With a target of one million online dating subscribers, Luvoo.com is a aiming to be a giant in the online dating market. But with their newly renovated dating site and additional features, this is a business that knows when it’s time to make some changes.

Starting March 20, 2007, all dating members will need to pay a yearly $29.95 fee for their subscription. Until then, the site will be free, aside from premium services that have always been available for paying members.

Why the sudden change? It seems that Luvoo.com feels that the following features offer more value than other competing websites – and with the fees Luvoo hasn’t charged, they’re missing out on a lot of profits:

• Luvoo Match Making Dating Game
• Instant Notifier
• The Luvoo Dating Card
• Verified Member

By turning over their business to a fee-based plan, members will have access to all of these upcoming features as well as to the millions of other members on their site.

Does Luvoo think that business will change because of the fees? There is some speculation that this will be the case, but most of the company feels that this can only increase their subscriber numbers as they will be offering more on their dating site without the high monthly payments of other competitors. At only $2.50 a month, this is a very reasonable price.

Will other dating sites follow suit? This is something that will have to be monitored over the next year or so. But until then, if you’re a Luvoo member, you might want to get your credit card ready.

News & Views Dating Websites, Money, Personal Profiles

You spend time browsing the personal ads for someone to love. You spend days thinking about what you’re going to wear before a date. You spend weeks getting up the courage to ask someone out to dinner.

How much time did you spend looking at that online dating site?

Let’s be honest, you probably chose the online dating site because it was cheap or even free. We all do that at one point or another. However, when you’re looking at online dating sites, you might want to know what you’re signing up for.

• How many people are using it? The truth is that the more available dates there are, the more likely you are to find someone that you will want to date. And the higher the enrollment, the more likely the site is popular because of its strengths and services.
• How do you manage your account? Just as with anything you pay money for, you will want to read the fine print when it comes to what they’re charging you and how they’ll do it. Many sites will sign you up for the next month automatically if you don’t cancel your services, so make sure that you can contact the right people easily if you want to stop your membership.
• What services are included? Make sure that you know all of the ways that you will be able to utilize your account in order to maximize your subscription. If you’re not using everything you’re paying for, you might be missing out.
• Is the site easy to navigate? If you can’t use the online dating site, you probably won’t use it. See if you can figure out where things are before you hand over your credit card number.

Doing a little reasearch before signing-up can pay off in the long run. You and your online dating site need to be a perfect fit because you’re working together to find your perfect mate or date.

Reviews Cost, Dating Websites, Pay, Personal Profiles, Trust

Is it almost time to retire online dating with the Walkman and the hula hoop? Some critics think that it just might be. With the ever-present lying about one’s age, appearance, and even interests, online dating can be a world where you’re not sure who you’re talking to. Are you’re falling for a real person or a fantasy? But is that enough to dismiss online dating entirely?

I don’t think so.

Online dating allows people to stop getting in the way of what they want – true happiness, companionship, and perhaps even love. Behind the veil of the Internet, users can feel free to talk about their innermost desires and ideas without fear of in-person rejection. The anonymity online dating provides creates a safe system of talking with someone else, if even just for the entertainment of it.

What online dating also provides is a good way for people to try out the dating market after they’ve been gone for a while. It allows the user to feel more confident in what they can expect in these times. When people are open and uninhibited in response, it can create a new level of relationship that they might not have achieved otherwise.

But the true goal of online dating isn’t to remain online – it’s to meet up in person. As a springboard into that final frontier, online dating is making more people ready for the dating world, rather than less. Those that wouldn’t go out to bars and clubs in the first place can get their feet wet online.

Personal Profiles Dating Websites, Failure, Happiness, Online Romance, Personal Profiles, Truth