Online Dating Service Web Sites and HCI

The link below regarding online dating appeared on my Yahoo email home page.
The headline caught my eye and I followed it:

I pasted in the first three paragraphs from the article. If this isn't
the epitome of HCI than I don't what what is. Of course the desired end
result is a person to person relationship, but these online dating sites
have to be extremely sophisticated in order keep someone coming back for
three months and eventually result in some level  of success. I wonder
what the success ratio really is.

Sal
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Online dating: The technology behind the attraction:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9127711&source=NLT_AM

(hopefully the link will work)
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When Joe wanted to find love, he turned to science.

Rather than hang out in bars or hope that random dates worked out, the
34-year-old aerospace engineer signed up for eHarmony.com, an online
dating service that uses detailed profiles, proprietary matching
algorithms and a tightly controlled communications process to help
people find their perfect soul mate.

Over a three-month period last fall, Joe found 500 people who appeared
to fit his criteria. He initiated contact with 100 of them, corresponded
with 50 and dated three before finding the right match. He's now happily
in a relationship, and although he was skeptical at first, he says high
tech played a big role in his success.
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