Online Dating

Christine makes a good point in this article from the Palm Beach Post. Certain profile preferences on dating sites shouldn't be negotiable. This will differ from person to person but most singles would agree that their view on how much they want their potential partner drinking and/or smoking will not change, especially if the person says NEVER. Usually they have a very good reason.

In Christine's case she is a recovering alcoholic and she had told eHarmony that she didn't want a match who drinks. After only a few matches from eHarmony, she received an email from the dating site suggesting she widen her match preferences in regards to drinking, to someone who may have a drink at least once a week. Obviously this would not work for someone like Christine.

I think dating sites like eHarmony which are designed to match singles based on complex matching system need to take into account the deal breakers every person has when it comes to being partnered with someone. For me it is smoking, for someone one else it may be location or religion. eHarmony should realize asking someone to modify a matching preference which may be a core belief could lead to upset customers.

Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart released a report last Thursday regarding a complaint filed last year against Facebook, by the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC). The complaint is in regards to privacy and personal information about Facebooks members, in which the report found that Facebook keeps indefinitely, even after an account is closed. This and other privacy shortfalls (including third party access via Facebook Applications to users personal data) will need to be fixed or Facebook may be facing legal troubles.

Facebook released a statement which said that new privacy features are being introduce soon, to remedy any concerns people may have. In 30 days Stoddart will review any actions by Facebook. If she finds that they are not making any progress on her recommendations, then, by using Canadian federal privacy laws under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), she may take the case to the Federal Court of Canada for enforcement.

This potential case may also raise privacy red flags in other countries, which I am sure Facebook does not want.

I bet a few dating sites will also be watching this story closely to see what Facebook does and how the Privacy Commissioner reacts. Most dating sites as far as I know keep users information for a long time as well (see Story).

For more on the story read Yahoo News, and here is the report of the Canadian Privacy Commissioner's findings.

Last week, according to CNET News both Match.com and eHarmony started to use a special updated version of JaJah which allows members to place phone calls without giving away their phone number. Match.com calls this service for its members, matchTalk, which we recently looked at last month (see Story). eHarmony calls their service, Secure Call.

Both phone services from these dating sites require the person who will receive the call to approve of it first. Once approved members can initiate phone calls over the dating site that actually use your own home or cell phone, no special hardware required. No phone numbers are given out and either person can terminate the call and disallow the person from every calling back. It is the ultimate in privacy and security for first time callers.

For more information about these dating sites and their member calling phone feature, review of Match.com and our review of eHarmony.

American Capital Ltd. announced on Thursday that it has completed the sale of People Media to IAC (Match.com's parent company). American Capital received $57 million in cash proceeds and will receive an additional $15 million in the third quarter, to complete the deal. This makes the total sale worth $72 million USD. This is $8 million less than was stated when IAC announced the agreement earlier this month (see Story).

For the full story, read NW32.com.

Online dating, while not a new technology, is pretty new to many people. And unlike classified ads that we read for years and years before we actually write one ourselves, online dating profiles are a bit of a sink or swim proposition.

Don’t worry ladies. Here’s what you need to know to make sure your profile doesn’t sink.

1) Choose flattering – but not provocative! – photos.

It may be tempting to think “I’ll post this cleavage shot so I get more people paying attention to my profile.” In a way, you’re very right. More people will pay attention. However, for the most part they won’t be the type of men interested in a long term relationship. Keep the Three B’s (breasts – belly – butt) out of your dating photos.

2) Don’t refer to yourself as royalty.

You may think it’s adorable to refer to yourself as a princess. You want to be treated like a queen (don’t we all!). You’re a delicious diva. These are all fine and good when you’re joking with your friends, but a total stranger will read it as one thing: HIGH MAINTENANCE. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Match.com UK has launched an interactive channel on the BT Vision IPTV service (Digital Cable). This means almost half a million BT Vision subscribers can now tune into Channel 955 and use the Match.com service to search for singles, update profiles, send winks and for viewing messages. Most of Match.com primary features are available to use through the channel. You also use the same Match.com account as you login with through the website. Not everything can be done through BT Vision though, such as uploading a photo. This can only be done by using a computer or a cell phone.

The article at New Media Age makes it look like this is a free service to cable subscribers. It is unclear at the moment if you can log in as a Match.com paid member on the interactive channel to actually send email messages to other members.

Jason Stockwood of Match.com stated:

He hoped offering the service via TV would make browsing for a potential partner a more social experience compared with the online service, which tends to be done alone.

This is an interesting idea, to make online dating a more social activity. Would you want your friends and/or family to help you favorite and send winks to other singles on a dating site? I think searching for prospects would be fun but, personally I would still want to communicate without someone looking over my shoulder.

To find out more information about this United Kingdom dating site, read our review of Match.com.