We've all seen the ads. We have heard stories, both amazingly terrific and absolutely dreadful. We got curious: Should I call? Should I sign up? What's all of this about? Well, let me open your eyes a bit to the world of online dating sites!
I've made a list of some of the world's most accessed dating sites around the world. Ranging from all counts of sexual orientation to specializations of where your potential partner may be from.
MatchHistory: Match was originally meant to provide classified advertising systems for nespapers, but that quickly shifted to the web for larger access, with inclusion of diverse communities across the board.
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: 96,000,000
Alexa rating: 462
Launched: 1995
Website:http://www.match.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: Chemistry.com, OkCupid, Match.com, People Media, Tinder, OurTime, The Daily Beast, Vimeo, CollegeHumor, Dictionary.com, Ask.com, About.com, and The Princeton Review are all owned by the same company, IAC.
eHarmonyHistory: eHarmony emphasizes the meaning of true love, along with long-term relationships. The goal of the site was to find a life partner, in which marriage will be the end result. Neil Warren stated that they didn't accommodate for queer couples because at the time, he didn't fully understand it and it was illegal for same-sex marriage, and he didn't want to do anything that was illegal.
Queer Friendly: No
Registered Users: 33,000,000
Alexa rating: 2861
Launched: 2000
Website:http://www.eharmony.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact:In an effort to attract queer individuals, eHarmony created Compatible Partners, a service for same-sex relationships.
Plenty of FishHistory: Markus Frind ran the entire website independently until 2008, when he brought in more workers to help him. PlentyOfFish started to gain traction when it collaborated with Lady Gaga for single members to go to her "Fame Monster" tour and have a chance to meet the famed singer.
Queer Friendly: No
Registered Users: 90,000,000
Alexa rating: 447
Launched: 2003
Website:http://www.pof.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: Product placement has been a staple with PoF's exposure. Appearing in Lady Gaga's "Telephone", Natasha Bedingfield's "Touch", Ke$ha's "We R Who We R", Flo Rida and Akon's "Available", Jason Derulo's "Ridin' Solo", 3OH!3's "Double Vision", and Britney Spears'"Hold It Against Me" music video.
OKCupidHistory: The owners of OkCupid originally gained traction at Harvard University, where they were students, for their creation of The Spark, and later, SparkNotes. This led them to tinker with their quizzes in order to be be used for dating. SparkMatch was the beta version, and later grew to become the website we all know (and love/hate) today! OkCupid has managed to stay ahead of the curve with supplying gender identity and sexual orientation settings across the board, as well as providing graphics of statistics dealing with the "most popular" and "least popular" racial group.
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: 5,600,000
Alexa rating: 425
Launched: 2004
Website:http://www.okcupid.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: In March, 2014, OKCupid banned Firefox from accessing the site because of Brendan Eich's (CEO of Firefox) support for Proposition 8. The ban was lifted three days later.
BadooHistory:Badoo was founded by Russian, entrepreneur, Andrey Adreev. Badoo has faced more negative feedback than positive, being described as creepy, invasive, and virus-ridden.
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: 244,000,000
Alexa rating: 281
Launched: 2006
Website:http://www.badoo.us/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: Badoo entered in agreement with various Vine users in order to promote its use. Blendr is a geosocial networking application that is powered by Badoo.
ZooskHistory: Founded by undergraduates from Iran, Zoosk was developed by Zadeh and Mehr, who have worked with Microsoft and NASA. Their initial principle was that profit did not matter, but that soon went away. Now, they require members to pay in order to send messages.
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: 50,000,000
Alexa rating: 1,379
Launched: 2007
Website:http://www.zoosk.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: Zoosk has a Photo Verification service, made to to prevent users from "posting photos of themselves when they were 10 years younger or 20 pounds lighter."
GrindrHistory: Grindr is a geosocial networking application for gay, bisexual, bi-curious, and transgender men. Even with all of the downside, Grindr is still regarded as the most popular gay mobile app. Grindr had a hand in helping to develop Blendr, basically, the all-inclusive Grindr.
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: 10,000,000
Alexa rating: N/A
Launched: 2009
Website:http://www.grindr.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: Grindr sends announcements that advertise local queer businesses and political campaigns. They also inform people to get tested regularly, and locations in which they can be tested for free.
