Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Online Dating For Catholics: Benefits & Risks

NC REGISTER - Aug 11 - Today, the most often-cited meeting place for singles (21%) is online, according to a Match.com survey. Catholic Match says it has served ~1M people since its founding in 1999. Other sites for catholics are AveMariaSingles.com, CatholicSingles.com and CatholicMingle.com. Such sites pair people who would otherwise not meet due to distance or other circumstances, said Catholic Match CEO Brian Barcaro. “One of the biggest problems is that of treating another human being as something you can ‘shop for’ based on a list of traits and qualities,” said Christopher West, a Catholic author and speaker on John Paul II’s theology of the body. “Every human person is incomparable, totally unique and unrepeatable. If we’re only in love with a list of qualities, well, then our love will drift to anyone who has those qualities. We haven’t yet reached the dignity of the person.” Catholic Match discourages members from having a shopping mentality. “Online dating sites are tools,” said Barcaro. “Simply because a tool can be abused does not mean the tool itself actually promotes a certain kind of behavior.”

by Stephen Beale
See full article at NC Register

See all posts on CatholicMatch
See all posts on AveMariaSingles
See all posts on CatholicSingles

Catholic Online Dating

AMERICA MAGAZINE - May 24 - Online dating is not new. Match.com, one of the largest dating sites, was launched in 1995. Catholics joined the action in 1997 with the site CatholicSingles.com. Today it is one of three major Internet sites about holy union, including AveMariaSingles.com and CatholicMatch.com. CatholicMatch.com began in 1999 as St.Raphael.net. Most of the required information is like what you are asked on a first date or what is revealed on a Facebook profile—until you arrive at the Catholic faith/doctrine section. There users confront seven topics: Eucharist, contraception, sanctity of life, papal infallibility, premarital sex, Immaculate Conception and holy orders. Brian Barcaro, one of the founders of CatholicMatch.com, said that the seven faith questions are difficult and often controversial by design, but that asking these questions is critical to a successful Catholic relationship. FULL ARTICLE @ AMERICA MAGAZINE

See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on CatholicSingles
See all posts on AveMariaSingles
See all posts on CatholicMatch

CatholicSingles.com Free This Weekend

IT NEWS ONLINE -- Sep 16 -- CatholicSingles.com announced that its Free Weekend is taking place this weekend, Sep 19 - 21. During the Free Weekend any single Catholic can visit the site and sign up for a full access membership and use it all weekend long. FULL ARTICLE @ IT NEWS ONLINE

See all posts on CatholicSingles

Does Online Dating Work? CatholicSingles.com Has Many Success Stories to Prove it Does

PRNEWSWIRE -- Jan 18 -- "Seven years ago when I started CatholicSingles.com the idea of online dating was foreign to most people," says company president David Nevarez. "But today over half of the singles in the United States have used one form of online dating in their life. The impression that online dating is 'strange' or 'only for geeks' has all but disappeared.

CatholicSingles.com; Give the Gift of Love and Fellowship

MARKET WIRE -- Dec 29 -- CatholicSingles.com, the original and largest Catholic online singles community, announced the launch of its new gift membership program.  Prices vary from $9.95 a month to less than $7.00 a month.

Mark Brooks: Religious sites are doing quite well as a niche.  BigChurch and ChristianCafe.com are the Christian online personals leaders.

CatholicSingles.com Cruise a Rousing Success

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- CatholicSingles.com, the original and largest Internet dating service for single Catholic adults of all ages, announces their cruise from New York City to Halifax, Canada..."We were able to unveil our new 'God of Desire: From Dating to Courtship to Paradise' program by having Dave Sloan, the founder of God of Desire, conduct several amazing workshops and talks during the cruise.