3 Beyond the obvious use of the internet, what contribution can other new media make to dating agencies' marketing and their service delivery? By Sylvia Rogan In 1970, the twentieth ‘Carry On’ film featuring, of course, Sid James and Hattie Jacques was released. In

'Carry On Loving', Sid and Hattie run a dating agency called ‘The Wedded Bliss Agency’ which aims to bring together the lonely hearts of Much-Snogging-in-the-

Green using a computer, which is completely bogus. To advertise the agency, the owner, Sid, produces a pamphlet called ‘The Wit to Woo’ and the strange collection of hopefuls desperate for romance leads to some outlandish matches and plenty of mayhem.

The technology might have evolved, and the marketing become more sophisticated, but the needs and the fears of the lonely hearts are the same as ever. As with The Wedded Bliss Agency, how can we be sure of the authenticity of any agency currently being advertised?

There has been a tremendous growth in online dating agencies and chat rooms in the UK as they are easy to set up and require very little maintenance or manpower.

No expertise, experience or even interest in the field of dating is required and they are cheap to set up, as the overheads in terms of offices, equipment and staffing are very low. Also, for those with little knowledge of computing, off-the-shelf software can be purchased.