Online Dating

I have to admit I didn't notice the change.

Back in 2007 eHarmony decided to stop using the TV commercial format that they have been using successfully for the previous 5 years. You know, the one where several couples are used to talk about dating and eHarmony in the same commercial. Greg Waldorf, the CEO of eHarmony though it was too superficial and decided to focus just on one couple per ad. This way the one couple could go more in-depth about what makes eHarmony a great dating site. The other ad format was very successful for eHarmony, but Greg wanted to see if the new formula would create even greater success. By March 2008 the new format commercials were created and the Canadian market was used as an initial test. The commercials were well received and instead of the new commercials airing in June 2008 for the US, it was pushed up one month, to May.

From the commercials I have seen, for the most part the new ads are still pretty similar to the old ads. You still have the white background and the same type of music. The couple speak like they are answering questions from an off camera person and in this way they provide information for the viewing audience. This is very similar to how the old commercials worked. The only thing different is when the camera switches shots, it just focuses on the same couple again to rely more information, instead of a different couple like the old commercials.

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal. For more information on this popular dating service, read our eHarmony review.

Back in June, 2008 we reported that the Arizona Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Great Expectations. Yesterday, Attorney General Terry Goddard announced that a $500,000 settlement was reached.

Great Expectations must pay $250,000 in restitution to eligible consumers who were victimized by the company's deceptive practises. The remaining $250,000 will be paid to the state for consumer fraud prevention.

Terms of the settlement also require Great Expectations to correct its alleged deceptive business practises. According to the lawsuit these included:

• Misrepresenting to consumers the overall number of Great Expectations' participating members.
• Misrepresenting to consumers that it had conducted a criminal background check on all of its members.
• Using membership agreements that illegally extended initial memberships beyond one year.
• Unlawfully obtaining consumers' credit information as soon as they arrived at the Great Expectations office.
• Using high-pressure sales tactics during one-on-one, hours-long presentations to consumers.

The article also contained information to contact the Attorney General's Office in Phoenix if you have been a victim of fraud by this matchmaking service.

When dating, you and/or your partners religion may eventually become a factor if the dating leads to a long term relationship or marriage. If conflict arises it may even lead to a breakup. Family customs, spiritual holidays and how children are raised, are only some of the things in which you both need to consider. Here are a few other situations that you could deal with if religion is important to either one of you:

• The family of your partner cares about religion but they do not.
• Your partner's religion is important in their life and wants a partner with the same religion and commitment to it.
• Your partner wants to honour their religion and will honour their partner's religion as well. Children will be raised in both religions.
• Your partner will convert to your religion.
• Your partner wants you to convert to their religion
• Both you and your partner have the same religion but different degrees of observance.

For dating sites which Religion is an important part of the member's life, check out our Religious Dating Site Category.

Since InterActiveCorp announced the sale of Match.com European Operations on Thursday, February 19th, by Friday IAC's stock price ended the day up 4 percent or 57 cents to $15.05. Match.com European operations are estimated to be valued at $110 million according to analyst Jeetil Patel. Match.com European operations also earned about $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 which is 13 percent of Match.com's total revenue.

For a more complete picture, read the Forbes article.

I found an interesting report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project website. It breaks down the American population by generation and shows what percentage of them are online and what percentage each generation performs certain online activities. Here is a chart detailing the generations and their internet use:

This is a story from a couple of weeks ago that got lost in the shuffle. In December MyShape.com partnered with eHarmony. MyShape provides customers with a selection of clothes based on your bodies key measurements, along with your fashion tastes. Business has grown quickly for MyShape and since last year their customer base grew 5 times. Currently they have over 500,000 customers and in September repeat business was 50 percent. With these statistics in mind, eHarmony decided to add a date planner section to their eHarmony Advice website. MyShape's date planner role is to help people figure out what to wear on dates.

For more information on this popular dating site, read our eHarmony review.