ARCH 17.2005
someone, so she wasn't really looking for a relationship, but exchanged messages with a few other members just to meet new people. One member's profile in particular struck her interest because of his interests in sports such as snowboarding — not to mention, he was cute as well, she says. So, Stephanie decided to send him a message and the chatting began.
After several months of talking online, and after Stephanie broke up with her boyfriend, both decided that it was time to move the relationship status from online to in person. Stephanie recalls that he picked her up from her house and they had dinner at JB Stouts early January. The date went well and both have been dating since.
Derek Ralston, Baldwin City, junior, says he felt the need for a local dating service and launched Datekansas.com in January 2004. College students are too busy to get into long distance relationships, says Ralston, a business major. With sites like eHarmony.com and other services, people don't have that guarantee that the person they meet with be in close proximity.
has proximity.
Datekansas.com is prominently marketed toward KU students but all Kansas residents are welcome to join. The site currently has 500 members with the majority being KU students.
Datekansas.com is a free service, so there is not charge for contacting another member as in most other sites. The site benefits students looking for long-term relationships or just friends.
DateKansas.com and most all online dating sites work in a similar manner. Each site requires you to fill out its personality profile before you begin searching. The personality profiles ask for your basic information such as age, gender and sexual preference, and then asks detailed questions about your characteristics and what you are wanting in a partner. You set up a user name separate from your first name or e-mail address, and from there, you can search profiles of singles locally or nationally. Dating services will even send you profiles of people that they think you may be compatible with. The browsing is free, but you have to pay a membership fee to contact other members. No need to worry about privacy either. Online dating services withhold your entire name and all of your contact information. All online sites maintain the anonymity of members. If you choose to e-mail a potential date through a service, it is done on a double blind system, so all a person sees is your user name. That way, a person can move at his or her own pace before giving out any personal information.
And, "size does matter," says Kristen Kelly, who is a spokeswoman for Match.com.
Match.com, close to celebrating its 10 year anniversary, prides itself on being the largest and oldest dating site internationally with 15 million singles.
Kelly says that people in their 20s have lifestyles that are better geared toward online dating. With the Internet playing such a large role in this generation's world, meeting people online just seems natural.
Match.com works like most other dating services.You create a profile, which contains detailed closed and open-ended
A personality profile shouldn't shy you away from meeting that certain someone. Kristen Kelly, spokeswoman for Match.com, gives tips to a profile makeover.
Profile Phobia
2. A well-written profile will most likely be viewed more than others, so take the time to spell check.
1. First off, the profile needs to express who YOU are.
3. Try to avoid clichés such as "hot stud seeks love muffin." Don't be cheesy either.
4. Be honest and upfront with issues that are important to you like religion.
5. If you have children, be sure to put that in as well.
6. Ask your friends and family what they admire about you if you are having trouble filling out the personality profile.
7. It's okay to say nice things about yourself. Just don't kill yourself with kindness.
8. Humor and wit is always a good thing.
9. Add a picture.Having a picture gives you a 20 percent greater chance of having your profile viewed.
questions. It asks for your likes and dislikes, and specifically what you're specifically looking for in a partner. So, you control the whole profile you would like to see Kelly says. *Match.com* can send compatible matches your way as often as you would like be it on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. The site also allows you to do your own searches based on geography, age or even hair color.
A range of even hair colour. What's different about eHarmony is that it's in the dating industry but not quite a dating service. Joe Zink, public relations manager for eHarmony.com, describes it as a "relationship service." eHarmony also has a distinct way of helping singles meet. The site matches people through a 29 personality dimension patented system. eHarmony takes the 436 question personality profile and turns it into a mathematical algorithm where certain questions dispersed throughout the profile are grouped into categories. Based on the answers to those categories, eHarmony.com pairs you with someone who has similar choices.
But, efharmony.com is not the best site for college students unless they are seeking long-term relationships. In fact, singles must be 21 or older to become a member. About 5 percent of eHarmony.com's members fall into the 21-to-24 age range. Zink does suggest that college students who are looking for serious relationships to try eHarmony.com to see if it's right for them because the profile is free and the matching is free. You only pay if you decide to start writing someone
Not everyone will have success with online dating though. Liz, Lawrence senior, doesn't think that online dating is a bad way to meet people, but she feels that it's just not right for her. After she set up an account with eHarmony.com after her friends suggested she should try it. At first, Liz didn't feel that the matches eHarmony.com found for her reflected her personality. After a few weeks, however, Liz found a match that she felt she had a lot in common with. After talking for two weeks, both felt the connection was strong enough and decided to meet. The date went well and Liz never heard from him again. She could find no explanation for him not calling after the date, but it was
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