Online Dating's Creep Factor

Tues August 24, Motley Fool -- MatchNet's recent IPO filing hinted at what I have suspected for some time: Online dating, once viewed as the realm for losers and geeks, has become a regular part of Internet social life...Increased transience and demanding schedules make it hard for singles, and the bar scene gets old. Moderns get married later, leaving lots of time for dating around. Last, our woefully high U.S. divorce rate leaves many re-released into the field...Two out of five singles have tried it...MatchNet would have been the first publicly traded online dating pure play in the U.S...Since 1999, MatchNet's sales have grown 460% to $36.9 million...InterActive is planning its own foray into social networking...There seems to be demand for complex psychological profiles -- enter eHarmony and True.com...It's likely perceived that people will pay more for real "matching," which eHarmony and True both claim to provide. Hold your criticism: many users probably feel the higher prices insinuate users who are more serious about "real relationships." So, if MatchNet decides to revive its scuttled IPO filing later -- or if the other privately held contenders decide to go public themselves -- my advice would be: Look out, investors; when it comes to this industry, you may have to kiss a lot of toads.