Spark Networks

We are welcoming the new year 2018 today, so it’s time to look back on the highs and lows of 2017.

The dating world has been busy over the last 12 months. We saw big breakups (Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen, Chris Pratt and Anna Faris, Fergie and Josh Duhamel) and even bigger hookups (hey, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle). We said goodbye to tiger selfies on Tinder. Plenty of Fish and eHarmony embraced embraced digital assistants. The League turned profile pictures black and white. Bumble took a stand against hate groups. And even a rhino tried to swipe for a mate.

To make sense of it all, Zoosk reviewed dating from more than 40 million members, and reviewed the biggest dating trends of 2017. What’s in: lunch dates, higher education, nice guys, guac. What’s out: sluggish messaging, mocking vegans, too many filters. Check out the highlights below.

What makes a successful dating profile? Is it a bio that’s just the right mix of braggy and self-effacing? Is it an engaging first message? Is it a gallery of sexy selfies? According to Zoosk, there’s one attractive quality almost everyone can agree on: food.

In a survey of more than 7,000 singles, 3.7 million dating profiles, and over 364 million messages, Zoosk discovered that the way to someone’s heart might really be through their stomach. The survey analyzed how different foods and food-related phrases affect singles’ interactions with each other, offering insight into the unique intersection of food and dating.

Our love of eating, it turns out, does have an impact on how we interact with each other romantically. Simply writing about food in your profile results in an increase in inbound messages. Mention the word “cook” and you could receive 26% more messages from admirers. Call yourself a “foodie” and that number might jump to 82%.

Jdates New Look

Earlier this month Jdate.com new makeover was launched along with an updated logo design. The JDate dating apps for iOS and Android also was updated to version 3.0.0 supporting a new and improved interface and features. Not to be left out, the JDate online magazine Jlife also got a face lift as well. All of these updates are designed with JDate users in mind and are focused on making the online dating experience easier, more streamlined, and engaging.

One of the main changes includes profile browsing. It has been simplified offering 5 main options for sorting members including New, Online, Distance, Match %, and LookBook. Each of these views are based on what you are seeking (called Discovery Preferences) and include attributes like gender and age range. These can be easily changed on the browsing page (or on your profile) to refine your searching.

Spark Networks and Affinitas GmbH have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in a stock-for-stock merger. The merger will bring together leading global brands like JDate, ChristianMingle, EliteSingles, and eDarling to cater to a broad spectrum of users with a presence in 26 countries, creating a more diverse and balanced footprint.

With nearly 500,000 period-ending subscribers and over $115 million in revenue for the twelve months ended March 31, 2017, the combined company would be one of the world's largest online dating providers on a pro forma basis.

The transaction has been approved by Spark's Board of Directors and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017. The combined company will be named Spark Networks SE and will be headquartered in Berlin, Germany, while maintaining a significant U.S. presence with offices in New York City and Lehi, Utah.

See All Dating Apps on Map

With the amount of media attention Tinder receives, you’d think it was the only dating app on the market - or if not the only option, at least the most popular one.

But the numbers tell a different story. Technology company Quantcast reviewed over 480,000 searches from January 6, 2017 - February 5, 2017 to discover which dating services singles in America prefer. They found that not only do different states have different preferences, preferences seem to come in clusters. And they’re not always what you’d expect.

Overall, old-school dating service PlentyOfFish won the most states with its free app. It may not have the hype of its newer, fancier competitors, but in this case slow and steady won the race. POF was especially popular in the south, southwest, and midwest.

Christian Mingle and JDate are having a sale on subscriptions to celebrate Valentines Day. The sale starts February 9th and runs to February 14th, 2017. During this time you will be able to receive 20% off a 3 month and 30% off a 6 month subscription. No coupon is required for this sale which appears automatically on the upgrade page.

• Visit JDate now and receive up to 30% off a subscription
• Visit Christian Mingle now and receive up to 30% off a subscription

Both Christian Mingle and JDate have been matching singles since the late 90s and are Spark Networks flagship online dating services. You can access the faith based services via their websites and dating apps which are available for Android and iOS phones.

For more information about these popular dating services please read our Christian Mingle review and our JDate review.