Over the past decade, more and more South Asians spread across the world are opting for
The young professional today is leading a hectic life…one that is filled with stress and long work hours. There is too much to do, and too little time. Social circles have shrunk over the years; with the only window left for socializing being the weekend. And really, how many people can you meet in a span of two days? Office colleagues have become the circle of people we hang around with the most, so how wide is the scope of finding that special person and making a match? No one has the time, and even if they have done, no one has any energy left to look for their soul mates after a grueling day at work.

Here is where a service like online matrimony comes in. Its convenient, it gives you the widest choice possible and it can be done sitting in the privacy of one's cubicle. Today when professionals across the world are spending 10-12 hours at work every day, online matrimony brings them the option of looking for a partner right on to their laptops and PC's. In the last few years a number of websites have cropped up which offer their services, but one name, which remains synonymous with matrimony, is Shaadi.com. Ever since the service was launched in1997, the website has brought together over a million matches across continents, cultures and countries. In its 10th anniversary year, Shaadi.com is celebrating a decade of helping people find the joy and bliss of marriage, and has become the face of online matrimony.
The popularity of Shaadi.com - the World's largest
Abhijit, an NRI based out of Dubai, who met his wife, Dhara on the marriage portal, says, "I have and will continue to recommend Shaadi.com to others. I feel that online mediums like Shaadi.com are better than the typical arranged marriage, since they give you the benefit of time to actually get to know your partner before you agree to the marriage, unlike the latter where exterior preferences are given much more importance, rather than the person itself."

But didn't people like Abhijit, who logged on to an online matrimonial portal to look for a life-partner ever feel skeptical about the security aspect of the website? Weren't they scared of information misuse? Maybe they were, but once they registered with the site they were comfortable with the security features on the Shaadi.com.

In a simple process of gathering information, Shaadi.com research team carefully scrutinizes the data filled in by the user, both for public consumption and for internal usage purposes. Any content, which they find inconsistent, abusive, or inappropriate, is filtered out of the system. In addition to that once a member registers, Shaadi.com sends them a mailer updating them about the security benefits they can enjoy on the site. It tells them to use simple guidelines to protect their information from being misused.

It also helps to know that apart from the manual screening and the security tips, Shaadi.com has the support of a number of accredited, external security certifications from India and abroad. For example, Shaadi.com was the first website ever to receiveTRUSTe Certificationwhich enables organizations to establish trusting relationships based on respect for personal identity and information by promoting the use of fair information practices. The site also hasVeriSign Certificationwherein the online payments and credit card details on Shaadi.com are absolutely safe.

With constant innovation and the introduction of newer concepts like Photo Security where each photo is screened and stamped with a Shaadi.com logo and coded in such a way that nobody can simply right-click and download photograph, Shaadi.com has been proving that it really does hold the user's security in the highest regard. With the same view, a service called Shaadi SEAL was launched where Shaadi.com not only screens the profile but also obtains documentary proof for the key information provided.

While all these measures go a long way in helping safeguard a member's interests, it is also true that some of the responsibility to make the site safe for them lies in the hands of the members themselves. One should use common sense at all times; don't do anything you wouldn't do in real life. Don't accept people you are sure about, don't share your details with them. If something still bothers a member about a certain individual, at Shaadi.com; one is just a click away from letting the authorities know of any level of undesirable activity on the website. The person needs to click on the 'Report Abuse' icon and the 24-hour Customer Service team promptly takes up the issue with the concerned authorities

Theten-year celebrations of Shaadi.comare not just for the existence of a brand that today represents the online matrimonial market; rather the festivities are for the evolution of an identity that is today trusted to be the modern platform to meet one's ideal life partner on. In the last ten years, Shaadi.com has moved from strength to strength, reinstating its leadership in its industry, setting benchmarks and being the innovators in the online matrimony space.