by Abby Seiff on March 18, 2011 at 03:30 PM

Full disclosure before we move forward with this one: I went to the University of Chicago. For days I have been fielding IMs and staring at Facebook posts about this hookup site brouhaha. If I had my way, I'd perform a partial lobotomy to expunge any knowledge of UChicagoHookups.com. UChicago's unofficial tagline is "where fun comes to die." The site's is "where fun comes to thrive." Even ...
by Leila Brillson on March 12, 2011 at 11:00 AM

An ingenious idea: Let those with "incongruous" dating appetites admit their kinks and quirks quietly, and, when no one is looking, have a match service pair them with potentially like-minded weirdos mates. Microsoft filed a patent in 2009 -- but made public last week -- for its own online dating service, with an algorithm into which users can secretly enter "private affinities," thus matching up ...
by Leila Brillson on February 25, 2011 at 11:40 AM

"People think that if they eradicate Ashley Madison, they'll eradicate infidelity,"
Biderman says. "Companies like Google and Microsoft are playing Big Brother and they're not telling you what you're doing. It's almost like, if Noel touched it, they censor it."
Founder of affair-enabling website AshleyMadison.com Noel Biderman laments the difficulty he's had advertising on major sites ...
by Leila Brillson on February 19, 2011 at 12:00 PM

PlentyOfFish.com is the new dating site du jour, or so it is for Britney Spears, who used the site to browse for dates in her most recent video. Along with the site's random (and not very attractive) appearance in Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' video, the site arrived again in Britney's 'Hold It Against Me' premiere last night. (The song, we believe, is based on a pick-up line often flung by sexually ...
by Warren Riddle on December 21, 2010 at 09:36 AM

Some analysts believe that 20 million amorous Americans, including celebrities and sports icons, now subscribe to Internet matchmaking services. Universities even offer courses in online flirting, niche sites offer specific matchmaking services, and "online dating assistants" perform partner trolling for busy -- or lazy -- singles.
But, despite the progress and success of online dating, the ...
by Matthew Zuras on August 23, 2010 at 06:50 PM

There's a load of great tech news happening out there every day, and, unfortunately, we just can't cover it all. Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web.
The marketers behind JavaZone 2010 (also known for this trailer), the Scandinavian expo for software developers, just released some kind of parody video that mashes up ...
by Caleb Johnson on June 9, 2010 at 05:15 PM

A few week's ago, as ridiculous as it sounds, we told you about a place on the Web for Apple fanboys and girls to find love. According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), Cupidtino, a dating site created solely for Mac users, recently moved into open beta testing for the public. Now anybody that owns an Apple product can visit the site, create a profile (which includes adding photos and a list ...
by Amar Toor on February 18, 2010 at 07:25 AM

If Valentine's Day reminds of one thing, it's that love, as ABBA once warned us, isn't easy. And, when the single life becomes especially tiresome, many of us turn to the Internet to flirt, date, or even just chat. While online courtship may have once been stigmatized or discounted as some sort of "last resort," a new study suggests that our romantic norms may be shifting -- in a major way. ...
by Amar Toor on October 22, 2009 at 07:18 AM

The world of social networking just got a little kinkier. The Huffington Post reports that the new site, Relatious.com, is allowing its users to spill their guts about romantic stories, trials, or tribulations, all while simultaneously peering into the bedrooms of other users. According to the site, Relatious is a forum where people "can share virtually every aspect of those sexy, messy, often ...
by Amar Toor on October 6, 2009 at 06:31 AM

Successfully navigating the seas of online dating can be a daunting and, some would argue, impossible feat. Sifting through profiles and trying to attach human qualities to otherwise cliched online personas is often arduous enough to deter even the most hardy romantics. A new approach to online matchmaking, featured at NYTimes.com, hopes to revolutionize the game. Started by divorced entrepreneur ...
by Caleb Johnson on August 6, 2009 at 02:39 PM

Cell phones and computers have made it much easier for long-distance lovers to remain romantic. However, text messages and e-mails lack that intimate touch. While it's still not quite the same as being there, a new device from Distance Lab aims to keep that flame burning strong in long-distance relationships. BBC News reports that the Mutsugoto, which has been in development for nearly two ...
by Terrence O'Brien on July 18, 2009 at 02:43 PM

Here in the States, we've got our fair share of pet-related social networking sites (DoggySpace, Fuzzspace, and countless others). So far, these seem to be good enough for us. In India, however, netgoers apparently can't get enough of social networks and online dating for dogs, according to Reuters. DogMateOnline.com, which launched back in 2008, faces competition from sites like the ...
by Caleb Johnson on June 15, 2009 at 01:30 PM

Apparently, Cuba's Castro family is much easier to fool than you would think. A couple of Miami DJs pranked former leader Fidel in 2003, and now, a Miami blogger and Cuban exile claims that he fooled Antonio Castro (pictured), Fidel's 40-year-old son, into believing that he was a female Colombian sportswriter -- posting the evidence online. According to BBC News, Antonio's blind spots are ladies ...
by Caleb Johnson on June 11, 2009 at 04:20 PM

Rejection is a cold, hard fact of life. When it comes to dating, everyone's going to get dissed a time or two. While it's never fun, we here at Switched have found that keeping our heads up and moving forward (and watching a few rocket explosion videos on YouTube) works best. However, some folks, like New Yorker Sean McGinn, do not share our enthusiasm for 'getting over it.' McGinn says ...
by Chad Mumm on May 19, 2009 at 09:47 AM

According to USA Today, Internet dating site eHarmony is reporting that the number of military members joining its site grew by more than 50-percent between 2006 and 2008. It may not be Casablanca in the '40s, but the Web is turning into quite the place for deployed soldiers to fall in love. These days, soldiers don't have to rely on letters anymore -- satellite phones, wireless networks, and ...