Editors' Review
Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch. Ok, so maybe the traditional matchmaker portrayed in Fiddler on the Roof has gone the way of the dodo bird and parachute pants. But the desire to find a great match will be with us forever. So how does a website that began as a dial up dating service in 1986 go about helping you to accomplish this goal? Well, if history is any indication, and experience is the best way to foretell the future, they should have the concept completely wired by now. But, like many industries, experience does not necessarily bring great sparks of innovation and creativity. Perhaps the innovation was expended by being the first in what would become a multi-billion dollar internet industry. Matchmaker.com is a good solid dating site with everything you would expect to get and one or two bonuses.
Profiles & Matching
When setting up your profile you come across a good collection of basic multiple choice questions where you can indicate all your personal preferences and describe yourself and what type of person you are looking for. There is a good sized place to express yourself a little more freely in the section for a personal essay. The profile matching will take your list of personal preferences and give you a listing of people matched on both what you are looking for, and what the matches are looking-handy because no matter how great someone is for you, if you are not right for them it can make for some awkward or non-existent dinner conversation.
Communication
After finding your potential matches, communication follows the same path it does on most dating sites. Indication of interest first, followed by email and then chat. The chat function does include the option of video for the webcam enable and ready for prime time appearance. Not highly recommend for the pajamas and eating take-out out of the box set. All of the communication functions are extremely easy to use, 20+ years of experience come in handy sometimes.
Demographics
The subscribers on Matchmaker.com lean towards the college graduate plus demographic, and most of the nearly two million members are in the 30-50 age range and are generally focused in heavily populated urban areas. There are still quite a few members outside of the larger cities, but the site definitely is more suited to those who live in a metropolitan environment. If the membership were higher, this focus would be less of an issue, but when compared to competitors with more than double the subscriber base it makes the available options feel a bit limiting.
Benefits
There is no resident dating guru on the site, but there is a veritable library of dating articles in the "advice" section. Virtually every topic imaginable in the realm of dating is covered. Some of this advice is extremely good and would make any dating guru or your mother say, "Yes, dear, that's great advice." While some of it comes across as the type of thing you heard in junior high, the majority is good, solid sensible advice.
Summary
The site is extremely reasonably priced on the longer term options, working out to only about $10 a month. This lets a person possibly have a reasonably priced second dating site membership if you are in a less populated area, or if you are located in a large city, maybe a bargain way to meet either the person of your dreams, or maybe just some great dates. The format and simplicity of the site also make it a great option for people who are new to internet dating, and may be put off by spending an hour filling out a personality profile. Overall, the site is well thought out and meets the needs of most internet daters, novice or veteran, more than adequately.
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