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Now that the breaking up via Facebook status update bridge has been crossed, the online dating space probably knows no bounds. In addition to social networks serving as a hub for finding out about the dating status (or non-status) of your friends, a number of other trends in online dating have emerged, like dozens of niche sites for different ethnic groups and people with very specific lifestyles.

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—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:MatchActivity Real-Time Dating Now WannagoKizmeet Launches Second-Chance Dating SiteJDate Up for Sale: Worth $185M?The Human Pet Facebook ApplicationEngage.com Takes $5M for Online Dating SiteWannago Adds Hot-or-Not for Parties & AttendeesMatch Activity Launches Online Dating Site

At the Web 2.0 Expo in NYC, I sat down with Spark Networks President and COO Gregory Liberman. We discussed the 30+ dating sites that make up Spark Networks. Here are my notes from our conversation which centered mostly around Jdate.

Spark Networks has 30+ dating sites and most of them are targeted towards a group. Gregory notes that people who are looking for serious relationships are seeking targeted networks. The three largest dating sites in their network are Jdate, BlackSingles and ChristianMingle. They believe that they are different because of the targeting, most of their competition tries to be all things to all people.

Spark Networks runs over 800 singles events a year. Revenue comes from subscriptions and advertising. Jdate subscriptions begin at $39/month and for those browsing the site, advertising is displayed. Gregory noted that ads are displayed to subscribers as well but said "most" of these ads are house ads promoting events and other services. I wonder if any Web 2.0 startups could get away with charging a subscription fee and displaying any advertising at all.

Spark Networks is a public company and reported second quarter 2008 revenue of $15 million with a net income of $1.6 million.

As for success rates, 60 Jdate subscribers a week report back to Spark Networks that they found their soulmate on Jdate.

I asked about comparisons to PlentyOfFish and eHarmony. Gregory said that PlentyOfFish actually drives traffic to sites in his network because of the ad model they employ. As for eHarmony, Gregory believes not everyone wants to fill out a 350 question survey. Jdate allows members to search and utilizes a basic survey to help align members.

In terms of what’s new on their network of sites, Gregory shared two new premium features. The first is an option to highlight your profile in search results. This works similar to highlighting an auction on eBay or a job listing on Indeed. The other update is featured profile. This allows members to push their profile to people they want to meet on search results. Let’s assume you are looking for a 30 year old woman with 2 children but she is looking for a 20 year old man with no children. Using this new option, you could force your profile into her search results basically saying "hey look at me, I want you!". On Jdate, this feature is $10/month.

The online singles market continues to be a huge moneymaker for Spark Networks and the other sites in the market. As long as people want to find that special someone, there will always be someone willing to pay to find that person.

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Lonely, horny, single or in a committed relationship with a lustful eye longingly gazing toward greener pastures? As long as there’s been an Internet, people have used it to get action — from the ancient days of IRC to today’s Twitter hookups. Here’s what you need to know about the newest trends in online dating sites.

1. More Hookups. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s online dating survey, the majority of actively dating Americans have tried to score online and approximately one out of three adults says they “know someone who has used a dating website.” Last year alone, more than 17 million people attempted to cyberflirt their way to a love connection. Online dating in a nutshell? More sites. More people. More opportunities to have that awkward, teeth-bumping first kiss.

2. Niche Markets. The US Census Bureau counts people. They tell us there are at least 92 million single Americans. The largest online pools of solo swimmers with naked left ring fingers hang out on Lavalife, Ok Cupid, Match.com, eHarmony, Plenty of Fish and Yahoo Personals. Keystroking your way through the virtual crowd, the chances of finding the right match often feels like a one-in-million shot. Sites like Bisexual Passions, Deaf Dates, MillionaireMatch.com, GreenFriends.com and the 100% free sci-fi dating site Trek Passions target very specific communities.

In an article titled Sick, Single and Seeking Same, Newsweek’s Julie Scelfo announced Prescription4Love.com “is becoming a go-to spot online where singletons who also happen to have diseases from hepatitis to herpes to irritable bowel syndrome can find love and companionship without having to worry about the big reveal.” Traffic on these sites is low, but that’s the point. Theoretically, the reduced-size dating pool increases your probability of meeting someone who shares your interests.

3. Tasting Different Flavors. Successful sites like Jewish singles’ JDate and unmarried African Americans’ BlackPeopleMeet.com prove ethnic-specific dating sites have a market. AsianEuro.com and others are following their lead. Additionally, interracial dates sites are booming. IvoryandEbonyLove claims they’re “dedicated to helping black and white singles make a love connection online.” CocoaButterlove.com (wait for it, wait for it: think yellow butter + brown cocoa) does the same for Asian Americans and African Americans.

