A Million First Dates: Solving the Puzzle of Online Dating Paperback – January 28, 2014

Dan Slater has touched on the gooey epicenter of American desire. He tells us how a fundamental need for human intimacy has morphed into a two billion dollar industry. This ( mostly) well done piece of investigative reporting cuts through the miasma that media consumers are delivered multiple times a day from the titans of the online dating industry. The interspersion of the vignettes of the ( one assumes desirable )woman on the Phish blog is distracting, and I could have used a bit more of the ripping off of the Band-Aid that covers the wounds of this industry- Slater just scratches the surface of the deviant acts perpetrated by both individuals and, more importantly, by industry giants with agendas. Nevertheless, this is a book packed with insight about this industry, which needs constant scrutiny.

Great study of online dating. My only complaint would be that not enough focus is given to international sites and we end up (again) only taking US data to give a worldwide picture. This simply doesn’t work. Regardless of that this book is amazing and the insights given of how business is run and the different perspectives given by the main actors are most insightful.A must for anyone who is interested in online dating research,

Love in the Time of Algorithms is a must read for those who partake in online dating and for those who don't. It's undisputed that technology has shaped the world today and Dan Slater's book investigates the impact on relationships --- the history, business, and "science" of computer dating. This thought provoking read (with personal anecdotes and reported accounts) raises questions about the future of relationships (better relationships? more divorce?) while also explaining how perceptions of online dating have changed over the years, and how the internet has shaped people's lives (for the better with niche markets, liking dating sites for those with unique conditions; and for the worse, by threatening commitment). Well written and an interesting read.

I met my long term partner through an online dating site. A fact that I used to be a bit embarrassed about since I myself was wary of meeting people online. Even if I never used an online social site - this book entertaining and I have recommended it to friends.The history of online dating, discussed in this book, is quite interesting. It is a light fun read but by no means is this book filled with fluff. The book flows nicely and is a cohesive story on todays phenomenon of socializing in this busy techonology filled world. I am 100% glad that I purchased this book.

among the books on dating and the internet this, though my sample size is not exhaustive, is the best, most well-written, least mechanistic of the lot. Since internet dating is a fascinating topic and the writing is usually easy and chock full of neat information most books on this subject are easy and fun reads. by mechanistic I mean that there is a specific agenda -- e.p. analytics or computer dating is shallow and men are unwilling to commit given there are "plenty of fish" out there --that is applied to various cases or data sets in most these books so that there is no development on the theme or a getting below the surface. This book does that. The author writes deftly, he provides interesting case studies of people with various differnt motives and sstyles of internet dating, he attends various internet dating site events--a trip to Columbia to meet women, which he goes on -- and he describes his own internet date to an internet dating conference. The chapters explore different kinds of internet dating behaviors--such as the woman who obsessively describes her dating habits to a list serve, or the guy in oregon who's girlfriend is tired of his sports interests and lack of ambition and decides to leave him after some years and the next day he is busy looking at dating sites. Of interest is that there is so much information out there, its kind of scary. Also the idea that we are just overloaded with information that everything becomes a wash. Two additional things that stand out: one, the author puts himself in the book as a participant, this adds a sense of intimacy to the book, one realizes that s/he is reading through the eyes and inclinations of the author, second the author develops his main point (as I recall it)--his concern that the very activity of dating via the internet does away with one of the conditions that lead to commitment and depth in a relationship--that is the effort it took, in preinternet days, to meet someone and develop a relationship. the scarcity of meeting available people that leads to mutual attraction and love took time and effort and money in the old days, now there are "plenty of fish" and there is no scarcity of potential mates. The author dwells and provides examples on this concern. I read this over a year ago, lend it out and just re-ordered it, so it left an impression.

This book is well written and factual. I run one of the largest websites for people meeting for wellness and exercise and Slater's book had a profound impact on how I am delivering future services and upgrades.I was particularly happy to read his comments about the inability for any profiling engine to really do much matching that matters. Yes, you can put one person together with another based on some form, but it is ultimately meaningless. It is the relationship that counts and that chemistry happens only through complex human interaction.I do not use dating sites so I am no judge if the book helps in that regard. But if you want to know the history of this fascinating industry, the trends and the metrics, this is a very good book.

I found Dan Slater's book to be incredibly informative on many angles of the online dating world. It shed light on subjects that I've always had a curiosity about, but would never do myself like going to Latin America specifically to find a bride. So in a sense it's great reporting that plays its way out in book form, and accomplishes the goal of uncovering the phycology behind the users of the sites and the creators and how it could be altering human behavior. The book asked the right questions that led me to reflect on my own relationships.

If somebody sees the book on your coffee table, they will think that it is about how to be more succesful at online dating.While you may get that as a bonus from reading the book, it is really a book that gives you a very interesting insight into the history and modern day of the online dating business. I certainly learnt a few things that surprised me.A good read!

This book was a great read. The history around how internet dating has evolved combined with the anecdotes about how people are adapting to this environment for meeting and mating was fascinating, entertaining and informative. I wasn't certain what I could get out of the book , but I was curious about the topic and Slater's unbiased approach to tackling this topic and chronicling it's evolution is excellent.

It looks back at the development of dating by way of media, starting with newspaper adds. Good summary of the facts and their interpretation.Buy it now! Tomorrow it will be out dated.