The concept of dating services is nothing new; it has a history of its own. Dating services have been of different varieties: first, there is the community dating service; second, the video dating service; third, the television dating game; and fourth, the online dating service. The community dating services make use of newspapers and community newsletters for posting their advertisements. This would require that the clients go to their office to avail themselves of the service. Such ads, being short, give just the basic information about the client. Though such services have the advantage that they ensure the matching of different profiles, their biggest drawback is that they do not reach very far. Their services remain limited to the circulation of the paper. Also, their matchmaking services cannot be considered very helpful because of the inadequate information in the profiles. An offshoot of the community newsletter media, the video dating service involves users making a short personal video for the purpose of presenting themselves to prospective mates. Along with giving information about themselves, the video covers their expectations about the person they wish to meet. The match seekers produce the video on their own or use the agencys office for shooting their footage. The videos are placed in a library, which enables the users to see them so that they can check out their potential mates. The television dating game became quite popular during the 1990s. It basically involves one person, who is the searcher (male or female), and three people of the opposite sex, who are the aspirants. The aspirants have to try to answer, as candidly and honestly as possible, a set of questions which the searcher has ready. The searcher makes the choice based on how well the prospective mate answered. The catch of this game is that, usually, neither party knows what the other person looks like, as they are separated by a curtain or a cover. Of course, the latest in the line seems to be online dating service, which is a combination of all the three mentioned above. A relatively more informative profile can be posted, complete with photo. It is also possible to upload videos that show the searchers at their best. |