4. The Rise of Non-Date Dating Sites. Facebook is as much of a dating site as it is a social network. The SuperPoke application allows users to virtually kiss, poke, cuddle and shower with each other. When Mashable asked readers “Which social network is most likely to get you laid?” Facebook got approximately 800 votes, coming in second to MySpace and ahead of Friendster, Bebo, YouTube and Xanga.

5. Online Again, Offline Again. Many offline communities such as high school and university alumni groups have an increasing number of online sites linking constituents. Reunion.com, Classmates.com and others have features that let you specify your dating preferences. Also, many couples who meet offline often use the Internet to “Google stalk” and find out additional information about their partners.

With so many options, you might be one Skype call or DSL line away from your next online dating adventure. Are you feeling lucky?

Twanna A. Hines is a a sex, dating and relationships writer in New York. She blogs at FunkyBrownChick.com.

Image via Flickr/Daylight

—Related Articles at Mashable - All That’s New on the Web:MatchActivity Real-Time Dating Now WannagoDating on Plentyoffish - Trading Fees for Scumbags?Engage.com Takes $5M for Online Dating SiteKizmeet Launches Second-Chance Dating SiteOKCupid WTF Matches On What You Don’t LikeDisaboom Acquires Dating Site for the DisabledMatch Activity Launches Online Dating Site

Last week I posted an article where I discussed a variety of online ads from Singlesnet. In the ads they state, "". The ad I included in the video showed the profile of "SarahC_1225". Since that posting, I’ve received between 35-100 unique visitors per day coming from the search engines. Each query is for the term SarahC_1225. Nearly 700 unique visitors total in the last week.

Singlesnet has lost a golden opportunity to capitalize on searchers looking for information about this "Sarah" person. If you check out the Google results for the term, Singlenet isn’t listed at all. If they were smart, they would create landing pages for every fake persona they create. This would allow them to own the search engine result and drive traffic back to Singlesnet. While I don’t believe most startups are creating fake personalities like this, you should always consider the terms and the phrases that your startup might rank for. Blogger buzz dies off quickly while search engine traffic is the complete opposite, building slowly over time. Don’t lose your chance to market to 700 new people this week because you weren’t thinking about properly marketing your company.

Here’s SarahC_1225 and her friend, SarahH_1221:

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Residents of Massachusetts and California led the nation in googling the term “social networking” during the last 12 months according to Google Insights for Search, a new search analysis tool.

Launched on August 6, Google Insights for Search is a free service that allows users to track the popularity of phrases and words that have been typed into Google’s search engine from 2004 until the present day. The resource enables users to sort data by country, sub-region, time and industry. The application also includes heat maps that display the geographic location of where terms are most popular, the top searches related to a term or phrase, and the fastest rising searches.

As of August 8, Massachusetts and California each had a search volume index or SVI of 100 for regional interest in social networking, tops in the nation for the past 12 months. The term “search volume index” or SVI is a measurement that reflects how many searches have been done for a particular term, relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time. Rounding out the top ten were New York (SVI=96), the District of Columbia (96), Washington (88), Maryland (86), Illinois (84), Georgia (80), New Jersey (80) and Utah (80).

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Nationwide, the top three related searches to social networking were “social networking sites,” “social networking site,” and “social network.” The fastest rising searches were “social networking trends,” “social networking tools,” and “social networking scripts.”

By city, Google searches for the term “social networking” was highest in Pleasanton (SVI=100), a suburb of San Francisco. Close behind were New York (92), San Francisco (91), Austin (76), Washington (76), Los Angeles (73), Boston (71), Reston (69), Chicago (66) and Atlanta (63).

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Also of interest: How search volumes for the term “social networking” have changed over time. After periods of relatively minimal interest for the term in 2004 and 2005, search volumes took off in first quarter 2006 and peaked in November, 2007. After a sharp dip in December, 2007, search volumes have shown steady upward growth throughout the first half of 2008.

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Google cautions that the results show the likelihood of users in a particular area to Google search a term on a relative basis. In this case, just because a particular city, say Minneapolis, didn’t rank in the top ten, it could mean Minneapolis residents don’t use Google to search for social networking information (maybe Yahoo? MSN?). They may also use a different phrase or term to search for social networking information (social media? Facebook?).

Another caveat: I suspect Google hasn’t worked out all the bugs in the data just yet, but they’re not letting on. Case in point: On August 7, I used Google Insights for Search to track regional interest by state for the term “social networking” in the last 12 months On August 8, just 24 hours later, I ran the same search, and the results were significantly different.

