Zoosk now has over one million fans on our Facebook page!

Here’s a little video we made as a tribute to our awesome fans. Are you a fan of Zoosk on Facebook? Fan us fan us fan us! <3

Yay for another Zoosk.com success story!

Congratulations Tiana and Daniel from Columbus, Ohio, for finding each other on Zoosk! Without further ado, behold their adorable love story, sent to us from lovely Tiana herself:

I met my dream man (and hopefully one day my husband) here on Zoosk on Christmas Eve, 2009. I had just gotten out of a 3-year relationship with my daughter’s father and decided to see what Zoosk was about! So I set up my profile and started to get winks and messages. I saw Daniel’s profile and was instantly attracted to him!  He had no shirt on and was covered in tattoos (and tattoos are really hot to me)!

The only problem was that I didn’t know if he would be interested in dating a black woman with two kids, knowing that he had no kids and that I was 4 years older. But I decided to leave him a message and I told him that I thought he was hot and that I loved his ink!  Well the next day, Christmas, I checked my messages and didn’t expect to hear anything from him. But there it was! A message from Daniel telling me that he thought I was a sexy chocolate mama! So that made me smile, of course.

So we started chatting on Facebook. Daniel told me wasn’t looking for a relationship at that time because he himself had also just gotten out of a three-year relationship too.  Neither of us had been involved with anyone for 8 months. He was more looking for a friend and I was okay with that. Since this was over the Christmas holidays, Daniel was in Tennessee at the time visiting family, while I was in Ohio. He told me that he would be coming back to Ohio within a week. He left me his number, but I didn’t call right away. When I finally called, his voice was amazing! We talked on the phone for 2 hours that night, and the next night we talked for 4 hours!

When we finally met, over a week later, our first date was great and simple, just drinks and laughing. Our second date was two days after my 34th birthday, and Daniel showed up with a huge bouquet of the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen! He was such a gentleman! He opened the car door and the restaurant door for me and was just great (and he is still doing that)! Soon his family started wondering who he was spending so much time with and coming home with smiles! So about 3 weeks later (and several home-cooked meals from me) I met his family. His dad took about 12 of us out for dinner and it has been amazing!

Daniel decided that I was wife material on Valentine’s Day! Our relationship is wonderful, so much so that one of my coworkers is already planning OUR WEDDING! I am so glad that I got on Zoosk and met Daniel and his wonderful family! They have welcomed me and my kids into their home, as my family did to Daniel.

And to think it all started with me loving his tattoos and having the courage to tell such a hot younger guy that I loved his ink!  Thank you Zoosk!

-Tiana W. from Columbus, Ohio

In her approach to dating Daniel, Tiana did a lot of things right:

(1) She says that she had “courage” enough to talk to Daniel, and that’s how their relationship started. Zoosk girls, let’s give Tiana a round of high-fives for making the first move.

(2) Daniel and Tiana chatted online first, before talking on the phone, and then they talked on the phone for a while before meeting in real life. It’s a good idea to take things slow in online dating and to make sure you actually have interest in someone before you meet in real life. Getting to know someone online also helps build momentum and excitement once you do meet IRL.

(3) Tiana was willing to let her relationship happen naturally. Both Tiana and Daniel had just gotten out of long-term relationships, so they kept things between them low-key at first. What started as friendship turned into love, and with love, it’s good to be patient and let things unfold naturally. Good things happen to those who wait.

So, Congrats Tiana and Daniel! You’re inspiring to us all. Send us your wedding pictures

PS: If you have a Zoosk success story you’d like to share about finding true love online, send it over to met [at] zoosk [dot] com and we’d love to feature your story on our blog! Best of luck, Zooskers! <3

Online dating advice: edit your way into someone’s heart by writing an effective letter

Sending a message to someone on Zoosk, someone who you’ve never met, is not easy. But don’t make your life harder with spelling and grammar errors. Our Zoosker, Julie, wants to send a message to Matt. Watch as she edits her way from an impersonal, unremarkable letter, to one that stands out in the crowd!

As Julie shows, editing your message to reflect shared interests you may have with the person you’re writing to is a good way to find common ground. Don’t be scared to lay on the charm! You’re only as memorable as your message, so make sure it accurate reflects the unique person that you are.

Written and directed by Juliette Tang
Shot and Edited by Christine Ann Iglesias
Music: Sonata by Migliu

Zoosk has walked a mile in your shoes, and we know how hard dating can be. So why try so hard? Zoosk makes dating easy, by taking dating online!

Zoosk is making online dating even more fun and even easier, with the launch of our new ZooskTV channel on YouTube! YAY! We’re super excited to bring online dating and new media together in fun new ways! ZooskTV will be regularly releasing fun videos about online dating, from dating advice videos to funny clips about online dating to information about Zoosk and our services.

Stay tuned, by subscribing to Zoosk’s YouTube channel, or by fanning us on Facebook, for regular updates on our videos. Of course, you can always drop by this blog whenever you want to check out our latest video offerings. Let us know what you think!

So, without further ado, why don’t you kick back, take those shoes off, and enjoy some good, old fashioned online television?

