This timeline of online dating services also includes broader events related to technology-assisted dating (not just online dating). Where there are similar services, only major ones or 'the first of its kind' are listed.
- FirstDate is the online dating shortcut that significantly reduces the time and effort spent to meet. We’ve leveled the playing field by allowing Generous Members to message Attractive Members with personalized offers to get you both on a first date faster.
- Fred Sirieix welcomes hungry-for-love teens to the First Dates restaurant, as the 16 to 19-year-olds take their first steps in the land of real-world dating. Teen First Dates.
| Year (month and date) | Event | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Happy Families Planning Services launches. Started by Jim Harvey and Phil Fialer as a class project at Stanford. Used a questionnaire and an IBM 650 to match 49 men and 49 women. | |
| 1963 | Ed Lewis at Iowa State University uses a questionnaire and an IBM computer 'to optimize the meeting potential at dances'.[1] | |
| 1964 | St. James Computer Dating Service (later to become Com-Pat) launches. Joan Ball started the first commercially run computer generated matchmaking company. The first set of matchups was run in 1964.[2] | |
| 1965 | Operation Match (part of Compatibility Research Inc.) launches. Started by Jeff Tarr and Vaughan Morrill at Harvard. Used a questionnaire and an IBM 1401 to match students. There was a $3 fee for submitting a questionnaire. 'By the fall of sixty-five, six months after the launch, some ninety thousand Operation Match questionnaires had been received, amounting to $270,000 in gross profits, about $1.8 million in [2014]'s dollars.'[1] In the 1960s there still was no stigma about computer-assisted matching. | |
| 1965 | Eros (Contact Inc.) launches. Started by David Dewan at MIT. Used a dating questionnaire and Honeywell 200. 'In one distribution of questionnaires, he drew eleven thousand responses at $4 each, or $44,000 in gross profits, about $250,000 in [2014]'s dollars.'[1] | |
| 1965 | The New York Review of Books personals column makes a comeback. Slater writes:
| Magazine |
| 1968 | Data-Mate launches. Questionnaire-based matching service started at MIT.[3] | |
| 1970s, early | Phase II is founded. A 'computer-dating company' started by James Schur.[1] | |
| 1974 | Cherry Blossoms' mail-order bride catalog launches. Slater calls Cherry Blossoms 'one of the oldest mail-order bride agencies'. Started by John Broussard. | |
| 1976 | Great Expectations is founded. Video dating service started by Jeffrey Ullman.[4][5] The service achieved some notability, but it never overcame stigma. There were also apparently other video dating services like Teledate and Introvision, but it's nearly impossible to find anything about them online. | |
| 1980s | messageries roses (pink chat rooms) launches chat rooms for dating (using the Minitel network) started by Marc Simoncini. France. | |
| 1986[6] | Matchmaker Electronic Pen-Pal Network launches. A bulletin board system for romance started by Jon Boede and Scott Smith. Matchmaker grew to 14 local BBSs throughout the US. Eventually people lost interest as BBSs lost out to the World Wide Web, and Matchmaker was superseded by Matchmaker.com. | |
| 1987 | TelePersonals is created as a separate telephone dating system in Toronto, Canada from an earlier 'Personals' dating section of a telephone classified business. As part of an advertising program a selection of ads appear on the back pages of Now Magazine, the Canadian equivalent of the Village Voice. Services in different cities around the Toronto area are launched. A gay option is quickly added. The gay section becomes its own branded service. At the very beginning of the 2000s TelePersonals launches online and is rebranded as Lava Life with sections for cities across the United States and Canada. | Telephone, later Web |
| 1989 | Scanna International launches. Mail-order bride service focusing on Russia and Eastern Europe. | |
| 1994 | Kiss.com launches. The first modern dating website. | |
| 1995 | Yid.com launched as the first Jewish dating service and the first dating site in South Africa | Web |
| 1995 | Match.com launches. Started by Gary Kremen. | |
| 1997 | JDate launches dating service targeted at Jewish singles | |
| 1997 | Shaadi.com launches. It is an online wedding service founded by Anupam Mittal in 1997. October 1998, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder and executive vice chairman of Info Edge India, started the matrimonial website | |
| 1998 | Jeevansathi.com launches. October 1998, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder and executive vice chairman of Info Edge India, started the matrimonial website. | |
| 1999 | Gaydar launches. Founded in November 1999 by London-based South Africans Gary Frisch and his partner Henry Badenhorst, the website was once the world's most popular gay online dating site it grew into a portfolio of websites and an award-winning radio station. | Web later App |
| 2000 | eHarmony launches. Online dating service for long-term relationships. | |
| 2000 | BharatMatrimony launches. Murugavel Janakiraman started the BharatMatrimony website in 2000[7] while working as a software consultant for Lucent Technologies in Edison, N.J. In the late 1990s he set up a Tamil community web portal, which included matrimonial ads. He started BharatMatrimony after noticing the matrimonial ads generated most of his web traffic | |