Why the big differences in the ranking and the scores, especially if the results captured data from the last 12 months? Small sample size? Data glitch? Human error? Maybe it was an issue at my end with my Internet connection. Perhaps I misunderstood something? A difference of one day shouldn’t make that much of an impact in the rankings, right? My suspicion is that Google launched this application only a day or so before and they’re still tinkering with its algorithms and ranking systems. The designers should get a pass on this one, but we should be on the lookout for similar inconsistencies in the future. If a year or even six months from now, we’re seeing the same kind of significant fluctuations in day to day results for the same search over a one year period or longer, it may be time to raise some red flags.

New York Leads Nation in Googling “Facebook”

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The application was also used to track Google search statistics for leading social networking brands in the last 12 months. At a state level, Google searches for the brand “Facebook” were highest in New York, Arkansas and Connecticut. At a city level, searches were highest in New York City, Sterling and Milpitas.

California Leads Nation in Googling “YouTube”

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At a state level, Google searches for the brand “YouTube” were highest in California, Virginia and Hawaii in the last 12 months. At a metro level, searches were highest in Milpitas, Sterling and Los Angeles.

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Oregon Leads Nation in Googling “Twitter”

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At a state level, Google searches for the brand “Twitter” were highest in Oregon, California and Washington in the last 12 months. Clearly, the Pacific North West and the West Coast love Twitter. At a city level, searches were highest in San Francisco, Austin and San Jose.

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California Leads Nation in Googling “Mashable”

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At a state level, Google searches for the brand “Mashable” were highest in California, New York and Texas in the last 12 months. Beyond these three states, search volume was not sufficient enough to show results. At a city level, searches were highest in San Francisco and New York. Search volume was not high enough to get results from any other cities.

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Insights for Search: A New Data Frontier

These findings illustrate that Google Insights for Search is an amazing new application for social networking pros of all stripes. While not without its quirks, the tool is quite literally a mind reader that allows researchers to peer into the brains and online activity patterns of Google users.

While the tool was designed to help online marketers create more and better AdWords marketing campaigns, I suspect the resource will be deployed for so much more. It will be used for everything from environmental scans to trend spotting to brand tracking and countless other applications that Google hasn’t yet planned or maybe ever imagined. Perhaps this is a stretch, but the new database (which is updated daily) has seismic implications for the forecasting of consumer behavior and business investment. It could completely revolutionize the way economists measure and track personal and corporate spending intentions.

Currently, the gathering of intention data is done by written or phone surveys which are fraught with issues. Sample sizes may be low or not truly representative. People or organizations conducting the surveys may be biased. Those being surveyed may be less than honest or complete in their responses.

Not here. Users want something. Users search for that something in Google. Google delivers information on that something. That’s it. It’s pure. No messy survey gets in the way. No agenda. No ego. Google never blinks. For better or worse, Google captures it all from hundreds of millions of users all over the world, countless times a day. No survey can do that.

Experimenting with this tool, I feel like an ADD kid again. I’m tinkering with different keywords and phrase combinations like some digital Rubik’s cube, and going wild playing with the different geographic, time, and industry filters. On a whim (and strictly out of professional curiosity of course), I checked which U.S. state led the nation in googling the term “sex” during the last 30 days. Answer: South Dakota. For the term “Britney”: Louisiana. The term “Obama”: District of Columbia. The word “carpet”: Colorado. The phrase “air conditioning”: Arizona. The word “babysitter”: Ohio. I’ve barely started, and my head is already spinning with ideas on how this data can be used in business plans, Powerpoint presentations, sales pitches, brainstorming sessions, concept testing or for just plain fun.

Not to sound ungrateful or greedy, but I’m already preparing a wish list of upgrades for Google Insights for Search 2.0. How about including a filter for time, not just for dates? In the last 30 days, the tool revealed that Phoenix led the nation in googling the term “pizza.” That’s great, but could you add another filter which identifies search volumes for specific times (3-4 pm? 7-8pm ? 10-11pm), particular days (Friday? Saturday) or even exact dates (March 14, 2008) for a word or phrase? Could you take the data that’s currently available in the Google Web History for individual users, and aggregate and publish the data for all Google users? This would allow researchers to scan search volumes by the different types of Google searches, say, Web, images, news, products, sponsored links, video, maps, blogs, and books?

