Online Dating Statistics

The popularity of online dating is surging. According to online dating statistics, romance seekers in the United States spent over $500 million on online dating sites in 2005. This is a huge increase because online dating spending was at just $40 million in 2001.

Some of the biggest sites are Match.com and Yahoo! Personals. Match.com say that they have over 15 million members in 240 different countries. Another huge site, eHarmony.com says that 90 of its members get married every day. These sites cast a wide net for potential partners. They offer compatibility tests to help narrow the field. However, if you already know what you're looking for, there are also a ton of specialty sites to find a specific type of person. With the field being so large and encompassing, its no wonder it continues to grow.

Online Dating Advice

Psychologists recommend proceeding with caution when it comes to online dating. Meeting someone on the Internet is like a blind date. Experts recommend that couples should meet online and date online, then meet in person and date in person. The best online dating advice is that everything should be taken slower because of all the unknown factors.

Online dating is no replacement for face-to-face contact. It is hard to pick up on emotion on the Internet. While the Internet offers a broad pool of potential mates, some experts say that it can also being limiting, by the way it allows people to narrow their searches so that they only find someone who is just like themselves. When you read someone's profile sometimes you find out too much about them and then weed them out, whereas in person you might have given them more of a chance. Dating should be about chemistry, not just finding someone with all the exact same interests as you.

Jewish Online Dating just got Cheaper

JDate, the top Jewish online dating site, is now offering a bulk rate to rabbis who want to buy membership accounts for their congregants. This is the first time in its ten-year history that it has offered any sort of discount. Singles who sign up through their congregation will be eligible for a discount on the site's six-month subscription fee.

Rabbis negotiated the discounted rate with the site, and they are paying part of the difference out of their own pockets. They say they felt compelled to act because of the gradual dilution of the Jewish faith through marriage. Almost 50 percent of American Jews are now marrying non-Jews, and the rabbis would like to put a stop to this.

Online Dating Tips for Your Profile

Your online dating profile is supposed to be representing who you are and what you are looking for out of a relationship. Do not post short or one-word answers. You want to put down as much information as possible, to let people know more about you and give them something to talk to you about.

Another valuable tip is to be yourself no matter what. This is one of the most important things that you can do. Remember that you are not trying to impress anyone. You should just be trying to find the person who fits with you and who you actually are. This is the basis for any successful relationship. Be sure to remember these online dating tips when posting your profile, and you will have much more success.

Be Cautious When Using Free Online Dating Sites

Users should always exercise caution when using free online dating sites. There are many free online dating sites that allow people to post their profiles and respond to others for free. The problem with this is that they often end up attracting strange people or even perverts. It is important to check out the site carefully before you join.

Online dating can risky and potentially expose you to harm. Be patient and persistent and always trust your instincts. Get to know the person the person that you are chatting with. It will give you time to weed out the strange people as well as understand the person better and decide if they are your type. This will give you a chance to see if the person is genuine or a fraud.

Make Teen Online Dating Safer

Federal and state courts routinely restrict Internet access for sex offenders as a condition of probation or parole. But only Florida, Nevada and New Jersey have legislation making this an actual law. New Jersey recently banned sex offenders from social networking web sites, chat rooms and online dating services.

Sex offenders who ignore these bans face criminal charges that carry up to eighteen months in prison and a $10,000 fine. Under the new law, sex offenders will have to notify law enforcement if they have access to a computer and get written approval to use it. Parole officers will then be able to check a device that all offenders will have installed on their computers to monitor Internet usage.

These laws are very important, especially with the popularity of teen online dating. Teens are the most vulnerable group to sexual predators. Hopefully other states in the nation will follow suit and pass similar laws to protect them.

100% Free Online Dating

FaceRomance.com is a new 100% free online dating site. There is absolutely no use for a credit card on the site; every function is completely free. When you join the site, you can create a detailed profile. There are a ton of filters for when you are conducting a search, like age, gender, religion, body type, income, and many more. After conducting a search, you get a list of eligible singles. You can then see which users are online and send them a kiss or add them to your IM list, all at no cost. FaceRomance also features many great dating tools like video and voice messages, a match making system, and a photo ranking system.

Free Online Dating Site Makes a lot of Money

Markus Frind of Vancouver, British Columbia, runs a free online dating site called Plenty of Fish. He actually started the company by accident. Frind was originally trying to learn a new software program so that he could get a job. He built the site in two weeks as a way to learn, but then the site started to get a lot of traffic. He never expected it to be a moneymaker, but it now makes him a ton of cash. He just got a check from Google AdSense for $900,000 for just two months. The site gets 1.2 billion page views each month and fifty million unique visitors. Despite this success, Frind still runs the site out of his apartment.

A New Website Offers a Twist to Free Dating Online

A website called SayHeyHey recently introduced the first free all-video dating and entertainment site. It is the online dating destination made for the YouTube generation. The site wants to provide a more entertaining approach to free dating online. Individuals share what they are looking for in a person and are also encouraged to share dating stories, tips and tricks, and any type of personal expression that lets other viewers get a glimpse of their personality.

More than 500 people have already created videos for the site. Different types of searches are available to help users find people with similar interests without the long questionnaires typically found on dating sites. SayHeyHey delivers a much more accurate view of its members because each profile is video-based, showcasing a far more realistic sense of that person.

Dating Online now Available on the Facebook Site

Match.com pioneered online personals when it started in 1995 and it continues to lead this exciting and evolving category after more than a decade. The site recently expanded its reach with the launch of a new dating application for Facebook called Little Black Book. Facebook users are now able to find potential matches based on compatibility and shared interests.

Little Black Book is an opportunity to take advantage of Match.com in the Facebook environment in a way that expands existing social circles and makes dating online much more effective. Once added, Little Black Book users can pull basic information like age and location from their Facebook profiles to help create their Little Black Book profile.