| 2001 | Christian Mingle launches dating service for Christian singles | |
| 2002 | Friendster is launched. A friendship, dating and early general Social networking website all rolled into one. In 2005 Facebook copies and expands the idea into a general social interconnected website. | Web |
| 2002 | PlanetRomeo is launched as GayRomeo in October 2002 initially only available in German but now available in 6 languages. The majority of the sites users are based in Europe. | Web later App |
| 2002 | Dudesnude is launched as a networking site for gay men. The company slogan is 'picture, video, and profile sharing for men!' | Web |
| 2002 | Ashley Madison is launched as a networking service for extramarital relationships. | |
| 2002 | PrimeSingles.net launches as a dating service for singles over 50. This name changes to Single Seniors Meet in 2009 and to SilverSingles in 2011 | |
| 2003 | Proxidating launches. Dating service that used Bluetooth to 'alert users when a person with a matching profile was within fifty feet'.[1] | |
| 2003 | PlentyOfFish launches. | Web |
| 2004 | OkCupid launches. | Web |
| 2006 | Spark Networks, owner of niche dating sites like Jdate and Christian Mingle, goes public.[7] | |
| 2006 | Badoo launches as a dating-focused social networking service | |
| 2006 | SeekingArrangement launches. A sugar daddy/sugar baby site in the US. | |
| 2007 | Skout launches. A 'location-based social networking and dating application and website'. | |
| 2007 | Crazy Blind Date launches. Blind dating service started by Sam Yagan. | |
| 2007 | Zoosk launches. A global online-dating service started by Shayan Zadeh and Alex Mehr. | |
| 2008 | GenePartner launches matching service based on 'DNA compatibility'.[8] | |
| 2009 | Grindr launches, focussing on gay, bi and trans people. | App |
| 2010 | Scruff launches, focussing on gay, bisexual, and transgender men, adding in 2013 a HIV-positive community. | App |
| 2011 | LikeBright launches. Online dating site by Nick Soman.[9] By 2014 the site shut down.[10] | Web |
| 2011 | Dating group Spark Networks acquires Senior Singles Meet (formerly PrimeSingles) and changes the name to SilverSingles | |
| 2011 (July) | Momo, a Chinese social search and instant messaging app launches. | |
| 2011 (September) | Blendr, designed to connect like-minded people, launches. | |
| 2012(?) | Highlight launches. Slater calls it a 'location-based dating app'. | App |
| 2012 | Tinder launches. | App |
| 2012 | Hinge launches, an app 'designed to be deleted' | App |
| 2014 (Passover) | JSwipe launches. A dating app for Jewish millennials. | App |
| 2014 | Bristlr launches, facilitating communication between bearded men and women who love beards. | |
| 2014 (July) | 3nder starts facilitating communication between people interested in polyamory, kink, swinging, and other alternative sexual preferences. | |
| 2014 (September) | Spoonr starts facilitating communication between strangers who live within walking distance from each other. | |
| 2014 (December) | Bumble launches, a location-based mobile app that permits only women to start a chat with their matches.[11] | |
| 2015 | Personal information of Ashley Madison users stolen and released. | |
| 2015 | Huggle starts connecting users based on commonality of places they frequent. | |
| 2015 | Yellow, a Tinder for teens, launches in France and in 2017 in the US. | |
| 2015 | Jdate owners Spark Networks Inc buy JSwipe from Smooch Labs.[12] | |
| 2015 (November 19) | Match Group, which owns and operates several online dating web sites including OkCupid, Tinder, PlentyOfFish, and Match.com, goes public. | |
| 2017 | Affinitas GmbH (owner of dating websites like EliteSingles and eDarling) merges with Spark Networks, Inc, (owner of dating websites like Christian Mingle, Jdate, and SilverSingles) to create Spark Networks SE | |
| 2019 | Spark Networks SE acquires Zoosk, forming North America's second-largest dating company in revenues.[13] | |
| 2020 | Spark dating app launches in Canada with a focus on creative matchmaking[14] | App |
| 2021 | Beyond Dating app launches in India focusing on Interest matching, Profile Shorting Mode, and a unique Barrier. The Barrier is a personal matching test to get matched with the desired person. | App |
Dominance of online dating[edit]
A 2017 survey tracked the change in how Americans meet their spouses and romantic partners since 1940. The results showed a steep increase in the proportion of couples whose first interaction occurred through online media.[15][16]
Dating Site Meet online. Dating sites is one of the best ways to find a fun and interesting person that would be great for a date. There are many sites that can help you to do this. There are free dating sites, paid ones. Online dating sites has a lot of benefits, but some dating sites are too great. Online dating should be simple. FirstMet is one of the largest online dating sites with over 30 million people looking to chat, flirt, and date. You can sign up with Facebook, making it quick and easy to create rich, authentic online profiles, so you can begin meeting men or women near you immediately.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefSlater, Dan. A Million First Dates.
