You may have noticed the same names coming up over and
over again in searching for online dating
services. The big names in internet
dating include
eHarmony, Great Expectations,
Matchmaker, Yahoo Personals, Lavalife, and
Match.com. There are a number of
newcomers to the internet dating scene such
as PerfectMatch.com that are building solid
reputations within the industry.
Click
here
to see why you should choose online dating!
Great
Expectations
Great
Expectations mixes an online personals
experience with more in-person contact.
They started as a more "traditional"
matchmaking company and have broadened out
in recent years to internet dating.
Great Expectations is targeted toward
professionals, and has a minimum age for men
of 25 and for women of 21.
PRO:
Great Expectations is easy to use and has a
large database of members. Matching is
based on compatibility with pre-screening to
ensure a quality database. Since the
service is geared toward professionals, the
matches that Great Expectations makes are
usually of a high caliber. Great
Expectations also has a lot of "extras" like
events where singles can meet one another.
CON:
The biggest drawback is that those who live
outside a major metropolitan area may not
live close enough to a Great Expectations
center to be able to participate.
Also, since the service is geared toward
professionals in a targeted age range, this
might not be the best matchmaking option for
some singles.
We
recommend Great Expectations for single
professionals who might want something more
out of a matchmaking service. Their
site is at
www.great-expectations.com .
eHarmony.com
eHarmony features
Dr. Neal Clark Warren of television ad fame.
It claims to make matches based on
scientific matching principles and 29 levels
of compatibility. eHarmony has one of
the fastest growing databases of singles on
the web.
PRO: Easy
to use, free personality test with results.
It's good to visit just to take the
personality test even if you don't end up
using eHarmony. There is a large
database of members, and eHarmony uses
techniques that specifically match members
to ensure compatibility.
CON: The
personality test is LONG, so allow some
time. eHarmony picks your matches for
you, so you can't browse like you can with
other sites.
We
recommend eHarmony. Even if you
don't end up joining it's worth taking the
personality test for the insight it gives
you.
Click to receive a FREE $40 Personality Profile on eHarmony .
Yahoo! Personals
Yahoo
personals offers the ability to search their
database for matches, while incorporating a
Premier level of service that allows users
to take a compatibility test and find
matches based on deeper connections.
Yahoo personals allows you to join, post a
profile, browse, and initiate communication
for free. If you and a match decide
you want to communicate further, that's when
you have to pay to join.
PRO:
Unlimited browsing, so you can "try before
you buy." Yahoo's broad appeal and
recognized name means a large database of
singles. There are a number of search
categories, so it's easy to make sure you
get - or don't get - the features you are
interested in.
CON:
Because anyone can post a profile, everyone
listed in the database isn't necessarily an
active member. Personality typing is
limited to Premier members, so this function
may be limited.
We recommend
Yahoo! Personals .
Match.com 
Match.com has
the advantage of being the personals service
offered through the America Online service,
so there's a broad database of members and a
continuous inflow of fresh users.
Match.com allows you to post a profile for
free and search the member database for
matches.
PRO: Over 8 million members
and the ability to browse before you commit makes Match.com a pretty
good bet. Like most of the other online personals sites, you can
create a free profile on their system.
CON: Like many of the other
internet personals sites, you have to pay before you can communicate
with other matches. Also, since profile creation is free there is
a possibility of dead-ends.
We recommend
Match.com.
Match.com has also recently launched Chemistry.com, a site
geared toward using the scientific matching principles which has made
sites such as eHarmony so popular. They are currently offering a
7-day free trial of their new service. This is too new
for us to rate, but with the free trial it's worth a look! Click
for a
7 day Free Trial with Chemistry.com .
Matchmaker.com
Matchmaker is
one of the oldest online personals services,
having been around for nearly 20 years.
As one of the first internet dating sites,
Matchmaker's history has allowed it to
figure out what works and what doesn't.
PRO:
Generous free trial period allows users to
get a feel for Matchmaker. Detailed
matching questionnaires and member profiles
make this one of the better online personals
sites. The popularity of this service
ensures a large member database.
CON:
Like many of the others, personality
profiling is not at the top of Matchmaker's
list.
We
recommend
Matchmaker.com .
|
