OPW — Aug 18 — We thought it would be interesting to create a list showing when various dating companies were first launched. We've added launch and 'belly-up' dates to the companies on our 'News Listed By Company' section. (Look on the right, under 'Search'). This data was mainly collected from the Wayback Machine and we've linked out to the first image wherever possible. Here are some interesting ones for you.
- FriendFinder Launched in Mar 1997
- JDate Launched in Dec 1998
- Match.com Launched in Jan 1998
- Matchmaker.com Launched in Dec 1998
- Plentyoffish Launched in Jan 2002
We also list 'belly-up' dates. e.g.
- Badgermatch Launched in Mar 2004, Died in Oct 2007
- BikerDating Launched in Mar 2003, Died in Jan 2008
- LoveHappens Launched in Dec 1998, Died in Apr 2008
You get the idea. I hope its useful, or at least amusing.
This is great memorabilia. Can you believe some of these old designs. The industry has come a long way in ten years. What will these sites look like in 10 years?
This is great memorabilia. Can you believe some of these old designs. The industry has come a long way in ten years. What will these sites look like in 10 years?
Mark,
The following is our Archive.org entry for Date.com from December 24, 1997
http://web.archive.org/web/19971224194656/http://date.com/
I was personally involved in this design, and looking back at it now I can see that it was certainly horrible, especially the logo… what was I thinking?
Also, there is an even older entry for Date.com going back to December 22, 1996, making Date.com the oldest dating site on your list.
meir
Mark,
The following is our Archive.org entry for Date.com from December 24, 1997
http://web.archive.org/web/19971224194656/http://date.com/
I was personally involved in this design, and looking back at it now I can see that it was certainly horrible, especially the logo… what was I thinking?
Also, there is an even older entry for Date.com going back to December 22, 1996, making Date.com the oldest dating site on your list.
meir
Mark,
We arrived a few years after Date.com. We went “live” on Feb 26, 1999. The earliest I can find is from 2.5 months after that, on May 07, 1999:
http://web.archive.org/web/19990507231827/http://www.thechristiancafe.com/
(we were known initially as “thechristiancafe.com” as we didn’t own the domain “christiancafe.com” yet)
Like Meir, I can’t believe the design we started off with…:)
Mark,
We arrived a few years after Date.com. We went “live” on Feb 26, 1999. The earliest I can find is from 2.5 months after that, on May 07, 1999:
http://web.archive.org/web/19990507231827/http://www.thechristiancafe.com/
(we were known initially as “thechristiancafe.com” as we didn’t own the domain “christiancafe.com” yet)
Like Meir, I can’t believe the design we started off with…:)
Don’t forget OnlineDatingPost.com, which launched in November 2002 🙂
Don’t forget OnlineDatingPost.com, which launched in November 2002 🙂
MatchMaker.com predates 1998. It is possible the website launched then, but I know it existed as a telnet portal as far back as 1994. At the time it had several different communities based on geographic location or lifestyle.
Online dating was very different back then. MatchMaker didn’t support photos but even if it did, few people had them online.
MatchMaker.com predates 1998. It is possible the website launched then, but I know it existed as a telnet portal as far back as 1994. At the time it had several different communities based on geographic location or lifestyle.
Online dating was very different back then. MatchMaker didn’t support photos but even if it did, few people had them online.