son by her grammar and how she puts thoughts and feelings into words. So far, he's met four women through JDate, two of whom he plans to continue seeing. "All this is wonderful for a guy's ego," he said, "especially if you've been married for a long time and all this is a new experience for you." After messaging one 55-year-old woman who he found charming, he received an e-mail back in capital letters: "WHERE WERE YOU (before)?" And then in lower-case letters, "I got married two weeks ago." Launched in 1997, JDate has 350,000 members, including 4,500 in the Detroit area (JDate's 10th largest market). Much smaller than many of its Internet dating site com petitors, JDate is considered more of a niche market service. Still, mem- bership has quadrupled in the last 2'/2 years. Jcupid.com is the second largest Internet dating site for Jewish sin- gles. Based on the success of Israeli site Cupid.co.il , the company started JCupid for Jewish singles in the U.S. in 2001. There are 400 members in Detroit. • Dr. Wolin tried other dating meth- ods, such as the larger American Singles.com site (more than 5 mil- lion members) and a newspaper per- sonal advertisement, but found that women on JDate were smarter and more attractive. Jeff, 36, a real estate agent from Huntington Woods, agrees. Recently divorced, Jeff started using JDate a year ago. He tried another dating site and got bored with the women. "I had 50 attractive women to choose from right off the bat," Jeff said about his first search on JDate. According to Gail Laguna, vice president for corporate communica- ► ate \~ subscriber Jeff found a woman he really likes and has been dating her for four months. The thing is, he didn't meet her on JDate, exactly. e knew die type of woman he wanted: an educated and attractive woman with opinions. Jeff admits he JDate selections basedin l large measure on e. e'plcture attached to the prof H w,soli a date at the Detroit auto show with et woman when they ran into his date's friend. eff recognized the friend as someone he had noticed J Date previously, but because of her picture, he put Upon meeting, he was inaybe category Upon struck . y.how much prettier she was in person. She was petite and well-dressed. asitahlsaic o taken vi e:Ayw it i. her demeanor -- she carried m air of confidence. act that Jeff almost missed out on meeting this tie to question the success of online atm success based on users' per- w members when y datataken c0 estimates that every cel their membershi were seeking ." . ose relationships 1 Univr7isitYues_ comparison between relationships started online to those started offline. That data is not really available, according to Walther. "Most relationships (started online or offline) don't work out anyway and many people don't stay married to one person," said Walther. Most research shows the Internet is just another place to meet, but "from a strictly mathematical perspective, some people might have better odds online," he said. Al Bellamy, professor of interdisciplinary technology at Eastern Michigan University, highlights the Internet's ability to break down all the qualities each of us screens for in a mate. "We all carry screening processes," Bellamy said. "Online, all those things are broken down for you real well. In an instant, you know the person's age, the ethnicity, preference for recreation, preference for reli- gion. You can send out exactly what type of person you are looking for. I mean that's phenomenal." It could very well be. But in Jeff's case, what might be even more phenomenal is that he actually had a chance encounter (a second chance?) with someone he pretty much ruled out after an online search. If it'd ended on the Internet, the woman Jeff is now seeing would have remained for him just another computer profile, deeply buried in his "maybe" pile. for — Joanna Broder tions at MatchNet plc, the company that runs both JDate and American Singles, as well as other dating sites, "JDate tends to skew a little more with higher education and higher annual income than other computer dating services." Highly Rated Seventy-three percent of JDate's 4,700 Detroit members have at least a bachelor's degree; 36 percent also have a graduate degree. Only 28 per- cent of Detroiters using American Singles have a BA; 8 percent also have a graduate degree. Online dating is on the rise. The service Match.com reports that its - paid subscriptions increased by 178 percent last year, bringing the com- pany's membership to more than 3 million. Matchmaker (the oldest Internet dating site) has 8 million users today, 3 million more than two years ago. "Lucy" (not her real name), 31, from a suburb of Detroit, has used Jewish Internet dating sites for two years. She is looking for marriage. She can count her good dates on one hand, but remains optimistic. "When it's meant to happen, it's meant to happen either on date one N. • ‘.„ \;\. •\•%. , •‘: Featuring us Casu ining wit L ye D Lunch: Tuesday thru Saturday llam-2pm 248.669.2263 Dinner: Tuesday thru Thursday 5pm-lOpm • Friday thru Saturday 5pm-11pm Sunday 4pm-9pm Live Entertainment and Daricin Until (Formerly Nifty Normans) ), .), AOTArrAWAVE..fL . ,• 15:MIZSVPAWEIZLEaLZIMEM.M:2=7BrOaagr " 0 2 am In Our Lower Level 1403 S. 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