Could you arrange a meeting with the YouTube folks down the hall and create a comparable “YouTube Insights for Search” application that provides comparable search volume data for YouTube searches? And while you’re at it, why not spring for lunch and invite the Facebook and Twitter suits to the Googleplex? While you’re chowing down, explore the feasibility of creating a “Facebook Insights for Search” and/or “Twitter Insights for Search” that provides a database of Facebook and Twitter search volumes and activity patterns, also broken by location, date, times and location. I can already hear the thunder of privacy advocates banging their war drums, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Perhaps I’m thinking too far ahead, but the point is that Google Insights for Search is a flawed but still spectacular new research tool for business and Web analysts everywhere. The resource has countless applications in not only social networking, but in virtually all industries, products, and services. Look for more detailed articles and tutorials on how to fully tap this resource and take your online research and forecasting skills to the next level.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:Google Checkout Trends Knows Your Shopping HabitsGoogle Trends Now Updates DailyHow to Spy on Your Customers: Networked InsightsGoogle Trends Adds Another Way to Inaccurately Track Website TrafficWeb Hosting? What Web Hosting?Google Trends Thinks I’m HotSave the Date - Social Gaming Summit: June 13, 2008

Source:Mashable!

eBay on Wednesday announced that it has dropped seller fees in an attempt to save you some money and increase the number of listings on each page.

According to the company, sellers will now be levied a flat 35 cent listing fee and will base fees on the successful sale of items instead of the fact that you’re simply listing them.  Of course, that drop in rates will only impact those trying the company’s Buy It Now feature.

Although I commend eBay for trying to increase the number of listings on the site and trying to make customers happier with the service, I see so many glaring problems with the company that I don’t even know where to start.

According to eBay’s second quarter numbers, profits are up 50 percent to $376 million, but its listings are down once again by 6 percent.  And in a protest of eBay’s ridiculous idea of charging more to increase profits and (hopefully) listings, the company witnessed a 13 percent decline in listings — a figure that is simply unacceptable for a site of this magnitude.

But it’s as if all that doesn’t matter.  As I just noted, profits are up and things have been going relatively well for eBay when all things are considered.  Let’s not forget that part of those profits can be attributed to other sectors in the company’s business like PayPal and Skype, and that as listings continue to decline, it can only enjoy a profit for so long.

Suffice it to say that eBay has lost its way and is only successful today because no other online auction site has been able to offer the kind of community and marketing eBay has.

eBay was originally created to be an auction site; nothing more, nothing less.  But today, the site lets you buy products outright through its Buy It Now feature and has significantly reduced the number of real auctions on the site.  A quick glance at the company’s main page will tell you everything you need to know about today’s eBay: it’s just as much a retail store as it is an auction site.

But that’s unacceptable.  eBay is an auction site and the only reason it was ever successful in the first place.  Why would it want to abandon its roots in favor of competition with Amazon and other online retailers?  It doesn’t make sense.

eBay’s problems go far beyond retail.  The company’s page hasn’t been updated in years and it’s still the same, ugly, Web 1.0 website that makes it too difficult to find anything in a reasonable amount of time.

And that’s why I think some companies could jump on the auction bandwagon and supplant eBay in that space.  Right now, eBay has few competitors and none that can compete to the same magnitude.  But that doesn’t mean that eBay is unbeatable.  Quite the contrary, eBay is vulnerable.

All it will really take is a site that’s well-designed and has some strong financial backing with a focus on online auctions to knock eBay off its pedestal.  eBay is too anti-customer and too focused on everything other than its auctions to truly stand up to a real online auction competitor.  Granted, a slew of companies have tried and failed, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.  In fact, I’m willing to bet that the majority of eBay users would be more than happy to move to an alternative if that meant getting away from eBay’s draconian policies and downright ludicrous money-making schemes.

eBay is not the impenetrable force it once was.  It may still enjoy profits and sit atop the online auction hill, but it’s not going to last forever if it doesn’t start adapting and changing its business model to a strategy that adequately reflects its original vision: Online auctions.  And for goodness sake, update the site — it’s poorly-designed and much too old.

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Group Dating isn’t new in Japan, where compa or gokon parties have become a regular part of their dating scene. The word compa comes from the word companion and gokon is a combination of the words goudo (group) and compa (companion). It is said that this practice evolved from the difficulties of finding a partner due to the pervasive shyness that exists in Japanese society.

Group dating gatherings usually take place at public venues such as restaurants where each attendee brings a couple of eligible friends. The thing that people seem to like best about this concept, besides the whole law of averages, is the fact that if all else goes wrong and you don’t find a match you still wind up having a good time out with your friends. (Traditionally, compa isn’t for one-night stands but obviously there are many that will seek this type of experience.)

