eHarmony let us know that they are offering free communication this weekend in the United States and Canada. This promotions starts in the morning at 12:01am on Friday March 16th and ends in the evening of Monday March 19th at 11:59pm.

For singles interested in trying our eHarmony, this 4 day event is a great way to do it for free and with no credit card required. To start all you need to do is sign in and create a free profile on eHarmony. Once you are finished with creating the profile and taking the in-depth questionnaire, you will then receive your first set of matches. After you have reviewed your matches you can then start the guided communication process and contact your preferred matches. Features not included during free communication events are photos, Secure Call or Skip to Email.

This will be eHarmony's 38th free communication event (by our count) with the last one happening around Valentine's Day (see Story).

To find further information about this online dating site, you can read our eHarmony.com review.

We all have a social media presence, so it's hard not to share the inner workings of our everyday lives. But when is it too much?

When you're dating, you're easily found on Facebook, Twitter, or any number of sites you may have a virtual presence. So it's good to pay attention to what you put out there, not only for your professional life but also for your personal. Would somebody looking to date you get the wrong impression of who you are? Unless you want to explain yourself, it's best to keep the tirades and TMI status updates to yourself, or at least protect your tweets.

Following are some tips to keep your personal life from getting too personal on Twitter:

Don't overshare. It's easy to become addicted and give your followers a play-by-play of your every move during the day, but is it necessary? Oversharing can kill any sense of romance, and make your dates wonder if you spend time doing anything else.

Don't tweet your anger. Maybe one of the people you follow tweeted something that made you angry, so you get in a Twitter-fight with him, barbs going back and forth. Before your date mistakes you for Charlie Sheen or someone else with an anger issue who can't let something go, don't let your tweets get out of control even if you think you're being funny. Keep your comments in line.

Don't post your relationship status updates. Sure, you might be going on five dates over the next three days, but your dates probably don't want to hear about it. Keep the plans of your dates and when you have them out of the social media world. Also, don't keep switching back and forth from "It's complicated" to "in a relationship" on Facebook. Talk about it and decide what you'll post together, or don't post your status at all.

Don't tweet while on a date. This is such a party foul. I had a friend who did this, calling her date boring and heavier than his picture. When she got up to use the bathroom, he told her that he checked his Twitter account and saw what she posted. She was embarrassed, and so was he. Game over.

Don't rant about your dates. This might be obvious, but worth mentioning. If you have a series of bad dates and you tweet, blog, or Facebook details about them, you're only setting yourself up for future problems. Everyone has bad dates, but if you turn your accounts into a bad date confessional, you could be a turn-off to potentially great dates. After all, they won't want you writing about them.

For more information on how to use these social networks for dating, you can read our Facebook.com review and our Twitter.com review

Valentine's Day will be here soon and the dating site Chemistry will be offering free communication this weekend for members of their service. Starting first thing on Friday February the 10th and running till end of day on Sunday February 12th you will be able to flirt, communicate and connect for free. No credit card is required for this promotion and you will be able to view other members complete profile including photos. Communication includes Chemistry starters and email.

Chemistry is a dating site designed for singles looking for a long-term relationship. Their advanced matching system is based on the work of Dr. Helen Fisher. With the information you provide in your free Chemistry profile you will be matched with other members on not just your location and interests but personality types as well.

Just over a month ago Chemistry had their last free communication weekend. To find out more about this popular dating site you can read our review of Chemistry.

2011 saw a lot of important relationship milestones in my family. 30 years of marriage for my parents. More than 40 years of marriage for my aunt and uncle. And 66 years of marriage for my grandparents. In a world of celebrity marriages that last 72 days, I was in awe of the life-long partnerships my family members had created. So, inspired by their obvious love for each other, I asked my family to share their secrets for making a relationship last. Here's what they had to say:

1. Attraction: Attraction is about more than appearances and the "spark" of chemistry that initially draws a couple together. As a relationship deepens, so does attraction. Intellectual attraction, emotional attraction, attraction to a partner's sense of humor or creativity...these are the kinds of attraction that make a relationship last.

