It’s been a busy few weeks of editing and putting the finishing touches on my first book (!!!) I’m so excited to be on the homestretch of this project – partly because it means that I can get back into blogging on a regular basis. Stay tuned, I tons of beautiful lingerie, sexy toy reviews and dating stories that I can’t wait to share with you guys!
In the meantime I thought I’d share some fun news: popular dating site Match.com just turned 20! If you’re thinking to yourself, “has it already been 20 years?!” – you’re not alone. If Match.com was a Canadian kid, they’d now be old enough to drink in all thirteen provinces and territories. To celebrate, I have some interesting facts to share about the evolution of online dating. For example, did you know….
Match.com pioneered the Internet dating industry, launching in 1995 and today serves millions of singles in 24 countries. Match.com continues to redefine the way single men and single women meet, flirt, date and fall in love.
Since it’s launch 20 years ago, more than 125 million people have joined the dating website. Match has created more than 10 million relationships and “made” more than 1 million babies. In the next 20 years, they estimate that the single population will nearly double and that 2 out of 3 relationships; with more than half of all marriages beginning online.
When Match.com asked me to share how I think online dating has changed over the years, one word came to mind: stigma. The stigma that was once associated with online dating has evaporated. In high school, one of my favourite TV shows was Mad TV. I remember spending many late nights babysitting laughing over sketches featuring the “Lowered Expectations” dating service. Although I’m pretty sure singles like Gena (“murder”) and Doreen are still lurking around online, finding love online is no longer considered merely as a last ditch stop for chronically rejected weirdos. Online dating isn’t the exception to the norm…it is the norm.
Although I often give online dating a hard time, I still think it’s a really great way to connect with people you might not have met otherwise. In fact, if you’re living and dating in a small town like I am, sometimes online dating is your best option.
Another thing that I think has changed even in the three years since I first tried online dating, is that everything is going mobile. Since it’s launch, more than 20 million people have used Match.com through their mobile device. For better or for worse, we’re living in a culture where finding a date or a life partner is as easy as swiping left or right while you’re in the line at Starbucks.
In honour of their 20th anniversary, Match.com decided to catch up with Bill and Freddi Straus, their very first success couple that met through the site. Bill and Freddi met online in 1995 and were married in 2000. Reading about how they got together you can’t help but think that they’re totally adorable.
When asked to describe her first date with Bill, Freddi says, “We emailed and spoke on the phone for about a week or so, then made a date for lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. He wanted to impress me so he ordered the lobster. When the check came, he was $5 short so he had to borrow it from me. As we walked out, he said he would like to see me again so he could give me my $5 back. We quickly planned our second date for Sunday.
I tried to cancel our second date after I decided to get a perm (bad decision), but he wouldn’t budge! When he came to pick me up for dinner, I greeted him at the door with a paper bag over my head with the eyes, nose and mouth cut out. He laughed and loved it and that was it! It was a done deal.”
Proof that sometimes the best love stories are spawned from an awkward beginning that includes borrowed money, a bad perm and a paper bag.
We also have our very own Match.com success story at Skinny Dip headquarters, which Joe the Intern has happily volunteered to share.
Happy birthday Match.com! Whether you’re looking for a partner who is 5’10” or 12″ tall, here’s to many more years of creating fantastic matches both big and small!
