Sweet and Casual Review

Overview of Sweet and Casual

SweetandCasual.com is a Casual Dating Site designed around Chat and Video to bring people together to flirt, date, or hook up.

One of my favorite features on this site is the Smart Match. They use your personal info (interests and preferences you provide the site in your profile), search, and dating activity to learn more about what you like. They use this info to show you members you’ll be interested in. This is a new technology some dating sites are using and I think it improves the dating experience. If your searches or interests change, the program changes, too.

My least favorite thing about the site is that it isn’t fully free – even if you buy a membership, you have to upgrade to a VIP membership to get the full benefits and experience. This isn’t a surprise, as dating sites and casual hookup sites are rarely free, but the membership structure is a bit of a headache.

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Features and Activities

SweetandCasual gives members a lot of ways to communicate, search and play on the site. This is a big deal – I don’t see many dating sites getting both the tech and the social aspects right.

  • Home – This is your default landing page. It has the features you’ll use when you’re online. This is where you will see notifications, chat alerts, and access your dash.
    • Inbox – Your inbox will show a notification when you have a new message. It will also store past messages. The better membership packages offer longer storage for your chats, and the ability to interact with more people. The VIP membership lets you chat with everyone. I don’t like the different membership levels for communication and permissions. Some of them are confusing, but ultimately, the best deal with most perks is the VIP Upgrade if you want to message people on the site. You can’t use your Inbox if you can’t message anyone…
    • New Members – Members who are new to the site.
    • Your New Matches – These are matches that SweetandCasual suggests for you based on your preferences, previous searches, and site activity. This is where the Smart Match Tool applies.
  • Browse – Look through members by category or view people you’ve interacted with. Choose to see people who are:
    • New – Shows new site members.
    • Online – Shows members who are Online Now and have not hidden themselves. You can choose to remain Offline if you prefer to browse the site privately.
    • Matches – Shows people the site suggests.
    • VIP – Shows VIP Members. You can view these members, but can only interact with them if you have Upgraded to a VIP Membership, in addition to Paid Membership. Consider this section a preview to try to get you to Upgrade if you haven’t done so already.
    • Admirers – People who have Winked at you or Liked your profile.
    • Favorites – Members you have Liked and who have Liked you in return.
    • Visitors – Users who have visited your full Profile to learn more about you.
    • Blocked – Use the Block feature for any member, for any reason. You may even want to block people you know in real life if you are dating discreetly or already in a relationship. This is a feature I appreciate. While I love online dating, there are definitely people I don’t want to interact with more than once… or ever. If you change your mind, you can Unblock them.
  • Profile – See your profile info and edit it as you see fit. The information you give on your profile helps the site find matches for you. Even if you are just using the site to chat with someone or find a hookup, you should fill out your info so your Matches are relevant.
  • Chat – Voice Chat or Video Chat with other users. You can only do this if you have paid for a membership, and even then, you can only Chat with VIP Members if you are one. This is where they nail you down because not being able to chat makes the site kind of hard to use for actual dating.

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  • Inbox – This is where your messages are stored.
  • Flirt – This is a feature that suggests a potential flirt for you based on your preferences. The site keeps track of the Top Flirts of the Week.

Memberships

The free membership on SweetandCasual.com gives you access to basic features of the website, like search, browsing, and accepting messages. If you want to enjoy the site, date, or hook up, you need to upgrade to paid. The structure for upgrading on this website is more complicated than some others I have used.

If you plan to get a paid membership to the site, it is best to buy the VIP add-on as well. There are so many features on here that you can’t use if you don’t upgrade, so my suggestion is to either stay free and just browse the site or to upgrade to a full VIP Membership. Otherwise, you are paying for a service and still not getting access to all the best parts.

The six-month plan is the best deal. Adding the VIP to the Gold Plan is still cheaper each month than the monthly recurring plan. It saves a substantial amount to pick the longer plans, but they are also billed on sign-up, so it is a higher upfront cost.

Upgrade Options:

1-month membership at $39.99/month

3-month membership at $29.99/month

6-month membership at $24.99/month

Summary

SweetandCasual.com is a quality dating site – I’d pay for it again (and already have). It isn’t glitchy or full of spam and links out to other sites. It runs like a social media site. They review and validate profiles, have good security, and the site always seems busy.

