qHarmony: Like Playing Twister in a Leper Colony

Your friendly neighborhood Gay Place has gone national again, this time with a piece appearing on 365gay.com about online dating giant eHarmony's new Compatible Partners, their new gay-match sister site. The new site was launched yesterday as part of a 2008 settlement with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General to dismiss a discrimination suit.

Back in November, when news of the settlement hit, I was a bit taken aback by the ensuing blog hysteria. Not just from queers, but from conservatives who once admired the homosexually challenged dating service. People on all sides of the political spectrum were really pissed about the "forced" creation of Compatible Partners. Like my divorce mediator said (OK, this was a lifetime ago…), "If both sides are pissed by the end of this, I've done my job." It's the nature of compromise, no?

I thought, Oh, for Christssakes, it's not like eHarmony is being forced to play Twister in a leper colony. I mean, it's just us; gays are everywhere. What's the big deal? Plus, the company actively negotiated the settlement, nothing was forced on anyone. If they really didn't want to enter this new market, I wondered, why didn't they fight?

Anyway, I was offered an exclusive interview with the CEO and took it. I would be so honored if you'd check it out.