An interesting piece of legislation is now blasting its way through the chambers of the Maryland legislature. This legislation threatens to lay waste to Internet social networking as we know it, if not for the inclusion of one solitary line of text.

While it appears honorable and well-intentioned on it's face, Maryland's HB65 (pdf file) is meant to place severe restrictions on the practice of international marriage brokering. If signed into law, the bill will place strict and deeply invasive disclosure requirements on the clients and providers of international match making services. This legislation does not bode well for the likes of eHarmony and Match.com.

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Facebook Saved by One Line of Text originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Feb 2010 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GM may be facing bankruptcy, but Match.com, the online dating service, had 20% more members sign up this past December than the year before. Followers of the sector won't be surprised -- rival site eHarmony recently did a study and found that traffic to its site tends to move in the opposite direction of a flagging Dow.

So, at a time when people are cutting back in so many other ways, what causes them to put themselves through a process that can be painful, awkward and expensive? Don't they have enough on their minds without worrying about what to wear and how much to lie about their age?

Dr. Michael Cunningham, a psychologist, says that when people are going through tough times, they want someone to be with, someone who understands their concerns. Connecting with someone new can be a great source of support and that can feel good.

Besides, it seems some people may be using the dating services not only to find a mate but to look for a job. Someone who's out of work may even consider a "lunch dating" service, for example, at a time when career counselors advise doing everything you can to "put yourself out there" and "broaden your network."

So the next time you're feeling down, instead of spending more fruitless hours trolling the employment sites, try logging onto Match.com instead. Maybe you'll get lucky.

Sex and money: Match.com traffic up 20% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will Spark Networks break investors' hearts? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.