The winning features of this dating site are the Search Function and the Smart Match. The way they work together makes it easy to find Matches. Casual Dating and Hookup Sites are busy. There are a ton of them online, and it can take forever to sift through profiles on the sites, especially on the sites that are slow, don’t have great features, or take you out to different sites with bait and click or pop-ups every time you try to click on the next page. The Smart Match makes this whole thing easier, which is relieving for someone who spends a lot of time on sites that are a nightmare to navigate, much less enjoy.

My least favorite things about the site are the Membership Structure, as I think it could be simplified, and the lack of a Status Update feature. A lot of the new dating sites have Status Updates, and those lend a community feel to the site. You can get to know other members before sending a private message. I’d love to see them add that in the future.

Dating Buddies Review

Overview of Dating Buddies

Datingbuddies.com is a Casual Dating Site designed to help people meet local singles or date online. You can Flirt, Message, Voice Chat, Video Chat, and Date. I think the site does a good job of catering to a new generation of online daters. People want different things. Not everyone wants a relationship and not everyone wants a hookup. This site lets you find people without the hassle of trying to weed out people who just want a quick hookup and people who want to find someone for a serious relationship. Apart from the good work they’ve done with the advanced search and organising the site, they’ve also managed to make it fun. It’s a very busy dating site with a ton of new members and regulars. I love this site – it’s probably one of the best dating sites I have reviewed in a while.

One of my favorite features is the Smart Match technology DatingBuddies uses to make the search and site relevant for members. They use the personal info you give in your profile, your preferences, searches, and site activity (likes, winks, flirts, chats) to learn about what you like. The Smart Match program uses the info to show search results, flirts, and members you’ll be interested in. If you want a Local Single Blonde, you can find it. If you want a relationship with Black Christian Singles, you can do that, too. This is a newer technology some of the best online dating sites are using and I think it improves the dating experience. If your searches or interests change, the program adjusts, too. You can always still search for people outside your normal preferences by using the Search Bar.

The biggest critique I have for this site is that it is not a fully free dating site. You need a paid membership to use Messaging, Voice Chat, and Video Chat. In order to interact with VIP Members, you need the VIP Upgrade on top of the Silver or Gold Membership.

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Features and Activities

The Dating Buddies Site focuses heavily on direct communication vs social media/public communication. There’s no Status Update or Community Forum. This is designed to help you reach out to people one on one (or two on one if you’re looking for a local threesome or couple). You can use the features to Flirt and reach out, or to Message and Chat directly. It is a big deal for me that they got the communication tools down so well. It isn’t very often that I review or use sites that let you get right to a Fast Online Chat, but also have good tech features and a site that isn’t scammy and glitchy.

  • Home – This is your default landing page. It has all the features you’ll use when you’re online. This is where you will see Alerts, Chat Requests, Messages, and access your Dashboard for activities or to Browse by category. If you want to do a Search or Advanced Search you can do that from here, too.
    • Mail – There is an Envelope or Mail Icon that will alert you when you have a new Request to Chat or Message another member. It will also store your past Messages. The paid membership packages offer longer storage for your Chats, and the permission to see and interact with more people. The VIP membership lets you Message anyone and keep your Chats indefinitely. I don’t like the different levels for communication and permissions. Some of them are confusing, but ultimately, the best deal with most perks is the Paid Plan + VIP if you want to Message people on the site at all.
    • New Members – See who’s new to the site. There are a LOT of new members all the time, so this is a feature I like because I can see new profiles and reach out to them right away. The flip side of a busy site is that there is a bit of fighting for attention.
    • Your New Matches – These are matches that the Smart Match feature comes up with for you based on all the info you give and your site activity.
  • Browse – Look through members by category or view people you’ve interacted with. Choose to see people who are:
    • New – Shows new site members.
    • Online – Shows members who are Online Now and have not hidden themselves. You can choose to remain Offline if you like to play on the the site in private.
    • Matches – Shows people the site suggests as Matches.
    • VIP – Shows VIP Members. You can view these many of these members (not all), but can only interact with them if you have Upgraded to a VIP Membership, in addition to Gold or Silver Subscription. If you aren’t a VIP Member, this section a tease to try to get you to add it.
    • Admirers – Members who’ve Winked at you or Liked your Profile.
    • Favorites – Mutual Likes and Winks.
    • Visitors – Members who have visited your full Profile to learn more about you.
    • Blocked – Use the Block feature for any member who is harassing you or making you uncomfortable (or any other reason, you may want to block people you know if you are dating discreetly). This is a feature I really appreciate, and I like that I don’t have to search for it. While I like chatting and dating online, there are definitely people I don’t want to interact with more than once… or ever. If you ever change your mind, you can Unblock whenever you want.
  • Profile –The information you give on your profile helps the site find matches for you. Fill it out completely so the Smart Match can do what it does so well.
  • Chat – Voice Chat or Video Chat with members. You can only Chat if you have paid for a Gold or Silver Package. You can only Chat with VIPs if you have also added the VIP to your Profile. This is where they nail you down for the Full Membership because not being able to chat takes away all the site’s best features.

