Sept. 29, 2002 - While Internet dating has revolutionized courtship for the young, hetero online majority, it has had an even greater impact for those whose sexual proclivities overflow the banks of the mainstream. And businesses big and small are working hard to turn each and every one of these matchmaking tributaries - no matter how small - into rushing rivers of revenue.
Though still no match for the top general dating Web sites, the alternative or adult sector - the "naughty niches," in the quaint words of one market researcher - has become a major matchmaking market. And like its straight-arrow sibling, it is a very profitable one.
"I'm in a female dominated profession, I live in a bucolic setting and . running into a tall, smart, well-endowed man at my local Home Depot isn't a reality for me," said Marsha, a 45-year-old-plus divorcee who has met dozens of men through ads placed on adult personals sites since her decree was issued four years ago.
"It's not like you can just go out and meet someone at a bar who's into BDSM (bondage and sadomasochism)," said Dianna Vesta, Web mistress of Femsupreme.com and Fetishnetwork.com.
That explains why, unlike the mainstream dating sites where attracting vast numbers of eyeballs is the goal, the alternative sites aim to thrive by narrowing their focus to create like-minded "communities" devoted to an individual sexual practice or a certain demographic.
The sites run the gamut from those that might make grandma shudder - sites devoted to previously unimagined fetishes or porn-personals, for instance - to communities who might number granny among their members - such as a dating service devoted to senior citizens or a geographically based community.
"When we started Friendfinder early in 1996, we found a lot of guys were posting profiles that were more risqué than we wanted on the site," recalls Andrew Conru, a pioneer of online personals who created what is believed to be the first dating site, WebPersonals.com, in 1993. "We started out deleting them, but then we recognized Adultfriendfinder."
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