Zoosk.com is a hip new online dating site based in San Francisco, California. Since its launch in December 2007, it boasts of 16.5 million members. It was also awarded the People’s Choice Open Web Award in the Dating and Romance Category this 2009. And based on how people received this newest addition to the online dating platforms, it deserves its awards and more.
Benefits
What Zoosk.com offers that other online sites don’t is the ability to use it as an application for existing social networking sites, such as Facebook, Hi5, Bebo, Friendster and Myspace. More than 200,000 users use this application every day and about 2.5 million unique users interact with this growing online community every month. Most of the newcomers come from Facebook, but about 20% join through its main site.
Zoosk is available in twelve languages which includes Italian, French and Spanish. So if English is not your main language, Zoosk knows your language needs and meets it.
Zoosk membership can be upgraded to premium membership which will cost you $24.99 a month. If you subscribe to a 3-month or 6-month membership, you’ll pay $17.49 and $12.50 per month, respectively. These rates are lower than other online dating sites and the membership is automatically renewed until you cancel. You can pay for your premium membership through credit cards. There is also a Paypal option but you can only purchase a 9-month subscription and up.
Profiles
Profiles are so passé, so Zoosk.com calls its profile the Date Card. The Date Card contains basic information such as things about you, your likes and dislikes, and if you want, a photo of yourself. It also has a testimonials page where your friends can leave comments about who you are. Think about personal references and that’s what the testimonials page is all about.
If you connect your Facebook account to Zoosk, it will upload your profile photo until you upload another one through Zoosk.
Matching and Searching
Zoosk only has a basic matching and searching functions. It can help you search for members within a 160 km radius or less. More than that and you come up with nothing. Members are disappointed that you cannot meet matches that are distant from you. But you can refine your search by a member’s height, relationship status, children, ethnicity, education, religion, and political outlook.
Communication
Through Zoosk, it’s free to initiation contact with a member that you’re interested in. However, you can also upgrade to a premium account to achieve limitless ways to communicate. You can participate in the Zoosk forum, receive mail from the Zoosk box and have your favorites in the two hearts on the top right corner of your date card. As a premium member, you can allow non-premium members to contact you and freely respond to your flirts. This widens your network and lets you meet more people. Your date card also shows up more prominently in searches if you’re a premium member.
You can also purchase Zoosk coins so you can send your prospective love interests virtual gifts. You can earn more coins if you invite more friends into the service. You can also buy Zoosk coins through Zoosk’s online store.
Demographics
Almost all of Zooskers or Zoosk members also have Facebook accounts, so there is a wide selection of date cards to browse. Most of the Zoosk members come from the United States. According to Quantcast.com, the site attracts more African-Americans, most of which are teenage females.
Summary
If you’re young and cool, you’ll love the way Zoosk interfaces with other social networking sites. This is Zoosk’s advantage over all online dating sites. With Zoosk, one would never think that you’re too old. It’s the coolest way to meet and date people through the Internet.
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