Play Cupid with Geolocation

These days it’s very easy for any single individual, male or female, to capture someone’s affection. Online dating sites have provided a spot-on platform for single males and females to mingle and enter into casual or serious relationships by finding their “perfect” match―on their terms. No more blind dates with that “nice young man down the street” set up by Great Aunt Mary or with the “girl with the great personality” orchestrated by a well-intentioned friend.

These stats should give you an idea of just how much love has blossomed online:
• The dating service industry in the United States is projected to be worth $2.1 billion.
• There is estimated to be 1,500 dating sites in the United States alone.
• There are 54 million singles in the United States, with 5.5 million of those using dating services.
• In October 2011, online dating sites had 593 million visits just in the United States.

As with anything else on the Internet, the sheer size of the dating pool has gone global and can often be daunting for date seekers. An online dating site with a significant number of people may seem great, but when you ultimately find out only three people live anywhere within a 200-mile radius, that tends to put a damper on any notion of romance.

However, a site that enables its members to find and interact with other people in and around their local areas seems to be a match made in heaven. Living in the same geographic location means they’ve already registered on the “compatibility-o-meter.” From there, they can pull in other criteria such as age bracket or special interests to move the needle (or not).

People’s unwillingness to disclose a lot of personal information these days has made that first social interaction a little more difficult. IP-geolocation technology, however, provides a non-invasive method for online dating sites to provide members with the ability to automatically make that connection on a local level while still maintaining their privacy. With services focused on interactions between people in the same geographic proximities, it is more important for sites to use accurate geolocation data so they can be more effective in introducing people who live close to one another. Reliable geolocation data down to a ZIP and postal code level allows online dating sites to deliver on their promise to help people find true love.

So, forget the roses and box of chocolates―that’ll come later. Play Cupid today and spread a little more love through geolocation.