Number of marriages and engagements from online dating

The traditional sites are more popular among users for several reasons: is one of the most innovative and interesting of them all.A bit like Groupon meets dating, the site offers via email a "daily dating deal" called a "Bagel" which can be accepted or passed.Essentially users of this service get their own personal Cyrano de Bergerac (love helper) and some social science to help ensure the perfect date.

Online dating is not a topic usually covered by social media experts, despite its clear appeal to users all over the world.

Such sites present huge marketing and business potential, untapped by marketers. Last year alone, the percentage of marriages in which the couple met on a dating site accounted for 17% of all.

That is until some tech developer comes up with a virtual innovation as intense as our natural physcial attractions make up close and personal encounters so.

Maybe the best advice for anyone considering these dating hubs is to make the right choices no matter how many choices you are given.

As innovative as it is, Coffee Meets Bagel still relies on a third party making a "match."Online social network (feature image) offers an alternative for those who would rather "adjudge" their own matches.

An Instagram-like approach to dating, this app allows users to share photos of themselves, search other users' photos, chat and send private messages as well.

Privacy filters ensure that professional profiles are only revealed to selected groups like certain industries and so on.

The service monetizes partially by charging a fee to unlock someone's profile via a credit system.

It's not enough for the receiver of the "Bagel" to like the deal - he or she needs to be liked back for a bridge of communications to be established.

When reciprocity is achieved, the two can meet in real life, at a local restaurant, and CMB sweetens the deal by offering the couple a free appetizer, coffee or dessert.