A Friendlier Way to Date Online

By Heather Won Tesoriero

If you're an SBF or a DWM looking for love but think online dating is rather creepy, Friendster.com might allay your fears. The site enables you to meet prospective dates exclusively through your friends. It works on the six-degrees-of-separation principle: Jon invites you into his network, you invite your friends, they invite theirs, and so on. (Note: Friendster stops at four degrees.) The whole group can then peruse one another's profiles; no strangers allowed. With 268,000 members from San Francisco to South Korea and a weekly growth rate of 20%, Friendster has to work hard to keep up with demand. Currently still in beta form, the site is free, but when it's officially launched in the next few months, a subscription fee will be charged for certain features. Founder Jonathan Abrams, 33, whipped up the Friendster concept when he found himself single and put off by the vast and anonymous Internet dating pool. "With Friendster, you have this filter," says Abrams. "The people you're exposed to are more likely to be of interest." While reports of Friendster love connections have trickled in, Abrams is still single. "It's growing so fast," he says. "I don't have much time for dating." --By Heather Won Tesoriero