Looking for love through the tangled interwebs

From horses and gaming to boating and mustaches; there is a dating site for you

Modern-day matchmaking involves a lot more personality algorithms and pithy profile answers than little black dresses and pick-up lines.

With more than 100 million singles floating around the U.S. looking for someone to share Valentine's Day with, there is a huge market for helping people find their match.

Online dating sites have been around, in some capacity, since the early 90s but the field has taken off as a lucrative way to build an online community that logs in often. While it is nearly impossible to determine how many dating sites there are on the Internet, especially since so many pop up over night and close shop when they realize how few people want to pay for additional services, analysts average that 25 million to 30 million people use some form of online dating in the U.S.

And dating services are estimated as a market worth $2.14 billion in 2011 that forecasted to grow 4.7% per year to $2.54 billion by 2015, according to a study released this week by Marketdata Enterprises.

That's a big market, all taking what individual friends and matchmakers were doing on a local level and putting it online with the help of personality-matching formulas and the virtual shopping experience. I mean who wouldn't want to fill their basket with prospects as long as the return shipping isn't going to bankrupt you.

Last year, Match.com banked $480 million, eHarmony brought in $270 million, and FriendFinder Networks made $233 million from advertising, fees and other services.

For many year there had been a strong stigma surrounding online dating -- equating it to a seedier version of Penny Saver personals -- but now that everyone communicates, shops and learns from the Internet, the stigma has lessened greatly.

In fact, estimates show that in the next three years, a majority of people will have met a mate for an online forum such as a dating site.

Matchmakers a-plenty

But when it comes to finding an online dating site that works for you, there are so many options to sift through. You have the big recognizable brands such as Harmony, Match.com and Chemistry.com that have grown over the years to become the names in cyber connections -- but now there are so many niche sites that capitalize on a common interest that means a lot to the people involved.

From boating or guns to horseback riding or travel, these specific sites have popped up to help organize people by a major passion in their lives. Now, you may have heard about dating sites for aging baby boomers such as Boomer Cupid, Baby Boomer Passions, and Senior Match or sites for people looking for a mate that shares their religious beliefs such as J-Date, Christian Mingle or Salaam Love, but there are some sites that lean toward micro-niche specifics.

Have you heard about a dating sites that cater only to iPhone users, virgins, Harvard grads, sugar daddies or World of Warcraft fans? In fact, I challenge you to think of a common interest that doesn't at least have a forum for dating on the Web. 

So in the spirit of preparing for Valentine's Day I thought I would introduce those singles out there to what a wide world of dating communities are waiting for them. In the very least, the stuff you find is great fodder for a Tumblr -- I recommend checking out one of my favorite dating blogs: It's Not OK, OkCupid where Esquire editors include little gems found on and messaged to people using dating sites.

10 sites you should know exist:

DateCraft: Gamers are a fun, passionate group and some of the most dedicated are the World of Warcraft players. Datecraft is a way for those that proudly where the title "gamer" to meet others that share the very same interest.  The site's mission is to create a simple, fun, and engaging site which assists a relationships between gamers and video game enthusiasts. You don't have to be a World of Warcraft fans, specifically, but I'm sure you can find plenty of playmates on this site, whatever your game.

SugarDaddie: For younger women looking for successful men that like buying gifts and taking their mates on trips, SugarDaddie has built a site where the common interest is a luxurious lifestyle. Founded in 2002 by Steve Pasternack, SugarDaddie strays away from the freemium model and charges $29.99 per month for males and $24.99 for females and has more than 10,000 users. 

Pasternack told me that the world of niche and micro-niche sites helps people filter the expanses of the Internet to get some of the must-have elements in a mate right off the bat.

"When people turn to the Internet for finding a mate, they really want to be totally honest about what they want and there shouldn't be any problem with that," Pasternack told me. Pasternack is also starting a few other dating sites such as Meetattheairport.com and 7orbetter.com.

Geek2Geek: The time has passed that geek is a bad label -- we are all putting geeks in commercials and watching them bank billions on dorm-room creations so why not organize a dating forum to connect those brains. Geek2Geek has reorganized its personality algorithms to specifically cater to the geek ideals so that people can choose the top three criteria that matters to them in a partner. So whether you are online chatting in your favorite forum or coding your next project, why not meet someone else to head off to the next be conference or convention with.

Surf Date: The outlook on life for surfers is just different. I mean what other sport could you enjoy so much just by scoping out the playing field -- I've never enjoyed looking at a tennis court the way I have checking out the wave conditions. Surf date helps connect surfers that want a dawn patrol paddling buddy or someone to take a surfing trip to Bali with. The site has 447,000+ members and has hundreds of new people joining daily.

Cupidtino: We all have a friend (or many) that are very passionate about their iPhones. It seems to be as much of a characteristic of a person as leisure activities or the school they went to and now there is a dating site for iPhone and Apple product lovers. Available only on the web or iPhone application, Cupidtino is focused on helping people with iPhones meet one another wherever they are.

Kintan Brahmbhatt, advisor to the young company, spoke to me about how the phone a person uses really says more about their personality.

"People that don't just own but are passionate about their iPhone and Apple products usually ascribe to a particular aesthetic," Brahmbhatt told me. "They tend to be in a younger age bracket with creative tendencies and have a higher level of tech interests than the general public."The service is free but fees are attached to sending messages in the application ($4.79 per month -- the same price as a vent latte). The service now has more than 32,000 users and with more than 110 million iPhones circulating out there, the market growth could be substantial if enough people think their choice of phone is a factor in who they want to date. 

StachePassions: This social networking and online dating site specifically for singles with a passion for the mustached (men, I am assuming). From the Dali to the Walrus or even the Pencil, people can group the style of stache that they prefer. Hilariously enough, the site also organizes the users by their experience in mustache culture (who knew) from Newbie to Expert or Stache Groupie. Hey, the hairy need love too.

Yoga Passions: Yoga Passions is a free social networking site of the namaste variety. Whether you are are a beginner or a trained yogi, this platform offers a place to have Yoga chats, read personals and share expertise. 

Alikewise: You can always tell a lot about a person by just sneaking a peek at their bookshelf. But now that many people are meeting online and converting to virtual bookshelves, finding a partner based on their reading list might be a logical next step. Alikewise allows you to find people based on their book tastes, either specifically based on book titles or on subject matter.

DateHarvardSq.com: While some people are interested in meeting college-educated partner, others are more specific in the type of education they want in a mate. DateHarvardSq connects users with Harvard University educated doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, academics and professionals. Founded in 2010, DateHarvardSq is owned and operated by a team of dedicated Harvard University graduates. Interested singles are asked to pay a subscription fee only after they choose to contact a match that they are interested in.

EntrepreneurDate.com: Starting your own company can be extremely time consuming and, from my experience is fairly homogenous, so finding a date can be a challenge. EntrepreneurDate is a member of a larger dating brand called TangoWire, which has more than 50 online dating communities. This site helps to connect different innovators and inventors with its free service.  Maybe even sparking some relationship and business partnerships.

 FYI: I did find one interest with no such dating site dedicated: taxidermy enthusiasts. Now that I've put that factoid out there, its your move Internet.