Specialized Dating Soars

UNION LEADER -- Oct 24-- DateMyPet.com is one of hundreds now available for people trying to find mates with whom they share a common interest. For daters new to the online world, niche dating offers hundreds of alternatives to the more commonly used dating sites. There are dating sites for Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Italians, Greeks, Indians, and Latinos, among other groups. Vegetarians, cyclists, recovering addicts, fitness fanatics, and disabled singles have their own sites, too. SquareDating.com helps connect single alumni from top colleges and universities. NoLongerLonely.com allows singles suffering a mental illness to seek each other out. LittlePeopleMeet.com is one of several sites exclusively for singles with dwarfism. And MilitaryDate.com hooks up servicemen and women across the country. GreenSingles.com is celebrating its 10th year online shortly. "When people begin to get serious about looking for long-term relationships or marriage, they're more likely to want to meet people of a similar background, race, or religion," said Gail Laguna, VP for Spark Networks. Spark recently acquired MingleMatch which oversees 21 affinity-focused online personals sites, including DeafSinglesConnection, Interracial Singles Connection, Single Parents Mingle, and Prime Singles Connection - for online daters more than 40 years old. 

The full article was originally published at Union Leader, but is no longer available.

Comments

[Fernando Ardenghi]

Would be interesting to launch a serious niche online dating site, exclusively designed to those who had been previously hurt in their feelings by many persons in other non-serious online dating sites!!!

Regards,

Fernando Ardenghi.
Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
[email protected]

[Sam Moorcroft, ChristianCafe.com]

There seems to be all this media buzz about all these specialised sites popping up. But, how many of them are actually viable commercially? With respect to the deaf singles out there, how is a site like "Deaf Singles Connection" ever going to make it? Is it that important for deaf people to marry other deaf people?

The same goes for pet owners. I have 3 cats, a Doberman (& another one coming), & a green-wing Macaw, but that was not a factor in me marrying my (lovely & wonderful) wife. Yes, it was nice that she liked pets, too, but she didn't have to have any when I met her (which she didn't) for me to have dated her.

Very few specialised sites have any chance of working (at all), commercially. Companies like Spark.net don't seem to get that. But, the market will, I'll wager. I seriously doubt there is any appetite in the investment community for such well-meaning-but-impractical-business-wise sites.

[Free Online Dating Lover]

I also want to add that as far as I know, very little sites do other languages beside english. I am from cuba for instance so my english is bad.

[Jennifer Ryan]

I feel as though niche dating sites have a place as not everyone is the same. For some, they might have a mental illness, physical disability or some other infliction. Also, with Covid-19 I can see sites catering to more people because of the quarantine.