The Love Connection On-line dating and friendship sites

Topics we explored 1. Identity: What characteristics do the sites highlight? What questions are asked 2. Deception: What are some safeguards? 3. Searching: How do the sites allow users to search? 4. Matching: Do the sites base their systems on homophily? What are the goals/options of the sites (marriage, casual dates, casual sex, friends). 5. Contacting: what do users have to do to be able to contact potential mates? Are there free contact options (i.e. winks or teases)? Most sites have built-in anonymous webmail (that both ensures privacy, and ensures you have to pay them for the privilege of contacting others)

Types of sites Mainstream Sub-population Personality matching SN: Friendster Semi-SN: Craigslist

Mainstream Match.com –One of the biggest in the space –Long, long sign-up process – 10 (!) steps, including lots of free-response essays –Intended audience (and thus types of questions) really run the gamut, from normal stuff like appearance, to whats your ideal kind of date, to whats your favorite NBA team (why just NBA?)

Another mainstream: Yahoo! Personals –Similar to match.com, though a little bit more basic; seems like theyre catering to a bit more of a casual set –Simpler signup process (but that does that encourage more fakesters?)

Sub-population Ethnic National Religious Sexuality Special interests (divorced, golden age, widowed, BDSM, passion)

Theres a lot out there On-line dating conglomerates: –Friendfinder.com, asiafriendfinder.com, amigos.com, adultfriendfinder.com, germanfriendfinder.com, seniorfriendfinder.com, bigchurch.com, etc. –135 national singles sites (i.e. zimbabweansingles.com), 5 ethnic, 16 religious, 9 special interest

(part of –Profiles of people in Vietnam

Registration for adult content search (must pay): Relationship search free Has chat, video chat, blocking, no winks Noteworthy features: Mannerisms (masculine/butch), tattoos, piercings, HIV + or -, Home and Family section (nothing about wanting kids), pictures stressed, how out are you and your match. No automated matching – its a listing. This is also a community site covering travel, news, family issues, business, and shopping.

The Right Stuff is an international introduction network for single graduates and faculty of a select group of excellent universities and colleges (Berkeley is among them!)select group Hetero relations only, cant be currently married Can be an offline or online member Monthly postal mailing and of all members profiles (names protected) $70/six months (discount if graduate 93 or later)

Personality Matching: e-Harmony Call themselves the fastest growing relationship site on the web Their test gives instant, objective feedback on yourself and how you relate to others

Social Networking Friendster –Not immediately obvious that its a dating site (though that was the founders original intent) –Since the people you find with it are friends of friends, some seem to use it just as a lineup of people that they can ask real-life friends for introductions to (thus skipping the electronic communications part)

Craigslist personals – pseudo-SN pseudo because you dont have to know friends of Craig, but apparently many people do (or did) ultra-low barrier to entry no matching, limited searching however, still highly, highly popular