Written and directed by Juliette Tang
Shot and edited by Christine Ann Iglesias
Graphics by Desiree Peel
Shoes: Sam Edelman “Zoe” boots
Music: Georges Bizet, taken from “Carmen,” played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, 1939, no rights reserved.

By Jod Kaftan

Lately, I’ve started thinking of some alternative careers.  One that came to mind, after speaking with my friend Amy, is that I could be an inter-species translator. Imagine what help that could be to the online dating community!

Amy was telling me about how she was dating this guy but “didn’t want to take things too seriously.”

“Did you tell him this?” I asked

“Yes! And the great thing is that he feels exactly the same way!”

Uh oh. I didn’t want to burst her bubble. But I had to think of her best interest. They actually don’t feel the same way at all. There are huge differences between what men and women mean when they say this, and in how men and women perceive dating and relationships.

Male commitment-phobes and how to deal with them

Let me begin by shamelessly exposing my own life. The morning after the first amorous date with my wife, she said, unprompted, that she wanted to take things slow. At the time I thought, “Cool, no pressure!” As a male commitment-phobe, it was magic to my ears.  Then she started calling me every night. We started seeing each other every weekend. But in my brute male brain, I was thinking there’s some cognitive dissonance here. Why is she so actively involved if she doesn’t want to take things too seriously and go slow?

This contradiction would have bothered me in most cases if she had been someone who—bingo!—I also wanted to not take things too seriously with. But the truth was I did want to get serious. (Guys: I didn’t tell her this of course until she finally admitted she did as well.) The point is that I realized her saying she wanted to go slow was a kind of defense mechanism. It didn’t mean she didn’t want a relationship. It meant she wanted to make sure I wasn’t a jerk.

When a guy says he wants to take it slow, what he means is…

Now, when a boy says he “wants to go slow” or “not take things too seriously,” he, um, really means it. Actually what he’s really saying is, “I’m not ready for any emotional involvement at all.”  He just wants company. And if you really like him, then you should avoid him. Tell him, “When you’re ready for something real, call me.” Because no amount of a woman’s greatness can make a guy in that state come around. He has to get there on his own—usually through some brutal trial and error.

Be straightforward, ask the right questions

I’m not saying make him sign a contract in blood.  But a simple answer of “yes” to the question “Do you want something authentic?” will indicate that he’s not looking for a hoochie mama.  Now if he says he wants something real but doesn’t call every night, don’t take that as a sign that he’s not interested. He’s probably  trying to appear like he’s not groveling. The bottom line is that love is about taking chances, but by reading between the lines, you can at least minimize your hardship.

The point of the story is, don’t muddle a situation to the point where you need an inter-species translator. Take control of a situation early before things get successively more confusing. Despite a difference in communication, men and women can speak the same language, if they try.

About Jod Kaftan: A long recovering bachelor (some would say “lout”) who decided to make the leap and marry the girl he loved, Jod Kaftan is still figuring it all out–if only he’d follow his own advice. Jod is a contributing editor at the LA Times Magazine. He  has contributed to Rolling Stone, Salon, The Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. Follow Jod on Twitter @Jodspeed!

Congrats to Rowena and Dave from Sydney, Australia! What a sweet success story between these two Aussies. Now I have that song that goes “I’m a man from the land down under” stuck in my head.

In February 2008 I was playing around on Facebook and found the Zoosk application and decided to try it out. I am pretty sure it was me who sent the first cheesy pick up line to Dave, after his profile pic showed him playing cricket – one of my favourite sports! After contacting each other on Zoosk for a few days, we then started emailing each other and finally met up about a week later. We’ve been together ever since!! We moved in together after about 6 months and then moved from Hobart to Sydney about a year ago. We also just recently celebrated our 2 year anniversary on holiday in Hawaii, and are about to buy a house together!So THANKS Zoosk for introducing me to the love of my life!!

-Rowena from Sydney, Australia

If you have your own Zoosk online dating success story to share, send it to success [at] zoosk [dot] com. We’d love to spread the happiness and good karma!

Today we’d like to share this adorable success story from two Zooskers in New Mexico. Congrats Brenda and Oliver! We’re so thrilled for the two of you!

I want to thank Zoosk for finding the love of my life. I joined Zoosk and was looking through my matches and answering ice breakers when I came across Oliver’s profile. I was instantly attracted and answered his ice breaker too! Oliver responded the next day. I had just about given up after years of chat lines and online dating services. Thank God I joined Zoosk! We are so happy and true love does exist and it is only an message away.

My brother joined Zoosk after seeing how happy Oliver and I are. True love does happen when you least expect it. I had pretty much given up on finding my soul mate, but we knew it was love the first time we saw each other in person. Thank you Zoosk for letting us find each other.

-Brenda B. from New Mexico

Adorable adorable adorable. Do you have a success story to share? Send it to success [at] zoosk [dot] com and we’ll happily share it for you!

Today we’d like to share the incredibly romantic success story between two Zooskers, Dave and Maria, who met on Zoosk last year and are getting married this upcoming October, on the anniversary of Dave’s parents. Congratulations Dave and Maria! We wish you all the happiness in the world!