The trend has become a cultural phenomenon, gaining popularity in the UK and now the US. Here are some popular online services that cater to the group dating/compa concept:

Ignighter

Ignighter is a new group dating service from the TechStars camp that hand-picks the top ten best startups out of four hundred entries they receive every year. You can use their free service on their site or via their facebook app.

The key to the service is the group profile that you create which is similar to the kind filled out on standard dating services, except this one describes everyone in your gang. Once two groups agree to meet up they just decide where they want to hang out: Dinner and a movie, coffee house, happy hour, Tapas, ballgame, etc.

Team Dating

Team Dating is from the well-known www.Match.com which focuses on group dating. They claim to be different than the rest by not requiring as much profile information to get started. They also state that they require less personal information which means more privacy.

Here’s a video about Team Dating from the company itself:

Date-My-Mates

Date-My-Mates Started in the UK in 2006 so its database serves that corner of the world. The same concept applies, just in a different area. Just because you don’t live in the UK doesn’t mean you can’t use this service. If you and your pals are planning a group trip to that region then this service could make the journey all the more fun.

Let’s Meet Out

Let’s Meet Out serves only the New York City area at this time so it won’t be for everyone. However, NYC is one of the most popular places for tourists so you could make arrangements with your friends to meet another NYC group.

PlanJam

PlanJam has a slogan that says it all, “From your screen to the scene.” They aren’t actually a group dating site but they can facilitate such an event. Their event planner is impressive as it can calculate what the entire evening will cost you in addition to gathering all of the details you will need to know.

I Am Free Tonight

I Am Free Tonight is owned by eTwine and offers not one but two Facebook apps called Meet New people and Are YOU Interested? The website looks like something from the late 1990s so it’s doubtful that much action is taking place there, but I would venture to guess that a great deal of activity is going on with the Facebook apps. I’d like to test it out myself, but the wifey frowns upon such behavior.

Conclusion

Group dating seems like a fun and useful experience. Marrying the technology of online dating services with the real world benefits of group activities is also a brilliant idea. The services that make the best use of social networking and provide the easiest interface will come out on top. Give these a try and share your experiences in the comments area. Also share any other group dating services we might have missed this time around.

—Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:Wannago Adds Hot-or-Not for Parties & AttendeesJDate Up for Sale: Worth $185M?Kizmeet Launches Second-Chance Dating SiteMatch Activity Gets Angel FundingMatch Activity Launches Online Dating SiteDating on Plentyoffish - Trading Fees for Scumbags?Tila Tequila Coming Out on MTV Reality Show

Last week I watched a clip on a morning show about a relatively new dating site called Sweet on Geeks. The idea is that mainstream dating sites like Match and Jdate just don’t cut it for geeks of either sex.

Membership is free and apparently the site monetizes itself from advertising. The couple that was interviewed on tv said they met over their love of Linux. Now they go to Batman movies and code PHP to get in the mood.

As I browsed a variety of profiles, living at home was a popular choice. One thing they ask that I’ve never seen before on a dating site: Hygiene. Most people say they are clean. That’s always a good thing. Other parts of the site include an event directory that features a lot of "Con" events. They should look at adding a casual games section. Get members playing games online and interacting with each other while hitting them with relevant advertising.

Finding the right someone is very difficult and if Sweet on Geeks helps people find the right match, that’s awesome. I wonder if they have a "FriendFeed Lover" option?

Here’s an example of a profile page. Can anyone say 1998 design? All we need is the digging construction man!

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Update: Josh at ReadWriteWeb has a review on Eyealike as well.

For those of you looking for the perfect someone based on looks only, have I got the site for you! Launched in beta this morning, Eyealike allows you to upload a photo and find others like that photo. And you can also ask the system to find matches that are similar to a celeb.

The process is easy: upload a photo of your super-ultra-hottie and the system searches many of the dating sites for a match. I guess it leaves out everyone who hasn’t uploaded a photo. And forget about brains or any other aspect, that’s left out.

The Eyealike Face Search algorithm evaluates the complete geometry of the face, including skin tone, eyes, hair color, texture and length as well as hundreds of other relevant data points.

The company claims to remove the typical challenges that face many online daters - "He was really nice, but I just wasn’t attracted to him."

Check out our review of another dating site based on video called IamFreeTonight. Eyealike also has two other products in private beta: Image Detection and Video Copyright Surveillance.

Normally I would throw out a "WTF Alert" on this one but I am sure most people seem to only care about looks when looking for a mate so this service might just have a chance.