Finding love in 140 characters or less

Looking to date without going broke? As Josey Vogels writes, online dating services are becoming increasingly popular as an affordable strategy for finding love. With the current tough times, some Jennifers are turning to online dating sites to find their match instead of spending money on blind date dinners and drinks at the club.

Taking the idea of affordable dating one step further, the micro-blogging Twitter service MyTweetheart offers users the opportunity to connect with other relationship seeking Twitter users for free. With over 3,000 followers, MyTweetheart shows us that many Jennifers are interested in finding that special someone online without having to spend a lot of money or time to do it.

To sign up for MyTweetheart, users need to send a Twitter Direct Message to @MyTweetheart indicating which gender they would like to connect with. From there, MyTweetheart adds your Twitter profile to their public list of singles. To connect with a MyTweetheart interest, simply follow that person on Twitter and start a conversation.

MyTweetheart is offering dating convenience through the use of social media. To the busy Jen-eration, could we be seeing a new version of speed dating, where singles can search for a match and connect in 140 characters or less? The popularity of MyTweetheart could mean that Jennifers are looking to connect in a comfortable environment catering to the mobile, multi-tasking woman who is used to developing meaningful conversations online. The use of Twitter as a dating site suggests that marketers should be open to the possibility of offering services within Jennifer’s already established social network, instead of requiring her to join a new platform or leave her familiar online world.

What do you think about finding love through Twitter? Are online dating services an affordable alternative to traditional dating, or simply another new media trend? We’ll be watching for your tweets.