NEW YORK TIMES – Feb 27 – Six customers of matchmaking services share their experiences. Their fees ranged from $500 to $25K. Many matchmakers either don't have or won't share statistics on their success rates. It's common not to provide references, citing a need to protect privacy. The companies generally aren't listed on review sites like Yelp. The New York Times interviewed a few singles across North America who have used matchmakers. Most of them agreed that the matches were better than Tinder matches. Here are edited versions of five conversations, including some comments and responses from the matchmakers.
Category: Reporters – Alyson Krueger
In-Person Flirtation Is Becoming Extinct
FORBES – Mar 22 – Singles are now using dating apps to meet potential partners even in environments such as Davos and SXSW when they are physically surrounded by smart, attractive and interesting singles. According to Spark Networks’ latest study one third of singles agree it’s less intimidating asking someone on a date via SMS vs. a phone call. 55% of singles agree their mobile makes it easier to flirt and get to know someone.
Dating Sites Are Working Harder To Prevent Harassment
FORBES – Mar 11 – The Internet offer a veil of anonymity that makes it easier to talk before you think. Dating sites are taking some steps to make online dating a much safer and harassment-free experience. Yesterday at SXSW, Elissa Shevinsky, a former dating entrepreneur who helped build OKCupid’s spam filters, shared some developments she was working on. OkCupid had a spam filter that would filter messages with bad grammar or naughty words. OKCupid now has a pilot program that deletes messages with short words. Many entrepreneurs have experimented with making users pay for every message or capping the number of free messages they can send at one time. The goal is to prevent daters from spamming thousands of people with the same message.
Dating In The Age Of Mobile Is A Full Time Job
FORBES – Mar 10 – At a panel at SXSW in Austin, Greg Liberman, the CEO of Spark Networks, spoke about the history of online dating. Mobile has completely taken over dating. Singles, especially those in their twenties, love texting to get to know people. 50% of those aged 21-to 26 report texting a few times a day before going on a date. 68% of singles still think it's important to talk on the phone before a face-to-face date. Dating is now a 24 hour a day activity. 44% check their phone first thing in the morning. A quarter of all singles aged 21 to 26 actually sleep with their phone in bed with them.