Not so hot

Newsflash: Not very attractive people are less picky about the looks of their potential dates or mates than attractive people. Make that attractive people who are needy and desperate enough to post their photo on Hot or Not in the hopes of being thought attractive and then check their ratings every hour or so.

Other findings:

• Men were more open to potential dates than women, by 240 percent.
  
• Men were also much more generous in their appraisals than women.
  
• If you were on the receiving end of a request, then the likelihood of accepting increased if other Hot or Not users found the requester to be attractive.
  
• And if you were deemed attractive by the community, then you were more likely to be picky in saying yes to potential dates. For every point lower you scored on the Hot or Not 1-10 scale, the chances of saying yes to a potential date increased by 25 percent.
  
• There was no difference between how attractive and unattractive people rated other users.

Democrats sexier than Republicans

Now that they're in control of Congress.

As one Democratic campaign strategist remarked, “Taking back the majority certainly has its perks. With the shift in power has come a shift in social standing for once-shunned Democratic operatives. It seems everyone from lowly interns to nerdy policy wonks have a full dance card so long as they have a ‘D’ behind their name.”

The strategist added that perks aren’t limited to normal social interactions: “Not only are Dems getting more dates, they are getting better tables at restaurants and they are not waiting in line at exclusive clubs.”

And Glen Bolger, a GOP strategist for Public Opinion Strategies, recently told National Public Radio: “Democrats are sexier to voters than Republicans are now.”

Dollars make dating flaws disappear

John Tierney looks at dating studies and finds that women are pickier than men. Men just insist on a base level of attractiveness, while women have a whole list of requirements when looking for a date.

But money trumps all.

Suppose you’re an ordinary-looking guy whose online picture is ranked around the median in attractiveness. (In the study, the ratings of attractiveness were done by independent male and female observers hired by the researchers.) And suppose you’d like to be as successful with women as a guy whose picture is ranked in the top tenth. Then you’d need to make $143,000 more than him. If your picture is ranked in the bottom tenth, you’d need to make $186,000 more than him.

Similarly, according to the study, a 5-foot-0 guy would need to make $325,000 more than a 6-foot-0 man to be as successful in the online dating market. A 5-foot-4 man would need $229,000; a 5-foot-6 man would need $183,000; a 5-foot-10 man would need $32,000. And if that 6-foot-0 man wanted to do as well as a 6-foot-4 man, he’d need to make $43,000 more.

More here.

Cliffs notes for online dating

E-Cyrano will write your personal essay for you and arrange for a professional photographer to take your picture. And it's just one of many companies offering such services.

“As online dating has gotten more popular, the more people have to do to get attention,” said Mindy Stricke, owner of SingleShots.com, a New York business that has produced 1,000 profile portraits, at prices from $130 to $300. “There’s a lot of anxiety around this purchase because there’s no guarantees. But a lot of people, especially in New York, are willing to go the extra mile.”

Dating makeovers are hardly new. High-end offline dating services have long provided hairstyle and clothing renovations, as well as other help. But the latest twist underscores the frustration felt by some of the 40 million people using Internet matchmaking sites, said Mark Brooks, who follows the industry and author of the blog OnlinePersonalsWatch.com.

“The promise of Internet dating is you plug in your profile and you send a few e-mails and you have got a date,” Mr. Brooks said. “It’s not as easy as that.”