One of the first, if
not THE first online dating services, Date.com was
first launched in 1997 and relaunched as a subscriber site in
2000. You might expect that, as a pioneer in the field, they
would be on the leading edge of dating site trends.
They're not. Date.com found what worked and stuck to
the formula. However they've done it very well, building a
good, solid dating site in the process.
Among their success stories, Date.com boasts over 250 marriages,
numerous relationships and engagements... and a few babies!
| Audience: |
Single straight or gay men and
women.
Date.com has slightly more men than women (60% men vs 40% women),
90% of their members are under age 50, with about 30% each in
the 21-30, 31-40 and 41-50 age groups. |
| Seeking: |
Friendship, casual, serious or marriage.
|
| Features: |
Photo profiles
Chat
Instant Messages
Secure email
Interests - Add someone to your interests to let them
know you are interested - you can send up to 100 per
day.
Advanced keyword searches - most of the search
options are the usual - appearance, ethnic group, smoking, etc.
but you can also include keywords which makes it much more flexible.
One nice feature: you can browse by the type of relationship
desired (marriage, serious, casual or friendship).
Cupid's Matches - a selection
of members who fit your search criteria, emailed to you weekly.
Offline parties and events - Date.com doesn't sponsor these events, but
works with independent organizing groups.
Webzine - very nicely done, with advice, book reviews, health and
fitness columns, success stories and polls.
|
| Freebies: |
Post a profile and photo
Unlimited searches
Send and receive "interest" messages..
Receive mail from paid members. |
| The Good: |
One of the things we liked best about
date.com was that the site is very easy to understand
and use! If you're new to online dating
or technically challenged, you'll love this site. There isn't a lot to fill out, sending
an email or showing interest in someone is simple as can be. With 2 million members,
there are a lot of profiles to choose from, yet not so many as to be overwhelming.
The occasional "offline" local
events, while not always available, are a plus.
Their webzine
is both entertaining and informative - I ignore most
webzines/ezines, but this one is well-written. The polls, each
from both a male and a female point of view, are great - I found
myself wasting the better part of an hour reading through the
old ones! |
| The Flaws: |
Not as many features
as some other services. And they kept sending me weekly cupid
matches even after I deactivated my profile, which was mildly
annoying. I'm sure there's some place to shut this feature off
and I admit I haven't taken the time to look, but since people
often deactivate profiles because they're becoming involved
with someone, I think this feature should automatically be suspended
at the same time.
Recently, the site implemented an annoying "talk to an
agent" popup
that appears when you try to navigate away from the home page. Sorry,
we don't love the "hard sell"! |
| The bottom line: |
Simple, user-friendly interface and lots of profiles to
browse. |
| Our Rating: |
 |
| Visitor Rating: |
(Ratings: 0 / 5 - Votes: 66) |
|
Visit DATE.COM
|
