly easy to stumble across, and can take many forms: the happily married co-worker, the teens making out in the mall. Even the obnoxiously attractive acquaintance on your social networking site can trigger feelings of jealousy (surely such an attractive person has no trouble finding a date, right?).

Jealousy is something you want to give a wide berth, because it’s kissing cousins with another attribute: bitterness. Not only is bitterness something to avoid in general - it will make you generally, even unnecessarily, unhappy in a self-perpetuating cycle - it’s also unattractive, so it’s doubly bad for dating. Avoiding jealousy is easier said than done, though; you have to essentially counter a gut, instant reaction with cool logic. With a little self-awareness, though, it can be done. Here are a few points to help you start out:

First, remember that you’re helping no one by getting annoyed, angry or jealous at someone else. You’re not making yourself feel better; you’re probably just making yourself feel worse. It’s in your best interest to lift yourself out of the doldrums, by distracting yourself, removing yourself from the situation, or whatever other technique works for you.

Next, remember that you’re only seeing a tiny piece of the real story. Picture your co-workers; do you think they truly see an accurate representation of you? Do they know your personal struggles? Likely not; and if you come into work smiling, upbeat and with a lottery ticket that’s won you five dollars, they might just think something like, “Man, that person always has it together.” Similarly, you have no idea what problems that person you know through social networking has. You have no idea if that couple who seem like they’re in love actually are - and if they are, you don’t know the work they’ve done or the trials they’ve overcome to get there.

Finally, remember that everyone has ups and downs and romantic dry spells in their lives. You notice those happy couples because love is on your mind; you’re seeing people at their best, on their highs. You aren’t counting the number of single people you pass on the street. You’ve had highs before, and will again.

It’s tempting to succumb to jealousy; it’s far easier to wallow than to rationalize, empathize, and cheer yourself up. But as you continue on your dating journey, try to keep an eye out for those jealousy sinkholes. It may be easier to wallow in the short term, but rationalizing yourself out of it is still far easier than lifting yourself out of the quicksand of bitterness.