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  • Flirt – Shows people to Flirt with, based on the info the Smart Match tool collects. The Top Flirts of the Week are on the Home Page of the website. This is a cool feature because it can be harder to get noticed or have Flirts returned on busy sites like this. The Top Flirts are the members who have interacted and Flirted the most, so if you’re active onsite, you have a chance to get featured on the Home Page.

Memberships

The free membership on DatingBuddies lets you use basic features, like simple Search, limited Browsing, and reading Mail. If you want to use the various Chat features, see all the Members when you Browse, and connect with anyone you want, you need to upgrade. The choices for upgrading on this website are a little more complicated than some others I have used.

If you’re going to get a Silver or Gold Plan, you should really just buy the VIP, too. There are so many features on here that you can’t use if you don’t, so my suggestion is to get a full VIP Membership so that you’re getting the most for your money. If you can’t connect, there’s really no point to using a dating site, especially paying for it!

The six-month plan is the best deal, and even adding the VIP plan makes it less per month than the monthly paid plan. They are also billed when you sign up, so it is a higher cost upfront. If you prefer making payments via phone, you can do that, too.

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Member Upgrades:

1-month membership at $39.99/month

3-month membership at $29.99/month

6-month membership at $24.99/month

Summary

DatingBuddies.com is one of the Best Free Dating Sites I have reviewed, even if it isn’t really free (spoiler: none of them are). It functions like a social media dating site, centered around Messaging and Chat. They have a good system for reviewing and validating profiles, getting rid of trolls and fake accounts, good site security, and the members are really active.

The winning feature of this site is the Smart Match. It makes it much easier to find people you’re attracted to, members who are looking for the same kind of interaction or relationship you are and weed out the members you have no interest in. This saves a lot of time, chatting with people who want something different and sifting through profiles of people who aren’t your type.

My least favorite things about the site are the Membership Structure, as I think it could be simplified, and the lack of a Status Update feature. A lot of the new dating sites have Status Updates, and they make the dating sites really fun. They become a place to hang out and chat with others, even if you don’t want to date them. It also gives you the advantage of seeing how people interact and talk before you start a one-on-one chat with them. I’d love to see them add that in the future.

Overall, DatingBuddies.com is designed well, runs well, and is worth the money if you are willing to purchase the Membership and VIP. If the VIP add-on is not in your budget, I’d suggest you try a one-month or three-month plan to see if you like the site before making a six-month commitment. I ended up getting the six-month membership because I like this site so much.

Art and Tricks of Online Flirting

Many of the same things work for online flirting that work for “brick and mortar” flirting and all relationships begin with successful flirting.Many of the same things work for online flirting that work for “brick and mortar” flirting and all relationships begin with successful flirting.

Flirting is an art that requires oozing confidence without being OTT. If you go too far, she will label you “slimy” If you don’t go far enough, she will label you “wimpy”.So how do you achieve that point half way between slimy and wimpy and do it online without using eye contact or body language?All you have is a computer an internet connection and membership in an online dating site, right?

  1. Have fun! Be light-hearted, funny and entertaining. Make her eager to talk to you again. Flirting is playful.
  2. Ooze confidence. Successful flirts have a positive outlook on life. You need to transmit the “feel good” factor.
  3. An optimistic attitude attracts females like honey attracts flies.
  4. Compliment her…and do it often and sincerely. Nothing opens doors like making her feel good about herself. She will want to spend more time with you and if she pays you a compliment say “thank you”. Do Not be self depreciating.
  5. Listen…listen….listen. Pay attention to what she says and ask appropriate questions. Get her to open up and talk about herself. Make her feel like she is interesting and that you are interested in her. Works wonders!
  6. Don’t be rude. Flirting does not include being sexually explicit nor taking offence if the lady isn’t responding to you. If she isn’t interested, take the hint and move on to the next prospect. If you get a lot of rejections, you should probably consider a different approach.
  7. Send an email after you chat. This ranks right up there with sending a thank you note for a gift and it is vital to successful flirting.

Again, Don’t try to go too fast. Flirting is the first step to a successful relationship.