- ^Hicks, Marie (2016). 'Computer Love: Replicating Social Order Through Early Computer Dating Systems'. Ada: A Jornal of Gender, New Media and Technology. ISSN2325-0496.
- ^Lawrence Krakauer writes about his experiences here.
- ^Ullman, Jeff. 'Jeff Ullman'. LinkedIn. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
Great Expectations (video dating) December 1975 – January 1997 (21 years 2 months) Created, served as CEO, and primary international media spokesperson for 'Great Expectations', which we built into the world's largest introduction service for singles (aka, 'video dating').
- ^Wallace, Amy (January 16, 1994). 'Love God From Hell : The Man Who Brought You Videodating Hates to Date, Loves to Taunt and Has Himself Been Unlucky in Love. Would You Buy a Relationship From Jeffrey Ullman?'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2016. Dan Slater references this article.
- ^Slater, Dan.
- ^Gelsi, Steve. 'Spark Networks files $75 million IPO'. MarketWatch. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
- ^Arrington, Michael (July 22, 2008). 'Ok, We Have Our First DNA-Based Dating Service: GenePartner'. TechCrunch. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
- ^Soper, Taylor (December 20, 2013). 'Matchmaking platform LikeBright raising $1M to help singles land a 2nd date'. GeekWire. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
- ^Soper, Taylor (September 18, 2014). 'Matchmaking platform LikeBright morphs into Reveal, a new anonymous chat app'. GeekWire. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
- ^'Bumble is a dating app where women take lead'. Thestar. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^'JDate Bought JSwipe and Everyone Loves Each Other Now'. Observer. 2015-10-15. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
- ^'Spark Networks SE Closes Zoosk, Inc. Acquisition'. finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
- ^'Spark Networks Launches 'Creativity-Focused' Dating App 'Spark''. Global Dating Insights. 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
- ^'How Couples Meet and Stay Together SSDS Social Science Data Collection'. data.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- ^'How Couples Meet and Stay Together 2017 (HCMST2017) SSDS Social Science Data Collection'. data.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
Well before there was Tinder, Bumble, MeetMe, Hinge, and Grindr, there was Match.com.
The company, which bills itself as the pioneer of the online dating industry, is credited with creating the first online dating website in 1995 so singles 'are more likely to find someone special.'
The idea for the revolutionary platform came to entrepreneur Gary Kremen while he was in the shower, according to a Wired interview from 1995.
'I thought it would be really interesting to use the Internet for relationships, and to do it right,' he told the outlet.
After graduating from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1989, Kremen set off on another venture, launching two separate software companies, according to Business Insider. However, his personal search for a woman helped him cultivate an even bigger idea.
At the time, Kremen had been paying $3 per minute on 900-number dating services, the outlet reported. But by 1993 his vision for an online personal database became a reality when he founded Electric Classifies Inc., the outlet reported. At the time was he positioning Match as one of several classified-ad sites he would launch.
By 1994, he owned the domain to Match.com, according to Business Insider. The website went live in April of 1995 and it has since expanded into 24 countries and territories, according to the company. It also hosts websites in 15 different languages.
'Over the years, we've learned more and more about what people want — and the tools they need to help take the lottery out of love,' the company said.
The structure of its website and app has been mimicked by competitors throughout the years.
The company gives 'singles the opportunity to express themselves' through writing sections and photos. The person can also select preferences on their profile for their ideal partner.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTCH | MATCH GROUP, INC. | 164.61 | +1.77 | +1.09% |
Subscribers can then chat with their matches through that the company calls an 'anonymous' email network.' The names and contact information of members are confidential until the subscribers decide to share it.
However, the company noted that the company 'offers different approaches and features unique to different cultures.'
Firstdate
Match, the website that morphed into a 'mobile matchmaker,' ranked eighth as the most downloaded app in 2019 in the United States notching over 2.3 million downloads, according to mobile research firm Sensor Tower.
What Do People Do On Dates
In 1997 Match was sold for $7 million to Cendant, a Connecticut consumer-services company. By 1999, IAC acquired Match, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Where To Meet For First Date
Match Group, which owns and operates several online dating platforms including Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, Pairs and Hinge, went public in 2015.
As of December 2019, IAC had more than 80 percent of stake in Match, according to Barrons.
Things To Do On First Date
However, the media and internet company announced that same month announced plans that it would fully separate its Match Group unit, giving IAC shareholders direct ownership of Match Group after the separation. Shareholders would also receive an additional $3 a share cash in consideration.