Everything is moving more mobile these days, but mobile dating is still plagued by one big problem: it's hookup central.

Location-based dating is clearly designed to lead to a meeting, but with that comes a swarm of users who aren't looking for anything more than a quick fling. On a Web-based dating site, users are searching for a totally different experience, one based on meeting vetted, strictly filtered dates that they get to know on the site before arranging future plans to meet in person.

The challenge that now faces the dating industry is to blend the immediacy of mobile with the success of online dating. "There's no effective app for hetero hookups," says Sam Yagan, one of OkCupid's four founders, in an article on Forbes.com. "Grindr is very popular in the gay space for males. But there isn't really a Grindr for straight people."

Still, Yagan thinks there's a future for mobile dating. He thinks the next incarnation of mobile dating will mean using a variety of dating apps: "One may be a I-just-want-to-have-a-beer-with-somebody-new-tonight app. Or I-want-to-look-for-Mr.-Right. Or I-want-to-look-for-Mr.-Right-right-now."

Another possibility for the future of mobile is the social graph. Tinder, a bright new star on the mobile dating scene, is breaking new ground for social dating. Tinder users sign in using their Facebook accounts and indicate their interest in a potential date by swiping to the left or right of their screen. With the recently introduced Matchmaker feature, users can now make introductions between any of their Facebook friends, whether or not they're already using the app.

Sean Rad, co-founder and CEO of Tinder, argues that what's important isn't the future of online dating - it's the future of dating in general. As people - especially young people - become more accustomed to interfacing with the world through their phones, dating will need to evolve into a new experience.

Rad thinks the key will be to move in the opposite direction of online dating. Once upon a time online dating was hailed for offering access to a significantly wider pool of potential dates than traditional dating. But the downside to that, Rad explains, is that online daters also end up experiencing a great deal more rejection.

Rad sees the future of dating as something very different. A smaller pool may solve some of the problems, but the rest is up to you. "Science can only go so far," he says. "You are the best arbiter." Mobile has a place in that future, and perhaps that place is righting the wrongs that online dating has created.

Starting this Thursday July 25th to Sunday July 28th eHarmony.ca and eHarmony.com are offering free communication for all members that includes email.

If you are thinking about giving eHarmony a try these free weekends are a good place to start since there is always a lot of activity with all of the new members. With communication included you will be able to almost fully partake in the entire eHarmony experience from creating your profile and answering the unique and informative Relationship Questionnaire, to reviewing your matches, trying out the guided communication process, and sending messages. The only things free communication events do not include are profile photos, secure call, or skip straight to email. There is not cost to participate and no credit card is required.

For more details on how eHarmony works you can read our in-depth review and read the user comments. There last free communication weekend happened in June just before Independence Day (see Story).

When I began venturing out into the untamed wilderness of online dating, Plenty Of Fish was one of the first dating sites I came across. Off I went to explore, but almost as soon as I signed on to POF, I was ready to sign off.

I know I'm far from alone when I say that POF seemed like the wasteland of online dating. It felt like all I could find was men looking for instant hookups, many of whom were more than twice my age. POF was many things, but none of them was the dating experience I was looking for.

On May 20, 2013, POF Founder and CEO Markus Frind sent out an email that could change the face of the site forever. He is giving POF a makeover, one that he hopes will steer the site away from hookups and towards daters who are looking for real relationships.

Frind recently shared his vision for a new Plenty of Fish in an interview with Elizabeth Denham of the Huffington Post. "We wanted to generate more relationships among women, and men for that matter," he said, "and the best way to do that was eliminate this kind of behavior."

The list of proposed changes includes:

• Automatically deleting first contact between users that contains sexual references
• Banning contact between users with more than a 14-year age difference
• Eliminating the "Intimate Encounters" category of dating

Frind has also implemented a photo policy that applies solely to male users on the site. "We blocked the ability of men to send photos to women because men were misbehaving in some photos," he explains. Women, however, can still send photos to men.

One reason for the focus on hookups could be POF users' move to mobile. POF went from 20% mobile to 70% mobile in a year and a half, a change that Frind believes is strongly responsible for the increase in hookups on the site. "It just makes you use it differently," he says of mobile dating. "It generates a different kind of perception, a different kind of feel."

On a site that reigned supreme because of the hookup culture it supported, the changes Frind has made are bound to make a big impact. He claims he's already seen dramatic differences in the way users write their profiles, and says he received 150,000 emails within 12 hours of announcing the changes, the majority of which were overwhelmingly supportive.

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

Is eHarmony the secret to a happy marriage?

eHarmony certainly thinks so.

We've been hearing a lot lately about the 'landmark' new study that says marriages that begin online are longer and more fulfilling than marriages that begin offline. We've also heard plenty about the source of the study's funding: eHarmony.

And here's another crazy coincidence: the eHarmony-funded study also found that eHarmony is the best online dating site for long-term relationships. How unexpected!

Ok, all joking aside, eHarmony swears it wasn't involved in any of the data analysis and all the findings are completely objective. A study is a study, and the scientific side of my brain can't resist the urge to take a look at the research (biased though it may be). So let's dive in...

Where are couples meeting these days?

• 16% use online dating.
• 14% work together.
• 12% meet through friends.
• Others meet through social networking sites, school, and social gatherings (7% each).

Where else do people meet?