I’ve been holding off on sending my success story because our story is still being written, but here goes: our story thus far.

I met Maria on Zoosk back in June of 2009. She had seen my profile many times, but had passed me up because of the considerable distance between us. I live in the southern suburbs of Philadelphia and she lives in the Bronx. However, she said my warm, big smile kept her coming back. Finally she sent me a wink and being a polite guy, I flirted back. Well the fireworks began almost immediately! We chatted and giggled and shared intimate details as if we’d been longtime, close friends for decades! Then, when I bought a webcam, we flirted “face to face” and had even more fun! We decided to view our unconventional, online contact as an advantage that allowed us to get to really know each other on deeper, strong levels without the steamy, physical aspect getting in the way and clouding things. We felt like we were 18th-century lovers corresponding by mail.

Well, it worked. We forged an unbreakable bond and fondness before we even met in person and then, once we got in the same room, our relationship exploded and flourished into the crazy, passionate romance we now share. I asked Maria to marry me on New Year’s eve 2009/2010 and she said “Of course!” She know wears the ring my maternal grandfather gave to my grandmother upon their engagement in 1928. Maria says she would not trade it for a million dollar ring and a million dollars. Maria is a high quality person.

I am scheduled to move to New York in June and our wedding is planned for Saturday, October 16th, 2010. The day after my parent’s anniversary (wed in 1949 and still going strong) and the day before my own birthday. Meeting Maria has completely changed my life into something so much better than I ever dared to wish upon a star for. I love her and will never let her go. And we have Zoosk to thank!

-Dave Beaver

Happy tidings, Dave and Maria. If any of you readers have a success story you’d like to share, send it to success [at] zoosk [dot] com and we’d love to feature it on our blog! Happiness should be shared, and we want to share yours.

Today we’d like to share an adorable success story from the Garden State! Congrats Anne and Paul. Anne made the first move on Paul, and after that, well, you can read the evidence right here. It’s a heartwarming story.

My name is Annie; I’m from New Jersey. My Zoosk screen name is redvixen. I am writing to let you know that I met my someone special on your site. His name is Paul; his screen name is fungemini. I want to share our romantic story.

I was going through a divorce from a cheating husband; we’d been separated for over a year. I had tried online dating off and on when Zoosk popped up when I was on Facebook one night. On a whim, I joined. Very shortly I began getting winks, and sending some, too. I came across fungemini, liked his profile, and “Favorited” him.

A week or so later, he winked at me. We began emailing one another in November 2009; we met in person in December, early in the month. I was not looking for a serious relationship as I was still leery from my split. On the other hand, Paul was looking for a relationship — but he was willing to start as friends and see where it went.

Well, it didn’t take long before I discovered that I didn’t want to date anyone else. And Paul still felt the same. January 2nd, the day after New Year’s, we decided to become exclusive. And here we are! I feel so lucky. Paul is unlike anyone I’ve ever met. We have so much in common! I really enjoy spending time with him, whether we’re doing something or just hanging out together.

I still think I’m dreaming!

Thanks again, Zoosk!

-Anne from New Jersey

Congrats Anne and Paul! If you have your own Zoosk success story to share, send it to us with a photo of you and your loved one to success [at] zoosk [dot] com and if we showcase your story we’ll send you an online gift card as a token of our congratulations. Happy Zoosking!

In Bertrand Russell’s celebrated essay, “In Praise of Idleness,” the distinguished analytic philosopher and Nobel Laureate contends, quite rationally, “I think that there is far too much work done in the world, that immense harm is caused by the belief that work is virtuous. I hope that, after reading the following pages, the leaders of the YMCA will start a campaign to induce good young men to do nothing.” And, just for dramatic effect, he adds, “If so, I shall not have lived in vain.”

In response this glorious display of intellect, Zoosk responds most enthusiastically, “Hear hear!”

It appears that the folks at TechCrunch might also believe, as Russell himself did, that “Leisure is essential to civilization.” Could there be a truer truism? Purveyors of romantic leisure that we are, Zoosk is rightfully honored to have made it to the final round of voting at this year’s 2009 TechCrunch Crunchies Awards in a category we are proud to be recognized in: Best Time Sink Application.

But we also adhere to the belief that the pursuit of love is an activity that, albeit leisurely, is absolutely necessary. Plus, leisure is useful too. Sure, you can’t expense a date on the company card or charge it to your place of work as a billable hour, but the time you spend looking for love is fully compensated, at the end of the road, when you find it. So while some time may sink during the quest, that time will be worth it when you get to your final destination. Think of it as a potentially long flight that just happens to take off and land at the exact same local time, just in different time zones.

So remember, everyone, vote for Zoosk! “Each person is invited to vote once per category per day through Wednesday, January 6th at midnight PST. Once you cast a vote in a category, you are able to share your vote through Twitter and Facebook.” Put a little bit of work in for Zoosk by voting every day until January 6th, and we’ll ensure you get the best time sink application the web has to offer for as long as your heart desires. XO.