2. Accountability: Take responsibility for your happiness and your actions in a relationship. Hold yourself accountable for creating the relationship you want and upholding the commitments, promises, and obligations you have made. Expect that your partner will do the same.

3. Communication: Strong communication skills are at the heart of every long-term relationship. Become aware of how you communicate and how your partner communicates with you, then create a common communication style that works for both of you. And remember that "communication" doesn't just mean speaking - being a good listener is also a huge part of communicating well.

4. Commonalities: Opposites may attract, but it's similarities that keep a relationship going. Do you and your partner have hobbies and interests in common? Do you have similar lifestyles and habits? Do you share the same goals for your relationship? Do you want the same things out of life? You don't have to be exactly alike, but you do need to have some commonalities in order to stand the test of time.

5. Passion: Passion doesn't just mean sex - passion means affection and connection. Physical passion can be expressed through small gestures like a touch on the arm, a kiss goodnight, or a cuddle on the couch, and romantic passion can be expressed in conversation or in writing.

6. Security: Long-term partners know that they can depend on one another. Do you feel physically and emotionally safe with your partner? Do you offer that kind of security in return? Consistent demonstrations of comfort and safety increase trust and intimacy in a long-term relationship.

7. Support: No relationship can last without support and understanding. Make it a point to be a source of support for your partner on a daily basis. Support their needs, their goals, their dreams for the future. Support them through challenges and major life changes. Support them without judgment and ask them to provide the same support for you.

8. Love: Love your partner for who they are, not for who you want them to be. True, lasting love is unconditional.

Recipient of Gold
Match.com

Recipient of Silver
eHarmony

Recipient of Bronze
Badoo

We wrapped up the 2011 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award poll today. It ran from October 1st, 2011 and ended today, January 30, 2012. We almost reached 1000 votes, the most we ever have had. In total we had 987 voters who answered 2 questions. The first being which paid dating site would you recommend for the "2011 Dating Sites Reviews Single's Choice Award". The second question asked which free dating site you would recommend.

The annual Single's Choice Award is our most important award we give out. This is because it is voted on by you. Collectively our visitors spend many more hours online with these dating sites compared to what it is possible for us to do. We do have our own opinions as well which is why we have the Editor's Top Pick awards. These awards are based on our own experiences as well as the comments we receive from visitors throughout the year.

For 2011 we listed the top eight dating sites for you to vote on. The three dating sites which received the most votes will get an award, Gold for first, Silver for second and Bronze for third.

The recipient of the Gold 2011 Single's Choice Award is Match.com. We also gave this dating site the Editor's Top Pick - Overall award as well. Match.com received 331 votes, which is 33.5 percent of all votes. Most other dating sites in the poll only were voted on about 8 percent of the time which makes Match.com almost 5 times more popular than most other sites.

The recipient of the Silver 2011 Single's Choice Award is eHarmony. eHarmony has won this award 4 times in a row. They had 22.5 percent of the vote which works out to 222 votes. eHarmony's match system is as popular as every with users which is also why they were the recipient of the Editor's Top Pick - Match System award as well

The recipient of the Bronze 2011 Single's Choice Award is Badoo. This up an coming social dating site made great strides in popularity in only one year to be able to earn the bronze award. While they only had under half of the votes than what the winner of the silver award received, Badoo did get a respectable 95 votes, which works out to almost 10 percent of all votes.

Here are this year's standings for the Single's Choice award for all dating sites in the poll.

1. Match.com
2. eHarmony
3. Badoo
4. Zoosk
5. Chemistry
6. Date.com
7. PerfectMatch.com
8. Lavalife

Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote for the 2011 Single's Choice Award. Our visitors in 2012 will appreciate knowing which dating services are the most popular.

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.