June 28, 2011

Online dating sites, always innovating

You read about the new online dating site, What’s Your Price, where you can essentially buy a date. Well, the march of progress continues. Here are three more new online dating sites to consider:

Site: Clique
Summary: Here
Innovation: Leverages your existing social networks (Facebook, twitter, etc). Limits your potential dating connections to friends of friends, i.e., 2-degrees of separation.
Availability: only in NYC
Cost: Free for now
My take: Sounds interesting. This is the way people usually meet organically. The problem with most new online dating innovations is that it takes time to broaden the user base past the critical mass that makes it work. This site gets past that by integrating your existing networks. Hopefully it’s discreet. That’s the biggest barrier to most online dating sites integrating with Facebook. No one wants a Facebook update that says, “I just joined an online dating site.”

Site: Date My School
Summary: Here
Innovation: Exclusively for college students
Availability: A select number of schools and expanding
Cost: ??
My take: Again, this is how a lot of people meet -- in class/at school -- so why not take it online. At least you know the people there (a) are in a similar age group, (b) live very close by, and (c) are not total losers (at least they’re pursuing a college degree). But to me, it seems too narrow a focus. What do I do after I’ve looked through the 20 or so people at my school who meet my criteria for major, interests, etc and haven’t found anyone I want to date?

Site: Sugar Daddy for Me
Summary: The name says it all
My take: This site faces the same issues as What’s Your Price. In fact, this site might be in a less secure legal position. A California D.A. is currently hot on its trail. Let me help to answer the question of whether or not this is prostitution. Yes, it is. But so is marriage… almost all dates… and most romantic interactions between men and women.