About Dating Online

The Libyan government may have had its eye on popular social networks like Twitter and Facebook, but there was one means of communication on the web that it forgot to check.

Protesters slipped under the radar by using the Muslim dating site Mawada to send clandestine messages organizing the revolution. As revealed to ABC News, the leader of the Ekhtalef ("Difference") Movement Omar Shibliy Mahmoudi and his revolutionaries used the website, which operates similar to Match.com, to share secrets and advice with their compatriots.

"I felt it was an obligation to use myself, to use my skills in a field of Web development and Web design to pass on the messages and inform the world," he said to ABC News. "I'm trying to blend the best of both worlds -- the Arabic and the English. ... I can hopefully reach both audiences."

Mahmoudi created a profile called "Where Is Miriam?," in which he pretended to look for a wife. Since the site has a strict no male-to-male communication policy, his fellow male colleagues created female profiles under the names "Sweet Butterfly," "Opener of the Mountain," "Girl of the Desert" and "Melody of Torture."

There, they shared poetry with codes hidden inside to make contact with new supporters and gauge how many people were in favor of the cause. They then followed up with text messages and Yahoo! Messenger chats.

Some of the codes included:

- "May your day be full of Jasmine": A reference to the "Jasmine Revolution"

- "And the same to you. I hope you will call me": Person was ready to help in the movement

- "I want love": I want liberty

- ""I LLLLLove you": Number of Ls meant how many people they knew were willing to help

- "My lady, how I want to climb this wall of silence. I want to tell the story of a million hurts. ... But I am lost in a labyrinth. … Maybe we can meet on Yahoo messenger": It was time to start chatting on Yahoo to avoid the suspicion of the authorities

By the time he was ready to take his protest public, Mahmoudi - who was a non-political Libyan businessman before the revolution - had 171, 323 admirers before the internet in Libya was pulled down last Saturday. He may not have found love, but he found an irreplaceable connection with thousands of his fellow countrymen and women.

There is a business addage that says, "if you can't beat them, acquire them." After failing to succeed with its free Down to Earth online dating service, Match.com acquired free online dating service OKcupid.com for $50 million.

Match.com, a paid online dating service, spent millions launching and promoting a free online dating service, Down to Earth, but couldn't gain traction like the two market leaders - OKcupid.com and Plenty of Fish. So Match.com changed its strategy and spent tens of millions to acquire OKcupid.com.

"OKcupid has been a real innovator in our space, and the dating environment they've created has struck a chord with a younger demographic," says Greg Blatt, CEO of IAC which owns Match.com.  I think it's clearly the best site in its competitive set, with better features and a more distinctive personality than any other advertising-based site. We know that many people who start out on advertising-based sites ultimately develop an appetite for the broader feature set and more committed community, which subscription sites like Match.com and Chemistry.com offer, creating a true complimentary relationship between our various business models.  2010 saw record growth both for Match and OKcupid, and we believe coordinating the adjacent business models will help fuel continued growth for both.  This acquisition therefore goes a long way toward our objectives of bringing new people into the online dating world, offering the ability to meet in whatever type of online setting, and at whatever commitment level, our members desire, and facilitating a seamless evolution of the online dating experience without ever having to leave our portfolio of sites."

For now OKcupid.com will stay the same, including the foundeers of the site staying on board to run it. IAC and Match.com have no current plans to change it from a free service to a paid service. The goal is to keep it free and make money from advertising.

The internet is virtually cluttered with websites clamoring to play cupid for men looking for women, boys looking for girls, girls looking for sugar-daddies, men looking for boys, cougars looking for guys – you get the picture. It is such an enticing concept of virtually endless chances and possibilities, so if you wish to find a date online, you are welcome to hop on to the online dating bandwagon.
Before you trust your love-life’s future to an internet dating site, find out about the best ones out there. Here are five reviews to help you make up your mind.

1)    OkCupid.com – The site is one of the old established players and with more than a million members it is surely doing something right. It is an easy to navigate site that is nicely organized. You can connect easily with other members; this makes it easy for all involved to find people that are a good fit for them. The site is a favorite haunt of the young, looking to find a date or strike a relationship in a manner that is not too heavy on the pockets – yes, this awesome site is free.  The site does not support video chats, only IMs are allowed.

2)    Spark.com - The site offers a free trial and a host of features to go with it. It takes user participation seriously. You are supposed to put up a photograph within three days of joining to show that you are serious about online dating. You will also be required to take the Color Code – a sort of test that profiles you and throws up the most likely partners for you. You can send and receive emails when availing free membership. Traversing the pages may be a little tedious as there is a surfeit of icons.

3)    Match.com – Possibly the largest online dating site. This site has more than sixteen million members and it boasts a high success rate. You have a very good chance of meeting someone special here. The site is confident that in six months you will hit a relationship jackpot, if you don’t you get a six month extension free of cost. Match.com subscribers can access the site easily on mobile devices. You can also set up your friends with prospective matches on this site. It is; however, one of the more expensive paid dating sites out there.

4)    Date.com – The site that has been around for longer than most others, it has not only survived but has thrived and in the process built up a solid reputation for itself. The site is frequented by those serious about dating and looking for a partner. So, if you join this site you can be assured that you will not run into frivolous people or face attempts at phishing. The site lets you look up prospective dates by age, gender, location, interests, etc. Paid subscribers can communicate with one another via IM, email, and chat.

5)    MillionaireMatch.com – Here’s the kind of niche every dating guy or gal wants to operate in. But it’s not that easy. It’s only for the wealthy. Rich doctors, Silicon Valley Honchos, Hollywood celebs, big time models…you get the picture. Now, you don’t have to be a real millionaire, just rich. You can test this site as a guest member and communicate with people that email you. The obvious USP of this site is that you get to meet people that belong to your social strata and share your tastes.

IAC’s Match.com is making another acquisition—this time buying up Singlesnet, which as of January was the 11th largest dating site in the world by unique visitors. In a release, Match.com describes the deal as “more of a value acquisition than a strategic one” and notes that Singlesnet’s traffic is on the decline; comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) figures show that traffic to Singlesnet was down 27 percent in January, compared to the same month a year ago. “We believe that by applying our category expertise we can reverse that trend, increase the site’s profitability and improve the overall user experience,” says Match.com CEO Greg Blatt.

Like Match.com, Singlesnet is a general, subscription-based dating site. It had just over 3 million unique visitors last month. By contrast, Match’s flagship had 5 million.

IAC’s Match.com has signed an agreement to acquire People Media, operator of targeted dating sites, from American Capital Ltd for $80 million in cash.

The acquisition of People Media will expand and strengthen Match.com’s position in the online dating space. People Media operates 27 websites including BlackPeopleMeet.com, SingleParentMeet.com, SeniorPeopleMeet.com, BBPeopleMeet.com and LDSPlanet.com.

Greg Blatt, CEO of Match.com, said: People Media’s momentum will continue, and that the combination of Match.com and People Media can accelerate each business’ current growth trends in a variety of ways, including through the sharing of product development and online marketing expertise and the ability to market a broader array of services to the combined customer base, thereby improving customer acquisition economics for both companies.