There are more cropping up each and every day. They grow like wildflowers on the side of the highways and unfortunately, not all of them are pretty or even fragrant. The worst of the bunch will be like a face full of pollen if you get too close, but the best might be worth the drive to discover. The wildflowers in this instance are Internet dating services and they are a dime a dozen. There are free ones, one-time charge ones, monthly fee ones and ones that graduate their expense based on the level of member you will be and how many services you will be using.
It gets more technical the further you look into it. There are Internet dating services that are specific to orientation, race, religion, locality and nationality. Some offer ‘matching’ services through taking all your information and running it against the information in their database until they find ‘matches’ in areas ranging from interests and hobbies to experiences and desires.
Some sites offer streaming video or audio and some only offer photos. Many employ anonymous emails, allowing you to write to prospective interests through the Internet dating service itself without ever revealing your own personal information. The service can even facilitate such ‘meetings’ by hosting online gatherings or chats and some services even offer local events in areas where there are a large concentration of members. For example, a metropolitan area like New York City may have more than 1,000 people signed up to an Internet dating service; the service can then host a happy hour or even a brunch where members can come to mingle in relative safety through a controlled event.
Internet dating services offer so much in the way of variety and options that it can be difficult to narrow down which, if any of them, you want to sign up with. Some people sign up on many different ones, allowing them a broader range of options. Still others are skeptical of the services available and will only use the free Internet dating sites rather than paying fees (which on some sites can become quite costly).
Almost none of these Internet dating services are going to offer a guarantee of success outside of the fact that they can and will provide you with a host of options. Whether you take advantage of these options, is of course, entirely up to you. While not endorsing any one company over another or any one service over another, if you find a site that you want to sign up for, check them out. Find out where the registered business is based out of and what reports have been made.
Don’t just read the endorsements on the site itself, those will always be positive because no one is going to advertise negative publicity. Make sure you read the fine print in the agreements when and if you do decide you’ve chosen the site for yourself. Some are free for thirty days, but want a card to guarantee the service. In many cases, you will be charged a fee on day thirty-one whether you’ve used the service or not.
Still, Internet dating services do make available another option on the dating scene and with some measurable success they have proven that they can help facilitate two individuals into discovering each other. But never assume that there’s a guarantee of love, happily ever after or even a good meal implied in your membership to any of these sites. Internet dating services are opportunities – meeting halls, safe houses where chance or ‘matched’ encounters might flourish into something more. Just as in life, there are no guarantees, but for those who invest the time and the effort, the option is a tool that can help them on the way.
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