Trends: Dating Sites with a Twist

I’m not going to lie; this year I joined a couple of dating sites. After being horrified at the idea (I just didn’t feel old enough, or cat-lady enough yet), my friend finally persuaded me to give it a go. After being pleasantly surprised (there are some right fitties) I’ve also noticed that the stigma just really isn’t there anymore. It seems the more I admit to it, like it’s some weird seedy obsession, the more people say ‘Oh yeah I do/did that too, it’s good’. Oh. Really? It seems to be the last social taboo – mental images of uglies sitting alone in darkened rooms chatting to fake online people rather than actual outside ones – but it completely isn’t like that anymore (or probably never was, to be fair).

As our whole social life begins to shift, or at least be facilitated by, social media and the general internetty-ness of our lives, it kind of makes sense that people should meet others online. I’ve met plenty of people who I now consider friends on twitter, so why should dating sites be any different? We’re all living increasingly busy and fast-paced lives, and unless you’re one of the lucky ones that a) meets someone on public transport b) meets someone at work (assuming you don’t work with 10 girls, as I do) c) meets someone in a pub and isn’t instantly revolted by them/doesn’t have a pointless one night stand… then where else have you got to find someone? I firmly believe that the only reason I’ve been single for 3 years isn’t because I’m some kind of crazy (probably…), it’s just because I have no opportunity to meet people I have an actual connection with. Random boys in bars don’t count, as all they see is ‘blonde hair! boobs!’ and guess what comes next? Something that I have no interest in.

So as these social pre-conceptions shift, so do the boring old dating sites that involve signing up, getting a good picture and being let out into the great unknown with not much clue. I’ve come across a few in the past few months that are an example of a new trend within dating sites; matching people up according to their tastes, or involving them doing something; in order words, dating sites 2.0. Let’s have a look…

Tastebuds

I came across this one through twitter, and I love it. It’s the main site that I go on, as I found I wasn’t having much luck with mysinglefriend.com. The major bonus is that its free, which is amazing, except you do get the odd few crazies on there that message me hilarious things such as (and I quote) ‘I spy with my little eye a mcfittie’…. ‘I promise you there is no better feeling than buying me a drink’ and the oh-so-cheesey ‘I had said I’d stay away from sweet things this year, and then I went and messaged you!’ Well done to him, it truly was terrible.

Basically, Tastebuds.fm matches potential partners based on their tastes in music. It integrates directly with Last.fm, so you can either put your last.fm username in and away you go, or add artists manually. Then you set who you’re looking for like you would in a normal dating site, and you’re off, getting matched with tonnes of peeps who like the bands you do. I think it’s such a brilliant idea because I genuinely believe music taste is one of the few things you can guarantee is the telling point on if you will like someone; they may be an amazing person but if you’re loving NeYo and they count Marilyn Manson as their fave, you’ve got pretty different life choices and views right there. It’s so simple but so true.

Asda Dating

This is an interesting one. When I first heard about this, I was a bit up in arms; because, apparently, ‘research reveals the supermarket has overtaken the pub and the internet as the nation’s number 1 spot to find love.’ Really? REALLY?? It continues: ‘Supermarkets have always been a great way for single people to meet (again: REALLY?) so it makes sense that if you’re now shopping online for your groceries, why not find love online too?’

The idea is that users share their shopping data to be set up with potential partners who share your taste in goods. Rosie Rogers even says (and I tend to agree) ‘Could it even influence the way shoppers behave in the supermarket? You wouldn’t necessarily want your potential suitors to know about your binges from snack isle, or that you have a regular Friday night date with a box of Mr Brain’s Pork Faggots.’ Oh, the implications. A million jokes went around ‘Just avoid the reduced to clear section!’ ‘Do you think it’s date one, get one free?’ And oh how we laughed. But it seems something more sinister is afoot. Shortly after launching, Asda Dating started redirecting to UK dating; just another generic dating site. Was Asda Dating just a marketing ploy to get more members? Say it isn’t so! Seems there is a dark side to online dating, and it’s PR-based. That, or they realised they were getting severely laughed at, so just changed the branding so as not to evoke images of people brushing hands over the last ready meal for one…

Doing Something

And we’re back in the realms of good dating sites.

This is a fairly new one as far as I can tell, and I’ve only just signed up, but it’s a pretty good concept. DoingSomething is based on the idea that most dating is awkward and can be a bit dull – let’s go for a drink in a pub type thing. This encourages people to meet up and do something together – a walk, a wine tasting class, a game of ping pong… etc. The design of the site is ace and it even has this amazing ‘workify’ switch:

Which does this:

Brilliant.

Lastly, and possibly weirdest-ly…

Find Your FaceMate

I’m still not entirely sure if this is genuine or not. Here’s some info: ‘No matter how attentive, loving and kind a new partner might be, if he or she is not a facial feature match, it’s unlikely you will have the attraction necessary to take your mind off a previous love and offer the possibility of new love. In short the, there is no substitute for real chemistry.  And without it, the heart and the eye tend to wander.  Thankfully, people are blessed with more than one facial feature match; and our goal at Find Your Face Mate is to ensure that people are not stuck in the past but afforded the opportunity to move forward, with hope and find sustainable love with a facial feature match and replace the older facial feature partner with the real deal!’

Er. What? So you upload a photo, and it matches your face to people who look like you? Are we finding a date here, or long lost relatives?

Apparently, people are attracted to people who look like them. Because we’re all massive narcissists. I don’t really believe this for a second. I think that people can have a type, and yes your current boyf might resemble your ex (hair colour etc) but to resemble you? Isn’t that just a bit weird?

Anyway you can sign up now and membership will be free for life. Hmmm. Might give that one a miss.

I’d love to know if anyone has found any more examples of dating sites with a twist, or if you’ve had any hilarious experiences? I’d love to go into mine but possibly a little unfair. Might start an anonymous blog…..