Hermione Way at TheNextWeb says that “[DuoDater] caters towards double dates, and only makes its website’s services accessible to pairs or groups rather than just the individual.” Interesting tactic in theory, but does it work in practice? She brought a, um… “friend” along to try out the idea with the creators of DuoDater themselves, and shared the experience on video.

What do you think? Does DuoDater have potential after merely setting up a first date? Would you use a dating service that is only accessible to pairs or groups? Let us know in the comments!

Enter Meexo to answer this question with a resounding yes – the mobile dating app debuted at TechCrunch’s Disrupt SF convention earlier this year and definitely appears to be a big winner in the tough race to be successful in the online dating world. Via TechCrunch:

So what’s it like interacting with this mobile-centric dating app? Meexo is like Pandora for dating, as you interact with the application, it learns about you, and becomes more relevant as you go. If you use Foursquare and Facebook, Meexo pulls in that data to learn more about who you are and what you like.

It also protects your privacy by allowing potential dates to contact your phone via a private number, so you don’t have to go around handing our your precious cell number to strangers. It also allows you to block your profile from anyone you’re connected to on social networking platforms, to ensure your profile doesn’t accidentally pop up to your single uncle or that creepy kid from your Psych 101 class. Even better:

Meexo is distinguishing itself from the pack by game-ifying dating. When a user joins Meexo, they receive virtual currency, which users pay out when they message other people, forcing daters to be more discerning in their selections. Obviously, in this way, Meexo is attempting to avoid the spamming that has become so endemic to dating sites.

In a world full of big misses, Meexo seems like it could be a hit… but will daters approve of the mobile-only application? We’ll just have to wait and see!

Check out Meexo for yourself right here.

However, with OnlineBootyCall’s new weekly blog feature “Tuesday TestiMOANials,” they take a different approach to dating site success stories, by compiling their ex-member’s reasons for leaving the site.

Although OBC may not be your average storybook romance type of dating site, their testimonials are some of the most genuine we’ve seen in a long time. And, surprise! Most of them end with a booty call becoming a good old fashioned love story.

Check out all of the pages of testimonials here, and let us know what you think!

Getting back into the dating game after divorcing can be just as difficult as the divorce itself. You feel uncomfortable, nervous, and vulnerable, not to mention rusty at meeting people! However, a new website aims to lessen the pain of post-divorce dating by allowing much of the initial interaction to remain online. Via NewsJunkyJournal:

“When I design a concept for a client, a portion of my inspiration comes from the type of person they are, their personality and style. With NewlyDivorcedDating.com, the message and design of the site has a very personable, genuine and caring nature. In my experience, this tells you a lot about the intentions of who is running the website. The owners of NewlyDivorcedDating.com have an incredible passion to assist divorcees in finding meaningful relationships – to find love. ” Ronnie Roper, Senior Designer at I-Tul.

Seems like a good idea to us – we know that online dating as a never-married can be tough, let ALONE online dating with a fresh wound of divorce on your heart. And by keeping the dating online and casual, we expect many divorced singles to flock to the website, especially if they have children.

We haven’t seen a dating site with this much potential in a long while, and look forward to its success.

img via harpersbazaar

According to NewsJunkyJournal, a new dating site has been launched that aims to connect “affluent” singles with their perfect “trophy date.” Cue the “what has this world come to” groan.

Via the source:

The site caters to those looking for any type of relationship; friendships, casual dates, sugar daddy / sugar mama / sugar baby arrangements, love, or marriage. “Whether someone is looking for marriage, just looking for people to date casually, or something in between, we can offer them the convenience of online dating with the high class service of a personal matchmaker,” says Phillip LaPorte, Co-founder of MytrophyDate.com.

Back to my “time to leave Planet Earth” moans, I guess I really should just shut my trap. Who cares what kind of relationships people are looking for as long as they aren’t doing harm to themselves or others? If a rich old guy wants a hot young lass on his arm and can find her on this site, then they’ve done their job, right? Who cares if it’s not the perfect “met in college, dated for years, married and had children (and then later had a horrible divorce)” that we’re used to?

