In an interesting development the Australian dating site Oasis Active has now been rated as even more popular than the huge and long running RSVP. What's really notable about it is that Oasis Active is completely free to use, while RSVP is not.

I suspect there might be a few more cases like this, but there will be a limit to the trend. One of the main ways free dating sites make money is by serving ads; ads for paid dating sites. So, the situation is a little bit like a miniature version of what occurs in capitalist societies. That is, if they get too generous with their welfare, and people prefer the dole to working, the economy suffers hugely. The government has to tighten the purse strings eventually and reward business instead.

So, unless things change radically and the free sites find completely new and very reliable ways of making money from their traffic, paid dating will always be around.

UPDATE: Commentor Fred below has real insights into the marketing of big dating sites. It seems that content ads not working now as a means of generating profit for free sites. The landscape is clearly changing. So, it will be interesting to see what happens.
 
 
Here's still more proof that you should be careful using Facebook and other similar sites if you are in a relationship: Their use as a source of evidence in divorce cases is extremely common.
 
 
Paid dating sites are still going strong, but they certainly aren't the cash cows they used to be. This is due in major part to the great profusion of totally free to use dating sites - some of which have so many members now that they rival some of the big paid sites in size. Then there is the massive popularity of social networking sites, which many single people use to meet others like them.

This situation has given rise to predictions that the paid dating site model is outdated, and that sites such as Match will eventually disappear. But I don't think that this will happen. These sites will just make a few adjustments. They'll tailor their marketing to people who are serious about meeting others for love, relationships or casual arrangements; people who want to keep their love and sex lives separate from their social lives. These people will always be prepared to pay for such services, thereby keeping quality paid dating sites in business
 
 
Facebook is getting a lot of bad publicity lately. A lot of these complaints relate to how the social networking site negatively affects intimate relationships.

So, if you're already involved with someone, you should probably be very careful how you use it. Whatever you do or say on it could easily get passed around your Facebook "friends" and get back to someone close to you in real life, potentially causing them grief.

However, this aspect of having so many people knowing so much about you via direct and indirect online contacts could also be a bonus for people who are single, and hoping to meet others like them. Which is why it's not surprising that a new dating site is combining several of Facebook's characteristics into its own structure.

As this article states, "the idea behind this site is that everyone on it shares their single friends".
 
 
Here's more confirmation of just how entrenched online dating now is in Australian society: A survey commissioned by the dating site RSVP has found that a quarter of Aussies had used an online dating site.

The data also showed that 9% of internet daters found their spouses online. That's notable, because there is a widely held view that most of the people using this method to meet people are just after a one night stand, or at leanothing serious.
 
 
The Australian Sex Party is in the news again. This time it's for their quite surprising condemnation of a stripper who performed on Ayers Rock after her widely shown act outraged Aboriginal activists. The party has said the stripper was thoughtlessly seeking publicity.

But perhaps the same accusation could be made against them? They are a political party, after all, and adept at getting media attention.

Also, the Australian Sex Party's very existence would be seen as culturally insensitive by many religious groups. That's quite ironic. Still, such huge contradictions often occur when people try too hard to be selective and politically correct
 
 
Every week there seems to be yet another horror story related to people who met online. There are murders, rapes, abductions, thefts and other terrible events. And while at the moment social networking sites seem to be more of a magnet for this kind of activity, online dating isn't far behind.

That's why anyone who is using such sites should not only follow sensible precautions, they might also want to check out who they are communicating with online before they actually meet them in person. Here are some good tips on how to do this.
 
 
Hot on the heels of the romance-themed comedy Dating in a Disposable World comes another show dealing with similar subject matter. It's called Love Bites, and has been successful in Sydney and overseas.
 
 
The idea that women like bad boys is a bit of a cliche. But there certainly is a lot of truth to it.

And it's not just the rebellious and moody James Dean types that women swoon over. A surprisingly high number of them are strongly attracted to criminals - even the very worst of them.
 
 
The pressures of celebrity really are huge. It's not surprising that more than a few famous people go mad, have nervous breakdowns or end up as alcoholics or drug addicts! Then there are the relationships ...

They often start out well. But they go belly up at a very high rate - and quite quickly too. Take Mel Gibson. His marriage is over, and the breakup was acrimonious. And now he's at loggerheads with the woman he left his wife for, and had a child with!

Being famous really is a poisoned chalice.