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Zoosk Review: Online Dating |
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| Fun and playful; great social features; premium features somewhat available without a subscription | |||||||||||||||||||||
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He Said/She Said Ratings
We took two volunteers, a man and a woman, and had them sign up for each online dating site, fill out a profile, look at their matches, and then give us their impressions. We also asked them to choose their favorite online dating site, resulting in our Guy's Choice award (Match.com) and our Lady's Choice award (Chemistry.com). Here's what they thought: 
He said: "Zoosk was great! It takes all the best parts of all the dating and social networking sites out there and puts them together. The compatibility questions are a perfect way to narrow down your matches. And the news feed is a completely different way to discover new matches based on what people are doing. Overall, it is a fun and inventive twist on online dating." 
She said: "I like that Zoosk has a lot of features similar to a social networking site, which is something that I am pretty comfortable with and use everyday. The compatibility questions were relevant and a lot of them were things I actually really care about in a potential date. Though the questions should have narrowed my potential matches, I unfortunately did not see many people that I was attracted to or would actually go for. I like the idea of this site and how it mixes dating and social media; however, I really didn't like the selection. But to each her own." Site Details
Started in 2007, Zoosk built a sizable user base quickly by tapping into the existing user bases of popular social networking sites. It has since maintained its user base, making it one of the larger online dating sites. Zoosk is similar to Match.com, but with a friendlier atmosphere reminiscent of popular social networking websites like Facebook and gaming interfaces like Zynga. You can get started directly through Zoosk's standalone website, or by using Zoosk's application for Facebook or Bebo. You'll have the same user experience, with access to all of Zoosk's features and the ability to connect to any Zoosk member, regardless of which platform you choose. While Zoosk has an impressive number of features and a cool interface, a few of our reviewers made comments about the lack of selection on the site. As the site grows, the selection should also increase, but it seems to be an issue at this point in time, so be warned. Profile Creation
One of the best parts about Zoosk is that you can quickly and easily create a basic profile, and then add to it as you have time. To begin, you provide some basic information including name, email and birth date. Zoosk then gives you the option of importing friends from Facebook or from the email you provided. Next, you select your relationship status and whether you are looking for women or men, and then you can start searching profiles. Of course, to assist Zoosk in finding you a better match and so people can get to know you, it's better to add to your profile. Zoosk will walk you through finishing your profile by prompting you to fill out a few short answers about yourself and your ideal match. You can upload up to six pictures, but you must provide at least one. You can also invite friends to write testimonials about you, which will be visible to potential matches. Zoosk also has a compatibility section that allows you to answer questions about yourself to see how compatible you are with other members. They include questions like "Would you date someone with children?" and "How often do you try to make your date laugh?" If both members have answered questions, Zoosk will present your answers side by side when you view other profiles, as well as give you a compatibility star rating based on three stars. Matching
Zoosk offers a number of ways to find matches. You can, of course, use the search function to look for people in your area. You can flip through profiles one by one or pick one of the other display options to include more profiles at once. You can only search by age and location, which is kind of limiting. In addition, Zoosk offers a Facebook-like news feed that highlights what potential matches are doing with their Zoosk profiles. It covers everything from updates to musical preferences to added photos. It's an easier way to see specific parts of user profiles without sifting through hundreds of profiles with the search function. Zoosk's most effective, yet slowest, means of matching is their Zoosk Scientific Matchmaking Service. To initiate the service, Zoosk asks you a few basic questions about your dating preferences to help match you with potential dates. They then send you a match about once a day that you can either say "yes" or "no" to, depending on your interest. If you both answer yes, Zoosk sends an email to both members to alert them of the match. Otherwise, it's completely anonymous. Your yes and no answers also help Zoosk pick future matches for you, much like Pandora's rating system for music. Communication
All of the above features are free for all members. The one thing that Zoosk does charge for is communication. Zoosk free members can only send one message to other members, which makes communicating difficult. If you try to do more, it'll prompt you to become a subscriber. Even though a good majority of Zoosk is free, the whole point of a dating site is to communicate with matches, so it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll need to become a subscriber. Once you've subscribed, Zoosk offers you a wide variety of ways to communicate. Like on other dating sites, you can wink at potential matches that you fancy, or send them a message. Zoosk's messaging capabilities are much easier than most dating sites, allowing you to write messages right from the person's profile. Zoosk also took a page out of Zynga's playbook and will allow subscribers (and non-subscribers) to buy coins that they can use on the site to buy gifts for other members, enhance the delivery options of their messages, or select other special features on the site. The best communication tool that Zoosk offers is a great chat function. ZooskMessenger, a program you can download to your computer, essentially offers the website in online chat form. Within the chat window, you can still search for matches, look at your inbox, see who has viewed your profile, video chat, and more. It is everything you need in one place. Bottom Line
If you are an avid social networker, Zoosk is a great online dating site for you. All of its social features makes it feel more like a social hub, as opposed to a static website. And subscribers get an even more impressive list of features. Although the selection of matches can be frustrating at times, the sleekness of the site should continuously bring in a new crop of potential dates. NOTE: you need to sign up for Zoosk (which is free) before you can upgrade to a Premium Membership.
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| Cost/Month: | Free standard membership; $12.49/mo for 6-month subscription See All Discounts |
| Relationship Type: | Casual & Serious Daters |
| User Base*: | 17+ million singles |
| Matching Method: | Zoosk's Scientific Matchmaking Service sends you matches to anonymously vote up or down |
| Features: | Create profile; browse profiles; send winks; contact matches; read messages; send gifts |
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