My only worry is that people may claim they are looking for just a sugar-daddy/baby relationship, or someone MIGHT say they’re ready for a long term commitment, but may not be totally honest in those statements. A “trophy” may SAY she’s looking for marriage when in reality she’s just looking to score some free dinners, and an “affluent” older lady may be fibbing when she says she’s okay with just “casually dating.” Each of these situations could lead to broken hearts, angry breakups, or worse.

What do you think? Is MyTrophyDate just catering to a market? Or are they creating a vicious monster?

Matchmaker.com is a mature site for serious singles aged 35+,  ready to be involved in a long term relationship. The site itself has been around since 1996, but has its roots all the way back to 1986, when it was a bulletin board system! Talk about experience in the dating industry, huh?

Like Date.com, it offers a dating toolbar so you will always be up to date on your matches, even if you aren’t directly on the page. It uses keywords searches, which are very important when you are searching for people with similar hobbies and principles, and offers a paid option to have your profile show up higher on search results. If you are serious about finding love, this is the feature for you!

Matchmaker.com has put in the hours to show that they are reliable and trustworthy. If you are a 35+ single looking to take the next step in the dating world, check out Matchmaker.com and let them help you find The One!

Interracial Singles is a niche dating site that provides a service that no other site does: matching couples from different races for friendship and love. It caters to those who haven’t been able to find what they are looking for on the mainstream sites, by matching them with other members who fulfill both external and internal expectations.

Interracial Singles is full of special features, such as message boards, instant messaging, flirty chat rooms,and advice columns, but also has an interesting feature that’s not available on other sites. A color coded personality system, where you can designate yourself as fun, loyal, honest, and more.

There are many features available as a free member, however paying for a subscription is totally worthwhile as you can access all parts of the site. Interracial Singles is run by the Spark network, so you can count on quality service and a very successful history of bringing together couples that may have never met in the outside world.

Give Interracial Singles a try. Find your soulmate or just a new friend, and then tell us how it goes!

JewishFriendFinder is a great site to meet and converse with people of the Jewish faith. With over 67,000 members worldwide, there is a good chance you could meet a potential mate who shares your interests, lifestyle, and religious beliefs.

As with many other sites, you can search within your city, but JFF has another feature: the ability to expand your search to a nearby city or town in order to widen your search results! This is convenient for many singles as they often want to search mainly within a certain area, but are open to a commute.

JewishFriendFinder has a very active blog and interest group section that is open to all members, regardless of status, creating a wonderful forum of like-minded singles who can meet up at events and non-committal activities. It also has frequent specials on the site, making it more affordable for those on a budget!

Although this site is not as popular as JDate, it is definitely worth a try, considering it’s easier to browse among a smaller pool of singles! JewishFriendFinder is a part of the FriendFinder network, a popular and reliable group, so give JFF a chance, and tell us about your experience!

Catholic Match is the largest Catholic dating site on the internet today. They receive over 10,000 new members a month, pushing them beyond other Catholic dating sites by quite a margin!

Instead of using scientific formulas and misleading questions, profiles on CatholicMatch are centered around family values and religious beliefs to connect singles who share the same core principles. This has shown to be a very successful way of connecting people of faith: Just check out the success stories on the site!

Catholic Match is a great community of Catholic singles who interact through message boards, chat rooms, and forums, where they can discuss current events and set up group activites with a Catholic mindset.

There are some small glitches that Catholic Match should work on, including the inability to contact non-paying members, however, with the very affordable monthly rate of CatholicMatch, you are more likely to find a serious date among the paying crowd anyway!

With special features like video messaging, “Temperament Tests,” and the Personal Interview for potential mates, there is no reason not to try out Catholic Match. Maybe you can have a faith-based connection of your own!

Try out CatholicMatch, and let us know how it goes!

PrimeSingles is a dating site for older (40+) singles who are looking for love in their area.

While a smaller site than most, it is dedicated to bringing local singles together for both friendship and love! It shows this through promoting its members local events (like holiday parties and dances) and by allowing you to read each e-mail you receive even if you are not a paid member. Although you can not reply unless you have a membership, being able to see who is contacting you and reading what they have to say is key in deciding whether or not a paid membership is worth it!

By singing up for free, you can check out the members and see if there are any in your area. You can be sure that any profiles you browse are real people looking for love because older, non-active accounts are monitored and eventually deleted.

If you are an older single looking for love, or just someone looking for fun events with other locals in your area, head over to PrimeSingles and check out what they have to offer!