The Academy Awards have come and gone for another year, and as always the Oscars created all sorts of buzz and publicity. But what you might not realize is that the world of online dating had an important role to play in this year’s Oscar telecast. Well, okay, actually it’s more accurate to say that online dating didn’t play an important role in this year’s Oscar telecast.

It all has to do with the online dating site AshleyMadison.com and a commercial they wanted to run during the Oscar show. In case you haven’t heard of AshleyMadison.com, it is perhaps the most famous online dating services specially targeted at people who want to engage in extra-marital activities. It’s all about cheating. And this year for the first time ever AshleyMadison.com tried to run a television commercial during the Academy Awards television show.

The key word here is “tried”; the producers of the Oscars telecast turned down the ad as being inappropriate for Hollywood’s biggest night of the year. Why? Because it depicts infidelity and promotes AshleyMadison.com as a resource for those who want to engage in infidelity. Of course, the folks at AshleyMadison.com are quick to point out that Hollywood is hardly a place of virtue when it comes to monogamy and marital fidelity so it doesn’t make sense to them that their admittedly steamy but not vulgar ad has been declined.

What do you think? Is this a case of hypocrisy in action? Or is it an acceptable decision intended to keep the Academy Awards telecast appropriate for all ages to view?

News & Views Ashley Madison, Cheating, Infidelity

Online dating has come a long way since the first real mainstream online dating site, Match.com, came on the scene in 1995. Over the last 15 years online dating has transformed from the perception of being the place where “losers” go to meet to the more modern and correct perception of being the place where singles of all kinds can connect with others. The change has been dramatic indeed, but that doesn’t mean the pace of change is slowing down at all.

Just the opposite, in fact. Online dating continues to transform and change, in some cases literally before our very eyes, as new technology and a new generation of tech-friendly singles comes of age. The tremendous growth of social networking web sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com has rapidly started to blur the lines between traditional online dating services and newer ways to connect and find interesting singles to date and get to know.

Many younger singles are shying away from traditional online dating sites and instead focusing their efforts on the social networking sites. Why? Because they feel social networking sites allow them to combine a number of activities all in one convenient place (staying connected with friends, sharing information, dating, etc.) rather than having to access a separate dating site for that activity alone.

What are the traditional online dating sites doing about this phenomenon? In most cases they are actively embracing the social networking aspects of online dating, offering specialty applications for both the social networking sites and mobile phone use as well. For example, Zoosk and Datepad are among the more popular facebook dating aps, though there are many others.

Look for this trend to continue into the future as more and more young people turn to technology and the internet as integral parts of their daily lives!

News & Views Dating Trends, Facebook, Match.com, Social Networking, Technology

Online dating for specialty groups of singles has exploded in recent years, especially for gay, lesbian, and bisexual singles. One of the biggest online dating services, eHarmony.com, however, was accused of discriminating against this group of singles and faced a series of lawsuits over their practices. These lawsuits were recently settled and now eHarmony is more openly welcoming gays, lesbians, and bisexual singles to their services.

The lawsuits alleged that eHarmony.com did not do enough to provide visible and appropriate dating services to this large and diverse group of singles, and in fact suggested eHarmony.com actively discriminated against gay, lesbian, and bisexual singles who attempted to join the eHarmony.com community. After a little over two years of negotiating, though, eHarmony.com has agreed to be more proactive about serving this audience of singles and also be more forthright about displaying and providing easy access to their gay, lesbian, and bisexual dating services.

So what does this really mean? The most readily apparent change is that eHarmony.com will make links to their gay, lesbian, and bisexual dating services more visible and accessible from the main eHarmony.com web site. For instance, on the eHarmony.com home page there are currently links to other specialty dating services for seniors, Christians, Hispanics, African Americans, etc.; under the terms of the lawsuit settlement the home page will now display an equally prominent link to specialty dating services for gay, lesbian, and bisexual singles.

This is a big win for singles of all types, as it means even the largest online dating sites cannot use their size and influence to discriminate against specialty groups of singles. Now everyone can expect to receive equal treatment and equally convenient access to the online dating services best suited to their needs.

News & Views Bisexual, Discrimination, eHarmony, Gay, Lawsuits, Lesbian