General News

I am not sure I like the title of The Right One latest press release, The Right One/Together Dating Announces Growth during So-called Recession. For one thing, there is a global recession going on, this is not a disputed fact. It leaves me wondering why they use the word "So-called" in the title. I realize companies want a headline on a press release that grabs attention but trying to put the recession in question is a little silly. With a title like this, the only thing it really does is make me question if the rest of the press release contains accurate information.

According to The Right One and Together Dating, from October to the end of December in 2008, they experienced and 18 percent increase in new members when compared to the same time period in 2007. During the first half of this year they have opened 5 new locations (Chicago and Schaumburg in Illinois - Austin and San Antonio in Texas - Harrisburg in Pennsylvania). There is also plans in the works to open 4 more locations in unspecified areas. Currently, The Right One and Together Dating have more than 60 locations spread across the United States. They have over 300 thousand members which all have been screened thoroughly, including background checks.

The one thing I have to wonder is why are there two names? The Right One and Together Dating are obviously owned by the same company. The websites are virtually identical with the same text and pictures. The only things different is the text fonts, the color of some graphics, and the name and the phone number. It seems to be that these two companies may have merged or something at some earlier point. If that is the case they should really just operate under one name as not to confuse people (plus it should make their marketing a bit cheaper).

For the full press release, read PR Web. For more information on these type of brick and mortar dating services, check out our Matchmaking Services dating category.

One of eHarmony's senior research scientist is psychologist Gian Gonzaga. He holds a doctorate in personality / social psychology from UC Berkeley. KansasCity.com has a short interview with him where he describes briefly what the core qualities partners need to share to have a successful relationship.

The big ones — some of the most powerful ones — are personality traits. Things like how agreeable of a person you are, how open you are to experience. Are you extroverted? So are you looking for a lot of interactions in the social world? Or are you introverted?

Dr. Gonzaga also talks about why it matters that couples share these types of traits.

Because if you are similar to someone, it’s a lot easier to understand what it is they’re thinking. ... They like to believe that what they think is true, and one of the ways that we do that is to look to other people who have the same interests and beliefs and values. So when we see that in a partner, we feel validated in our sense of self, which makes us feel better and makes us like that person.

He further explains that opposites may attract but, these type of relationships really don't last. If you are really different from your partner, negotiating the way you see things from how your partner does over and over again, as each new conflict situation arises, is extremely difficult to do. Over the long run these type of relationships just fizzle out.

Dr. Gonzaga mentions Compatible Partners as well. This is eHarmony's new dating site for gay and lesbian relationships. He was asked a question about if gay relationships share the same characteristics as a heterosexual relationship:

We think so. The existing literature on same-sex couples indicates that a lot of the same theoretical basis of sharing the same deep values is going to predict better relationships over the long haul. So right now we’re moving on the assumption that the same kinds of models are going to apply well, and then over time we’ll work on that model to tailor it as best as possible.

This is the first time that I know of were eHarmony has said they are going to spend some research money to see if gay relationships actually do differ from heterosexual relationships.

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

We have discussed DNA dating before in previous stories which we mainly took a look at the dating site Scientific Match and how the actually process of DNA matching works. The Times Online has a detailed article called DNA dating: has science unlocked the secret of a perfect match? which expands on this and looks at other DNA based dating site like GenePartner.

GenePartner was started by Dr. Tamara Brown, a Croatian geneticist based in Zurich in the fall of 2008. For 5 years (2003-2007) she did research at the Swiss Institute for Behavioural Genetics were:

She believes she has found the attraction formula — based on patterns in the HLA genes — and turned it into a computer program, an algorithm that she is keeping to herself.

They currently charge $99 USD for a genetic match and at this moment have about 500 clients who come from the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. When asked about her research and studies into DNA and matchmaking, Brown says she has no plans to publish it for scientific review until she has built up her clientele. She doesn't want to give her competitors any advantages. GenePartner also recently created a Facebook Application (just search for GenePartner on Facebook) to help boost member numbers. The App allows users to find out how biologically compatible you are and it also allows you to get tested directly through your facebook profile. Currently the GenePartner Facebook application has only 52 monthly active users.

