We are living in the digital age. We buy our movie tickets on Fandango, make reservations at our favorite restaurant on OpenTable and even use the web to find that special someone with whom we can share these experiences with.
People have been using the web for dating since the days when you had to connect to AOL via a screaming 56k modem only to find yourself immersed in creep-filled chat rooms, with strangers prompting you with the all too famous “A/S/L?”. Over the years however, people have become more comfortable with the idea of online dating and are doing it more than ever (dating that is).
Sure you can use your favorite social media outlet to find someone who interests you, but why bother when there are a ton of sites out there that find potential matches for you. Sites like OKCupid.com provide users with a free to use service where they can sign up, create profiles and start browsing local singles. You answer a series of questions and based on your answers you are matched up with other singles.
There are also premium dating sites that users pay to access. Sites like Match.com (which recently bought OKCupid) or eharmony.com essentially match you up with singles that fit various criteria. Then there are sites like Cheekd.com which is taking a new approach.
Cheekd.com is bridging the gap between the web and real life encounters. They offer their members cards which can be handed out should you happen to meet someone who has sparked your interest. Card recipients can then access the member’s profile by entering the code found on the card. With this daring new tactic, Cheek’d is empowering their users with a sense of mystery which in turn may intrigue the recipients of these cards even more and provoke connections.
We are all looking for that special someone and in this day and age the web is making finding him or her a lot easier. At first it seemed as though people were uncomfortable with meeting strangers online but gradually it has grown to be much more socially acceptable and we are curious to see how many people are using online dating sites 10 years from now, and what kind of innovative ideas they will implement to stir things up a bit.
