Online Dating Insider

Reporter Janet Kornblum at USA today writes about a new dating service, Soulmatch, an offering of the multi-faith website Beliefnet. [link]

Soulmatch is hoping to draw people interested not just in general parameters such as looks, career and hobbies but also religion, spiritual beliefs and values.

Soulmatch daters will fill out a detailed questionnaire asking, for instance, which of the seven deadly sins they struggle with most and whether they believe in God, astrology or a host of other systems. They also can specify the way they practice established religions.

"Anyone who's been in a relationship where they liked the way the person looked, and it seemed like they had similar interests but found out that their values were really different — and that was a fatal flaw — should be interested in something like this," says Steven Waldman, Beliefnet founder.

Beliefnet will also feature advice from prominent dating experts. Such as Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of "Kosher Sex."

Spring Street Networks is "hiring"

Position: General Internship

Job Description: An enthusiastic and active personality a MUST. Great opportunities to get involved in various areas of the company and work on different projects, also must eagerly take on work typically associated with internships. Unpaid with a stipend for commutation, meals, etc. Two to three days a week is ideal.

[Work environment:] We are located in an open, sunny SoHo loft where we dress casually but care a lot about what we do. Please, no recruiters! And you must be eligible to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.

The loft in SoHo sounds a lot nicer than the ugly box-like suburban office buildings I get stuck working in, but the salary just doesn't cut it.

The line "Please, no recruiters!" is kind of funny. Considering that recruiters typically charge a percentage of the first year's salary, and that 33% of zero is still zero, I don't see why a recruiter would respond to such an advertisement.

Today at MSNBC.com, More women seeking romance online

The article tells us that women are getting more out of online dating than men:

Almost half of women, compared to 36 percent of men, note a positive change in their social life after sampling Web personals.

And more women than men are using online personals:

Among participants in a new ELLE/MSNBC survey of over 15,000 people, almost two-thirds of women and over half of men have logged onto a personals site.

But there is still talk of that ever present "stigma" associated with online dating:

"The minute I went online, the stigma of 'Am I looking?' went away. ..." writes Rose, a 40-year-old yoga instructor engaged to a man she met on Match.com.

According to the article, both sexes lie on the internet, but they lie about different things:

Men may not lie about their looks as much as women, but one in five guys say they have claimed to be single when they're not.

It seems to this observer that both lies have the purpose of making the liar appear more desirable to members of the opposite sex.

Looking for a job? Check this out:

Business Development Director, Love.com

This individual will be responsible for developing, negotiating and managing strategic relationships for the AOL Web Personals group, love.com. This individual will play a key role in coordinating with the AOL Web Properties business units to develop AOL's personals business to business strategy and then implement such strategy through the structuring and negotiating of deals and building relationships with the appropriate strategic business partners. This individual will be judged primarily on ability to conclude 3rd party distribution relationships that produce high-margin revenue for love.com. Tasks include: Researching and identifying new business opportunities as well as new industries, companies and business partners through ongoing research for the business units of AOL Web Properties, and then leading and driving the company's negotiations with such third parties. Assisting in the preparation of go-to-market and strategic plans to generate revenue. Developing business and financial models to evaluate and forecast business opportunities. Implementing programs to manage and track business development activities. Facilitate open communication within the department as well as across departments and business units. Candidate will work extensively with other groups within the company in all facets of the job, including senior executives, legal, finance, product marketing, operations, technology development and engineering teams. Qualifications and Desired Skills: Strong analytic background (Investment Banking, M&A, Management Consulting or Legal background preferred) with 5-8 years directly related experience. Candidates must possess good people and persuasive skills. Experience in business development, strategic planning, deal negotiation and management, Internet search, ISP, and distribution channel development and management is required. Candidate should be proficient in structuring complex deals and partnerships with multiple variables. Candidate must possess strong analytical skills (including business research and financial analysis skills), organizational, interpersonal and writing skills. The ability to communicate clearly and thoroughly (both verbally and in writing) with people of various disciplines is essential. Candidate should also have a strong attention to detail and ability to work through contracts with internal legal department. Candidate must have a thorough understanding of the Internet industry in general; a high-level understanding of back-end technology, applications and tools is required. The ideal candidate would have a demonstrated interest in the technology field and a strong background in general business. Since this position can require extra hours and commitments depending on the project, an ideal candidate would be highly motivated and focused on meetings set objectives. MBA or JD is desired. Job will involve occasional travel.

Confused about what they are looking for? Me too the first time I read it. I thought, "maybe I am qualified for this job, after all I run this online dating website." But then, reading again carefully, what the ad really says is:

Looking for rainmaker. Must have rainmaking experience.

I guess not.

This article at nature.com, Internet dating analysed: Study of online relations may reveal winning tactics, suggests that it might contain a lot of vaulable information for people using online dating services.

Unfortunately, after reading it, it seems to say nothing at all.

In normal friendships and courting, for example, people tend to gravitate towards their own type; like movie stars, popular folk hang out with other well-liked friends or lovers.

On pussokram, however, well-connected people are less selective, says Holme. This might be because people feel freer to go for different kinds of romantic partners under the cloak of anonymity, he suggests.

I get nothing out of that statement at all, unless it's saying that online, people who would never even have the opportunity to meet in real life because they come from very different social circles, can still get together.