• Offline, couples meet in bars or clubs, through family members, at places of worship, and on blind dates.
• Online, couples meet in chat rooms, through other online communities, by instant messaging, and while playing multiplayer online games.

Where should you meet if you're looking for a long-term relationship?

• eHarmony, of course, ranks number one.
• "All other dating" comes in second, followed by "All other online."
• "All other" comes in last place.

Which dating site is responsible for the most happy marriages?

• Surprise, surprise - eHarmony is #1 again with 25.04% of marriages.
• Match.com is a close second with 24.34%.
• An assortment of small sites are responsible for 24.64% of online marriages.
• 13.09% are unspecified.
• 7.21% come from Yahoo! Personals.
• 5.71% start on Plenty of Fish.

On the flip side, what's the rate of break-up and divorce among recent marriages?

• 7.70% of recently-ended relationships began offline.
• 6.89% started on a dating site that isn't eHarmony.
• 6.23% began elsewhere online.
• And - naturally - only 3.86% of recent break-ups and divorces began on eHarmony.

Why do eHarmony couples have such a leg up on the competition? They say it's because:

• We're in love.
• We trust each other.
• We are happy.
• We are compatible.
• We have chemistry.

And it totally has nothing to do with the fact that eHarmony paid for the study. At all. What could possibly have put a wacky idea like that into your head?

See the infographic here and to find out more about this service you can read our eHarmony review.

Have you seen this video on what it will be like to date with Google Glass yet?

Yes, it's funny. Yes, it's over the top. But you've gotta admit that it makes you wonder...

Will the introduction of Google Glass actually have an impact on your love life? Would you be willing to date someone who wore Google Glass on a date? In a recent NBC News article, Rosa Golijan decided to give it a try.

First, the basics: Google Glass is a head-mounted computer with a camera, microphone, bone-conducting speaker, and a whole bunch of sensors. It connects to the Internet using a Wi-Fi network or by tethering to a smartphone. It's capable of pretty much everything your smartphone is: it can take pictures, record video, initiate video chats, send messages, search Google, and more.

Golijan jumped wholeheartedly into her experiment, wearing Google Glass for most of her waking hours. Her first impressions were positive. "It's difficult to imagine that bringing technology closer - to one's face - could actually help get it out of the way," she writes, "but that's what happens with Glass. It's tempered my smartphone addiction and reduced the amount of time I spend staring at a screen. I've even rediscovered the fine art of making eye contact with people."

So far, so good.

When she started wearing Google Glass in public, Golijan found that the attention it drew meant wider social possibilities. "Glass doesn't break the ice, it completely melts it," Juan Pablo Risso, a 32-year-old Glass owner, told NBC. At the moment, Google Glass is the ultimate conversation starter.

And that's where things got a little trickier for Golijan. One recent date took it well, but the interruptions from curious strangers could easily have sent the date south with a less understanding partner. Another date didn't enjoy the experience, demanding that she not start talking to anyone else until they'd gotten a drink.

Whitney Casey, a relationship expert for Match.com, says the one rule you need to follow when it comes to Glass and dates is simple: "Don't wear it." Sherrie Schneider, dating coach and co-author of "The Rules," agrees, at least on the first date. "You need to treat Google Glass like any special issue on a first date," she says. "You don't eat meat. You're a Republican. You had breast cancer. Google Glass."

Golijan isn't ready to give up on dating with Google Glass yet, though she does think it's important to follow a few guidelines:

• Don't be rude to strangers inquiring about Glass. It's just as bad as being rude to a server at a restaurant.
• Monitor your date's comfort level with Glass and adjust accordingly.
• Consider taking it off at some point - there's no reason to view your whole dating life through Google-colored glasses.

There are a lot of conflicting rules floating around about texting and dating - no wonder people find it so confusing. Do you text right away to show you're interested, or do you wait to show you're not so available? The answer is not always clear, so what should you do?

According to a recent study by Flirt.com, we shouldn't sweat it so much - and we shouldn't stick to the rules! Men and women view texting practices differently. And apparently, the men are much more open to the women they date reaching out to them.

Forty-nine percent of men and 39% of women will text a date the next day to let him/her know they had a nice time. However, 20% of women are still sticking to the old adage of waiting for him to text first (compared to only 5% of the guys).

Even though we don't have to worry about the three-day waiting period to call someone back, the study found it is good to be concerned about how frequently you're texting your date. Texting habits mean different things to each gender. For the women, if a guy sends more than ten texts a day she considers it to be creepy. Men on the other hand are more than happy to have her text - with almost half saying she should text as much as she wants.

Are you worried about looking too available? There's no need, ladies. A whopping 82% of men surveyed said they would be happy if after they suggested a date a woman let him know she was available to go out any night that week. Not so for the ladies. Thirty-eight percent of women said they'd be freaked out if a man made himself too available.

And how do you sign off? Is it too risky to add an "xo" to the end of a text, maybe as a flirtation? According to the study, 48% of men and 41% of women aren't afraid of signing off with a little kiss. But steer clear of being too "cutesy." Almost 25% of men think that smiley faces are childish.

And what about the biggest complication when it comes to texting - whether or not you should break up with someone over text? Apparently women are a little more cold-hearted. Seventeen percent of them would break up with someone over text, compared to just 13% of men.

Flirt.com surveyed over 2,000 of its members for the study.