One interesting topic which was brought up dealt with the protection of your DNA information when processed by a private genetics company. Since DNA testing is unregulated, some people fear this information could be sold to other companies. You wouldn't want your Insurance company to have your DNA results to find out what genetic problems you have. If they did, you could be discriminated against and denied health insurance. To fight this alarming issue, countries like the United States and Germany have passed laws which make it illegal for employers and health insurers to demand DNA tests or even be allowed to use a customer's genetic information against them. New York and California have gone even a step further and have ruled that genetic tests can only be ordered by a medical doctor, since it is a medical test.

Read the 4 page article to find out more about GenePartner, how it works and the science behind DNA matchmaking at Times Online UK.

What is an online dating aggregator? It is a website that pulls profiles from multiple dating sites based on a search inputted by a user on the aggregator site. James Nord of Rubixx says it is similar to how a travel website like CheapFlights.com works by searching a number of airlines for the best flight. While in theory it sounds like a good idea, practically it has a way to go. One of the main problems is the lack of search criteria. Rubixx allows on their website to input your gender, the gender you are looking for, a age range and a US zip code. This really is not enough information to search on, especially based on the number of profiles that it shows you. You basically end up just looking at pictures. No additional information is present in the simplified profiles Rubixx displays to you in the search results, with the exception of what dating site the profile is found on. Once you find a profile you like, you click on the picture and you are redirected to the dating site where you can look at more details of the profile. Most of the dating sites require you to sign up with a free account before you can view more details. Currently Rubixx gathers profiles from the following dating sites, Match.com, Date.com, Matchmaker.com, AmericanSingles.com Cupid.com, uDate.com, Friendfinder.com and MillionaireMatch.com.

Another similar web portal to Rubixx is Copenda. Copenda calls themselves a Social People Search and Dating engine. With Copenda you can search the social networks hi5, MySpace, Friendster and the dating sites Match.com and PlentyofFish.com. The big news at Copenda is they will be adding Facebook to the search soon in June, 2009. Currently there are more than 200 million users on Facebook. Copenda has more features than Rubixx and in its own way, acts like a dating site. The reason I say this is because you can favorite profiles, add comments to them and even rate them. Comparing multiple profiles is allowed as well as viewing more than one profile photo. Searching at Compenda is more in-depth as well when compared to Rubixx. You can specify keywords, location distance as well as marital status, religion, body type, height range and ethnicity. The only thing missing really is the ability to communicate directly with the person.

For more on the story, read The Washington Post. You can find Rubixx here and Copenda here.

Sam Moorcroft of ChristianCafe.com let us know that Singles Christian Network is currently merging with ChristianCafe to create a larger online community for single Christians looking for a partner. Both of these service have been around for over 10 years and "have been friendly competitors".

The president of Single Christian Network, Clark Sloan, mentioned in an interview that his father actually first started the matching service way back in 1991 as a newspaper for single Christians. Soon after Clark took over and armed with his computer programming skills created a service called Christian Computer Match. This service went online in 1994 and became the Single Christian Network.

Sam Moorcroft and his brother Philip first started ChristianCafe.com back in 1999 and the website almost instantly became a success. Unlike most other dating services in the same niche The Cafe is Christian-owned and operated.

Both Sam and Clark feel that bringing the two religious dating sites together will benefit all members. The Christian Cafe currently has transferred over 70,000 plus active profiles and when completely merged with Single Christian Network, members will have the potential for hundreds of thousands of additional contacts.

For the full press release, visit ChristianCafe.com Media Center. For our review of the dating service, read our ChristianCafe.com review.

The Online Dating Insider, David Evans, was quoted in an article on the Washington DC radio station website for WTOP about online dating safety. Apparently another woman last weekend was kidnapped on a date by a man she met on Craigslist.

In the Fairfax County incident, the 23-year-old woman on her third date with Dennis Rother. Police say while at her Fair Lakes apartment Saturday, Rother ordered the woman to undress, threatened her with knives then told her to get dressed and forced her into the car. Her erratic driving caught the attention of a George Mason University police officer. He followed her and she was able to flee at a stop light.

I believe this is the third reported incident in the last month or so of a woman getting kidnapped or murdered by someone they met through Craigslist.

For more on the story and some pointers on how to be safe on a first date visit WTOP.com.