One of the great online success stories has been the success of online dating sites as a viable Internet commerce model.

At any time of day or night millions of singles, and some who are not so single,(be careful with those sneaky people) are enjoying the features offered by most online dating websites. Features like, chat rooms ,instant messaging, photo browsing and posting, live chat cams, personal profiles posting and browsing, and tease communications, to name a few.

People the world over are attracted to online dating sites as one can join most of them for free and immediately be part of a vast online community. For those willing to part with a small sum of money enhanced services are readily available.

At first many online industry "experts" thought that the popularity of the dating websites was just a fad; that it wouldn't last. Wow! How wrong can you be? The best dating sites have been around since 19971998 or so and just keep adding to their considerable membership bases. The most successful sites have memberships of several millions. That's a lot of singles looking for a relationship of some sort.

The dating sites must serve a basic human need in order to be so successful and they do. It's just so easy to meet other singles from your own safe environment. Many singles are turned off by the traditional means of meeting fellow singles, like the club or bar scene and turn to the dating sites as a much safer way to find a compatible partner.

While one has to be careful online in giving out too much personal information to folks you have never met dating sites offer one big advantage to those seeking a companion. If you don't like the way things are progressing, just log off. Then you can add that annoying person to your "no contact" list. That's much easier than trying to get rid of an unwanted suitor who is following you around in a local bar.

Another neat thing about online dating sites is that if you wish you can meet folks and make friends with people from all over the world. The number of potential partners is vast compared to your local options. The world really is your happy hunting ground.

By now there have been plenty of happy matches all across the world between couples who "met" online. The better online dating sites have profile matching capabilities that make it possible to quickly zero in on your kind of person. Hint. Folks who share the same interests and have similar ideas about religion, morals, careers, and family values really do have a much better chance of making it as a couple for the long run.

One thing about the online dating sites is certain. They are here to stay and their memberships will continue to grow. When you have a business model that meshes so well with a basic human need, to interact with other people, and offer your services for free and upgrades at reasonable prices you have a sure fire formular for long term business success.