Time - Feb. 16, 2004 Elizabeth Biondi wants to be a matchmaker. After a devastating breakup with a boyfriend last summer, the Detroit social worker decided to channel her romantic energy into something constructive. She had always enjoyed setting friends up on dates — why not strangers? So late last month Biondi, 25, hopped on a plane to New York City and enrolled in matchmaking school. Biondi is in good company. Dating services have blossomed over the past few years to become a billion-dollar industry. Though the Internet fueled that explosion, real-life matchmakers with names like Great Expectations and It's [...]

Time Out NY, January 19, 2004 The Institute offers a standardized certification class for newcomers to the field, in which students learn a range of skills. The school also plans to host a database of its graduates. more (PDF)

Wall Street Journal - December 2003 You're at a coffee shop, and you spot a beautiful woman alone at a table. Mustering up your warmest smile, you approach. Her eyes meet yours. Wow! She's even prettier up close. That's when you give her your best line. "I have a friend," you say, "who might be perfect for you." U.S. dating-service businesses are expecting revenue of $1.1 billion this year, up 25% from 2002. But there may be a cheaper way to deliver happiness to the nation's 83 million singles: More of us need to play matchmaker to our friends and [...]