Rumours have been flying around the online dating industry about the company Userplane, sofware vendor for dating websites, and its current status. A week ago the first rumblings appeared, with no official confirmation that Userplane was going out of business. Phone calls, emails, even visits to the company's headquarters have only produced silence.
Userplane provides a high number of communication platforms to a lot of online dating sites, and in addition to the changes that occurred after the company was purchased by AOL, it may have been the industry's mixed feelings about instant messaging that helped cause the plug to be pulled on Userplane. Some users like the fact that a dating site's Instant Messenger system allows for quick chats with someone new, without the need to share email addresses. Other users, in particular women, found themselves constantly being messaged for chats to the point where they were turned off the whole online dating experience.
With the gap that will be created with the official removal of Userplane's services, other companies will move in. One company in particular, Toksta, has already taken the first step in filling the gap by offering free trials and discounts to current Userplane customers if they switch to Toksta.
The demise of Userplane will cause some inconvenience for users and businesses alike as things get shuffled around and companies that are using Userplane's services find a replacement. But a longer lasting effect may be the future of Instant Messenger and online dating. Other major online dating sites have stopped using IM because of some of the problems associated with this application. Is there a place for IM and online dating sites across the board or will it become a specialty service that only a few sites offer? Once Userplane closes its doors officially, the full impact of this change will be more measurable and the future of Instant Messenger will be clearer.
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