At Drip, patrons sift through more than 19,000 personal ads placed in loose-leaf binders, selecting people through their numbered code. A lunch pow-wow turned into a partnership and by spring 1997, Graham matched Jose's initial investment and the twosome headed a revamped activities service dubbed Social Circles. The service, which organizes outings for singles such as rock climbing and swing dancing, sends its members a monthly calendar detailing all events. Interested parties then contact Social Circles to sign up. The New York-based Social Circles gears all activities towards beginners and keeps their groups small, gender balanced and segregated from outsiders.
Love is big business.
Best of all, many of the 75 million singles in the United States are baby boomers, whose time-pressed lives make them prime candidates for match making services. From a sociological perspective, single people have a greater need today for some sort of formal intermediary in the dating process. They get married later in life so they don't have the thriving social network of the college campus or club scene available to them. They work long hours at demanding careers and have little time to search for a romantic partner. And, finally, due to divorce, many people have to reenter the singles scene after many years of absence.