- published: 29 Jul 2014
- views: 50140
Online dating (OD) or Internet dating is a dating system which allows individuals, couples and groups to make contact and communicate with each other over the Internet, usually with the objective of developing a personal, romantic, or sexual relationship. Online dating services usually provide unmoderated matchmaking over the Internet, through the use of personal computers or cell phones.
Online dating services generally require a prospective member to provide personal information, before they can search the service provider's database for other individuals using criteria they set, such as age range, gender and location. Online dating sites use market metaphor to properly match people up. Most sites allow members to upload photos of themselves and browse the photos of others. Sites may offer additional services, such as webcasts, online chat, telephone chat (VOIP), and message boards. Some sites provide free registration, but may offer services which require a monthly fee. Other sites depend on advertising for their revenue. And some sites such as Badoo are free and then offer additional paid services in a freemium revenue model.
Amy Webb is an author, speaker and future thinker and heads Webbmedia Group. She and her team forecasts tech trends and applies emerging technologies for use in communications. She has spent more than 15 years working with digital media, founding several web-based companies and now advising various startups, retailers, government agencies and media organizations as well as Webbmedia's clients all over the world.
Amy began her career as a reporter/ writer with Newsweek (Tokyo) and the Wall Street Journal (Hong Kong) where she covered emerging technology, media and cultural trends. She has contributed to the New York Times, NPR, Economist and many publications and broadcast shows. Her work has been recognized with awards/nominations from Webby, Editor & Publisher, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, W3 and IAVA. She has a M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and holds a B.A. in political economics from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. She also earned Nikyu Certification in the Japanese government-administered Language Proficiency Test and speaks fluently.