TinderHistory: Tinder is a geosocial networking application that uses the user's Facebook profile, analyzes the data, and matches them with other candidates, including common interests and mutual friends. Like many other sites, you swipe right for "liking" the individual, and left for "ignoring" the individual. The only way to get a match is for both people to swipe each other to the right.
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: 50,000,000
Alexa rating: N/A
Launched: 2012
Website:http://www.gotinder.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: Tinder has revealed ageist standards by charging people under the age of 28 less than those over the age of 28 for premium services.
Specialized Dating SitesAnastasiaDateHistory: AnastasiaDate was founded by a Russian-American couple, and it is used as an international online dating site to connect men from North America to women from Eastern Europe.
Queer Friendly: No
Registered Users: 4,000,000
Alexa rating: 6,079
Launched: 1997
Website:http://www.anastasiadate.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: The site is mostly used by wealthy American men, ranging between 35-60 years of age, and you must pay for credit in order to talk to the women on the other end.
Spark NetworksHistory: Spark Networks creates niche-focused brands that build and strengthen communities, through religious and racial ties.
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: 10,000,000 (on ChristianMingle alone)
Alexa rating: N/A
Launched: 1997
Website:http://www.spark.net/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: ChristianMingle.com, JDate.com, BlackSingles.com, SilverSingles.com, LDSSingles.com, and CatholicMingle.com are all owned by Spark Networks.
Ashley MadisonHistory: Ashley Madison is an online dating service marketed to people who are already in a relationship, although it is also used by those looking to get into a polyamorous/polygamous relationship. Their slogan, "Life is short. Have an affair" led many to believe that this site was used for those who were looking to either find a sexual partner on the side (a married man/woman looking for another partner without their spouse knowing) or someone looking to shake things up (a single person looking for a married man/woman).
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: 22,000,000
Alexa rating: 3112
Launched: 2001
Website:http://www.ashleymadison.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: The name of the site was created from two popular female names, Ashley and Madison.
BeautifulPeople.comHistory: Are you ugly? Chances are, you won't even be accepted on this site. Dating website where membership is based on a vote, in which existing members rate how attractive they perceive prospective members to be within 48 hours.
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: N/A
Alexa rating: 61,026
Launched: 2002
Website:http://www.beautifulpeople.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: BeautifulPeople removes people who lose their attractive level, either through weight gain or otherwise.
People MediaHistory: People Media is a special little focus site, that has a specific niche or target audience for people who want to find others just like themselves. Be it their race, ethnicity, religion, or lifestyle.
Queer Friendly: N/A (generated across the board)
Registered Users: N/A (generated across the board)
Alexa rating: N/A (generated across the board)
Launched: 2002
Website:http://www.peoplemedia.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: AsianPeopleMeet.com, BabyBoomerPeopleMeet.com, BBPeopleMeet.com, BlackBabyBoomerMeet.com, BlackChristianPeoplemeet.com, BlackPeopleMeet.com, CatholicPeopleMeet.com, ChinesePeopleMeet.com, DemocraticPeopleMeet.com, DivorcedPeopleMeet.com, IndiaMatch.com, InterracialPeopleMeet.com, JPeopleMeet.com, LatinoPeopleMeet.com, LDSPlanet.com, LittlePeopleMeet.com, LoveAndSeek.com, MarriagemindedPeopleMeet.com, OurTime.com, PetPeopleMeet.com, RepublicanPeopleMeet.com, SeniorBlackPeoplemeet.com, SeniorPeopleMeet.com, and SingleParentMeet.com are all participating sites under People Media, which is owned by IAC.
FarmersOnlyHistory: FarmersOnly is, you guessed it, for farmers! They also target ranchers and people living in rural areas of both the U.S. and Canada.
Queer Friendly: Yes
Registered Users: N/A
Alexa rating: N/A
Launched: 2005
Website:http://www.farmersonly.com/Current Status: Active
Fun Fact: Farmers Only offers American, Traditional, Rural, Christian, and Senior dating sites.
Sources:Countless searches for "the one," when all I really needed was "the right now."
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14ONTD, have you ever used an online dating site/app? Share your stories! Sad to say, there aren't popular lesbian or transgender dating sites.
