There is a Specialized Online Dating Service for Everyone

For every general dating website, there is an online dating service made for specific groups of people, or people with certain interests. Spark Networks specializes in these types of sites. They have thirty special-interest dating sites, including JDate.com for Jewish singles, BlackSingles.com, and ChristianMingle.com, all of which are very popular.

Another site called True.com emphasizes safety in online dating. They screen members and kick off people with criminal backgrounds as well as married people who are posing as singles.

Other sites like Match.com add new features constantly. They recently launched a service called Match My Friends that lets members create profiles of their friends. This specialized feature adds new members to Match's already enormous 20 million.

Online Dating Sites Making Record Profits

Match.com, Yahoo! Personals, and MSN Dating are some of the most heavily trafficked websites out there. There is no longer a stigma attached to online dating; many people have at least gone out with someone that they met online.

But while there are numerous different options in online dating, the number of U.S. visitors to online dating sites has fallen steadily. It dropped from a peak of twenty one percent of all Internet users in 2003 to just ten percent in 2006.

Despite the drop in visitors, online-dating industry revenues have grown. This is because companies have raised monthly membership fees and membership lengths have increased. Total American industry revenues rose ten percent to $659 million in 2006.

Free Online Dating Just Got Better

Free online dating websites have always had a problem with fake profiles, spam, and scams. So, the dating site Lets101.com just introduced a mandatory phone confirmation for its members, which has resulted in a major reduction of spam messages to its members.

After implementing this scheme, the number of customer support complaints about abuse has gone down to almost none. This feature makes sure that members are serious and are looking for a real relationship, because serious members don't seem to mind confirming their phone number. Now they can almost guarantee that every single message sent on their site is from an actual member. This is an added bonus in the world of free online dating.

How to Sort Through the Plethora of Online Dating Services

The surging popularity of Internet dating has created an abundance of online dating services, all of which promise that they can help their clients to find a significant other. But since there are so many sites out there it is hard to know if you are even looking in the right place.

A new web site called Cupids Online Dating was created to solve this problem. Specialists at the site direct visitors to the dating services that fit them by assessing factors from various online dating sites. Individuals can look for the site that is right for them with reviews that have information about membership costs, types of users, what to expect from the service, and more.

Online Dating 180- Another State Proposes Online Dating Regulations.

Online Dating 180- New York has now joined the growing list of states that have bills proposed in order to protect their residents from criminals dating on the internet. Just like the proposed bill in New Jersey within the past month, the Albany City Council now has a bill on the table that will require online dating sites to inform New Yorkers if they allow convicted criminals access to their services.

Other states such as: Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Virginia, Ohio, and California have proposed similar bills, yet none of them has passed into laws. New Jersey's similar bill is still up on the table for debate.

Online Dating 180- Say Hey Hey!

Online Dating 180- Online dating has now evolved again. Not only can you meet and chat with people online, you can now "meet" them face to face from the comfort of your own home!

A new website was just launched as an online dating tool for the You Tube generation. The company named SayHeyHey believes that this video-based way of dating is the next big thing in online dating. The site uses only video-only profiles, and eliminates the uploaded photos and boring text print of a person's personality. You can still search for specific personality types and sort the results in a variety of ways, in hopes to find "the one" for you!

Online Dating 180- Proposed Bill Safety or Discrimination?

Online Dating 180- Recently, a legislative committee in New Jersey has passed a bill for Internet Dating Safety. This bill was based on a similar bill in Florida (which failed to pass).

The proposal states that all personal dating websites are required to perform background checks on all clients and they then must inform any New Jersey resident of any felony charges other clients have. New Jersey legislators believe it to be a step toward safety, yet most people believe that it should be up to the individual searching to take the recommended precautions while dating online, i.e. meeting in a public place.

The bill also dictates the notifications need to be in bold capital letters and a font size of at least 12 point to keep the message from being hidden, like in a disclaimer.

Other states such as: Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Virginia, Ohio, and California have proposed similar bills, yet none of them has passed.