General News

Facebook released a study of its members this past week, compiling data from user status updates to come to some pretty interesting conclusions. And if you're wondering, no - Facebook doesn't sit there and read your status updates. Rather, they query the words used and apply them to a program that figures in the US Gross National Happiness Index. A "happiness index?" Makes me feel like The Weather Channel app on my iPhone isn't giving me all the sunny information!

While some Facebook users choose to not disclose their relationship status, of those that do, 30% of women and 40% of men are listed as "single." This means that whether you realize it or not, your next match might be waiting for you on Facebook! And just think - it's only a year until the next Valentine's Day. You could be in a match made in heaven by then.

The Facebook data reaffirms what people have known all along: those in committed relationships are happier than those who are single. But what about relationships versus marriage? Well, the news is in: those who are married are apparently happier than those just in relationships, says Facebook. Even more interesting are those on Facebook who respond that they are in an "open relationship." While that may seen like a heyday on the surface, the data report reveals that those in open relationships aren't really all that happy at all. Men in these types of relationships are less happy than their female counterparts with the same designation. Perhaps that's a case of "be careful what you ask for."

If you've never considered Facebook as an online dating source, why not tap-into the information that Facebook has published and maybe take a look at Zoosk. This Facebook application allows users to interact with singles on other social networks like MySpace, Hi5, Zoosk.com and more. With over 7 million users, you could do worse in expanding your online dating reach no? Search and socialize - who knows who's out there waiting for you with a status message that "clicks!"

For more information on the statistics in this article, check out the Facebook Data Team's note on Relationships and Happiness.

I found a few more Valentine's Day articles that had a few interesting factoids about Match.com.

According to Fox Business, Match.com uses a team of 8 statisticians to create mathematical formulas to match members. These formulas use dating information from profiles and the users own activity on the dating site to calculate matches. If you want to try out some of these match systems you should give Match.com suite of tools called "My Match" a try.

In a piece titled "Finding the right online dating service" from the Los Angeles Times, they also mention Match.com when they talk briefly about mobile devices. According to the paper, the satisfaction of dating by hand-held device with singles continues in popularity. Match.com's mobile dating members grew 250 percent from 2008 to 2009.

To find out more about this award winning dating site, read review of Match.com.

The BBC World Service commissioned a survey which polled about 11,000 internet users from 19 different countries. The results of the study concluded that 30 percent of people who use the internet feel that the online world is a good place to find a partner. Education played a factor in this survey as well. For those people who have completed high school, 28 percent believed that dating sites worked. When compared to adults who did not finish high school, a higher percentage, 36 to be exact, thought going online was a good place to find a date.

When looking at internet users from different countries, Pakistan came in at the highest at 60 percent, followed by India at 59 percent. British participants in the survey came in at 28 percent. This was followed closely by the French at 27 percent. Americans were fairly low at 21 percent.

The overall result from this survey is fairly close to a similar statistic from another story that roughly 30 to 40 million singles in the United States use online dating sites or social networks to look for love. This is about 1/3 of single Americans or 33 percent.

For more on this survey, read the eCommerce Journal.

According to a recent poll on CBS, 90 percent of Americans would remarry their spouse. In 1995 a similar poll result was slightly higher at 93 percent. When you look at gender, there is a 10 percent difference, 95 percent of men said they would remarry their spouse where as only 85 percent of women said the same.

Meanwhile, 47 percent of men believe in love at first sight with only 44 percent of women agreeing.

What is most important in a successful relationship? 49 percent of respondents to the poll said Respect. In second was Trust at 37 percent, followed by Sense of Humor at 10 percent. Sex came in at 2 percent (surprised?) and finally, no one agreed that Money was the most important (0 percent).

It is good to see most Americans are in a happy place with their marriage. With a divorce rate of nearly 50 percent for all marriages I had expected this number to be lower. I guess when people are unhappy (those 10 percent of you at any given time), either divorce happens quickly or the problem which made you question the marriage is resolved.

For more on the poll, read CBS News.

A new study conducted by eHarmony shows that attraction is more than merely skin-deep. How do they know? A survey of over 598,000 users of eHarmony provides the details.

The online dating site that matches people on 29 dimensions reviewed the responses of over half a million users in order to derive its conclusions. Previously and never married alike, they examined member responses to questions about key qualities people look for in potential mates.

From the "never married" side of the fence, members frequently responded with desires for looks, passion and personality. On the contrary their previously married counterparts cited the most important qualities in a partner as values, emotional intimacy, conflict resolution skills and core beliefs.

So herein lies the question: are you focusing too much on what you find attractive and not enough on what ultimately makes relationships successful? Surely, there is a balance, but the study findings are likely substantiated by simply this: those who have had failed marriages understand why they failed and they're not looking to repeat the same mistakes in their next relationship. It's not to say that you should completely ignore the importance of physical attraction, but the study hints that there are other characteristics that may help create physical attraction as well. Knowing that you're with someone with similar goals and values that has a great set of communication skills will even stoke the fire of the hottest Hollywood couple. While we're not all magazine cover or runway material - we don't need to be. All we truly need is an understanding of what's important to us, both physically and emotionally, in a relationship.

When conducting your online dating searches, try adding another layer to your search. A fun picture with a great headline - give it a click! Read on and you might be surprised what you find. There's nothing like discovering a "buried treasure" in the online dating world, and even if you don't ultimately wind-up a match, it's likely you may end up with a great friend out of your efforts!

For more details on the study, read Money Control and to find out more about this dating service, read our review of eHarmony.

Ever wonder what makes people compatible? Well, a recent study by eHarmony and the Oxford Internet Institute says that there's no place like home for people seeking true compatibility.

eHarmony considered the results of over 1,000 UK couples in the survey, considering responses to questions about culture and preferences for relationships. The results indicated that certain cultures shared similar beliefs and were thus more likely to result in more successful cross-cultural relationships. Some examples would be striking similarities between UK and U.S. cultures as well as relationships between residents of South American countries such as Argentina and Spain or Mexico and Brazil. Contrarily, people from strikingly different cultures such as Mexico and Japan or China and India are said to have less opportunity for relationship success.

While the final results of the joint study between eHarmony and the Oxford Internet Institute have not been published in their entirety, the initial results offer some food for thought in the world of online dating. Perhaps you never considered dating someone with a different cultural background than yours. Well, now's the time to add those criteria to your search! Here are two things to consider when conducting your online dating search for a mate from a different culture:

Religious Background: Understand your commitment to your personal religious beliefs when you initiate your online dating efforts. This will help you as you choose profiles to review. For example: staunch Christians may not share enough in common with someone from an East Indian background due to the prevalence of Hinduism in that culture.

Cultural Rituals: Do you celebrate Christmas? Is Mardi Gras a huge event for your family? Do you observe the Chinese New Year? Don't be afraid to open up a dialogue with a new date about landmark events that light up their calendar and feel free to share those of you own.

For more on the story read the official eHarmony Blog and to find out more about the dating site mentioned in this article, check out our eHarmony review.