Online dating community raises $6 million

San Francisco-based, Zoosk, snags some cash and looks to hire

30% of the MySpace staff was let go today.  Maybe those who lost their jobs can send resumes over to social dating network, Zoosk, which just raised $6 million in funding from return backer, Canaan Partners.

Zoosk has a slightly different approach at helping users find the love of their lives online.  The San Francisco-based startup runs an application which spans across all the top social networking sites like Facebook, Bebo, Hi5 and...well...MySpace.  The cool thing is people looking for a quick date don't have to limit themselves to Facebook users only if they are using that app, Zoosk allows its users to connect across multiple social networks.

Seeing some major traction, Zoosk has rapidly grown from 16.5 million users in January to more than 30 million in June of 2009.  Because of this growth in userbase, Zoosk says its revenues have grown tremendously and surpassed expectations.  The company makes money through premium memberships, advertising and the sale of "Zoosk coins," its online currency which can be used to purchase virtual gifts.  

Why not make Online dating feel a little more natural?  Music and movies are a part of dating, right?  Zoosk recently integrated Netflix and Last.fm APIs so users can find out if they have similar tastes.

The company plans to use this third round of funding to further accelerate market share growth worldwide, grow its team and continue product innovation.