One year you're on top:

"In the first half of 2003, Americans spent $214.3 million on personals and dating sites—almost triple what they spent in all of 2001. Online dating is the most lucrative form of legal paid online content. According to comScore Networks, which monitors consumer behavior on the Internet, 40 million Americans visited at least one online dating site in August—27 percent of all Internet users for that month."


- Love in the Time of No Time, by Jennifer Egan, The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 23, 2003.

The next, you're hitting rock bottom:

"Evidence is appearing that after years of rocketing growth, the online dating industry is drifting to earth. In 2002 the industry's revenues rose 73 percent over the previous year's, according to industry reports, and in 2003 they grew again by 77 percent. This year the growth has cooled, relatively speaking, to 19 percent, and tepid increases are forecast for coming years."


- E-Dating Bubble Springs a Leak, by Alex Williams, The New York Times "Style" section, Dec. 12, 2004.
Love in the Time of No Time [NYT Mag, via jenniferegan.com]
E-Dating Bubble Springs a Leak [NYT]