Match.com Launches Free Online Dating Site – DownToEarth.com
Looking for something new and inexpensive
this year in your search for love? Frustrated with the crowd on Plenty Of Fish
or OkCupid? Match.com has just launched DownToEarth.com, a new site for free
online dating.
I, for one, am intrigued… let’s take a
look!
Why The Switch?
Paid Sites Are Becoming Obsolete…
I think match.com is starting to realize
that paid dating sites are becoming obsolete. Most people are
thinking, “Why should I pay $xx.xx a month if I can go to Plenty of Fish or
OkCupid and get the same thing for free?”
Nothing Is “Free”
My first trip to DownToEarth to check it
out shows a good deal of Adsense boxes. On the home page, there’s a
banner at the top, one at the bottom, and an Adsense square on the left
side. No matter what page you’re on, you will see ads.
At the moment, these ads aren’t going to
generate much revenue, but if DownToEarth pulls the same kind of traffic that
the other free dating sites do, those nickels and dimes could add up to some
big profit.
The “Partners” page is another money
grubbing opportunity. It lists other online dating services, including…
oh gee! affiliate links.
What’s Good About It
Free for you.
·
There could be an exodus of people from
paid services to test out this one.
·
People who gave up on the existing sites
may come back to try this one out (aka: new faces!).
·
Nice interface (way nicer than Plenty Of
Fish or OkCupid in my opinion!!).
·
Ability to rate the truthfulness of
people’s profiles once you’ve been communicating/meeting them. A
system called RealRatings allows users to rate other users’
profiles. Supposedly, this will keep girls from putting up their
skinny pictures and guys from putting up their pre-balding pictures.
So What’s The Catch, E?
From what I can tell at first glance, the
biggest catch here is the EXTREMELY limited search
functionality. Your only options to search are by sexual
orientation, age, distance from you, and pictures/no pictures.
If this site gets as big as they hope it’s
going to get, finding a match will be the proverbial needle in a haystack
problem.
But perhaps that’s what they want…
remember the Partners page? Here’s what DownToEarth says about its
partners:
Finding the right one can require
exploring more than one location. We understand this and have done the footwork
to find other websites that could help you in your pursuit. We are constantly
building new partnerships to give our community the best tools to find that
special someone.
Translation? “You probably won’t
find love here, but if you click these links, we’ll make some money wherever
you go after ditching us!“
My advice? Stay where you are. This isn’t worth
jumping ship from your current service.
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Tips & Tricks for Great Online Dating Portraits
How to Survive Online Dating without a Profile Picture
Dressing for the First Few Dates
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