Online Personals Watch: News on the Dating Industry and Business

Mercedes-Benz USA and Match.com Pair Up for SpeedMatching Event

MONTVALE, N.J., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ - Mercedes-Benz USA and Match.com teamed up to host a "Wheels of Attraction" event, the first-ever SpeedMatching event on wheels in new Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Each participant at the event took several potential mates for a spin to help determine if they could find love behind the wheel...."Two of my dates opened the car door for me which made a great first impression. I'm hopeful I'll get second dates. One guy was a little aggressive behind the wheel which made me nervous," noted Sheila Shteyrenberg, age 38 of Miami Beach.

eHarmony Celebrates Four-Year Anniversary

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2004--eHarmony, the Internet's premier relationship service, marks its fourth anniversary, having grown to more than 5 million users, with over 6,000 marriages and hundreds of thousands of relationships..."It's interesting to observe how the industry is now seeing what I have known all along: that mate selection is a very complex process," said eHarmony's founder, Dr Neil Clark Warren.

Official Apprentice Profiles on Friendster

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Friendster today unveiled the official profiles for all 18 candidates from this season's NBC hit reality show, 'The Apprentice'....an innovative way for entertainment programs to reach out to viewers over the internet and encourage fans. LINK "Millions of Friendster users will have the chance to express their enthusiasm for their favorite candidates via Friendster and share their opinions with their friends. As a huge fan of 'The Apprentice', I will be one of them," said Jonathan Abrams, founder of Friendster.

$7 Million Funding to Fuel PerfectMatch

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 2004-- Series B round of funding for more than $7 million. Led by Ignition Partners with additional funding from Mellon Ventures. "The site combines decades of real, proven methods from a renowned relationship expert, resulting in DUET, a unique matching method that utilizes a Myers Briggs-type 'compatibility' indicator. HOOVERS

China; Relaxing a Taboo with Intimate Sex Survey

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is conducting its first nationwide female sex survey...organized by the Chinese Institute of Sexology and Chinese Medical Association via Sina.com...A smaller survey a decade ago concluded that 50% of Chinese women did not experience orgasm during sex...Attitudes toward sex relaxed after China began Western-style market reforms in 1978, unleashing a boom in adolescent dating, adultery, prostitution and other kinds of promiscuity.

SpotMeeting; Innovative Location-Based Singles Network

TORONTO, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ - ...After logging in with a valid e-mail address, subscribers have access to SpotMeeting's Location-Based Singles Network (LBSN), enabling them to make contact with other singles in their immediate vicinity - securely and instantly. By giving access to other singles in proximity, SpotMeeting generates more face-to-face interactions, which ultimately result in more matches...SpotMeeting(TM) is the first and only provider of Mobile Proximity Dating...SpotMeeting will also address four key underachieving applications in the mobile industry: LBS, WAP/WAP-Push, Text-Messaging and WiFi hotspots.

Match.com Survey; Politics and Dating

DALLAS, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Single Americans are happy to mix love and politics, according to a Match.com survey. 63% are open to discussing politics on a first date...57% indicated they are open to marrying someone who holds political opinions significantly different from their own...At 80-million strong, America's single voters may play a decisive role in this year's Presidential election.

Friendster Hires Former AOL Exec to Lead Ad Sales

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Friendster, a privately held Web site that links friends for dating and activities, on Monday named Charles Barrett (AOL, Yahoo) as vice president of sales, overseeing all aspects of advertising sales. Friendster is eyeing advertising as a way to make money.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- ...Charlie will oversee all aspects of advertising sales. His first initiatives will include building a world-class national ad sales team and creating new revenue producing programs. In addition, he will also be responsible for ad operations.

Online Dating's Creep Factor

Tues August 24, Motley Fool -- MatchNet's recent IPO filing hinted at what I have suspected for some time: Online dating, once viewed as the realm for losers and geeks, has become a regular part of Internet social life...Increased transience and demanding schedules make it hard for singles, and the bar scene gets old. Moderns get married later, leaving lots of time for dating around. Last, our woefully high U.S. divorce rate leaves many re-released into the field...Two out of five singles have tried it...MatchNet would have been the first publicly traded online dating pure play in the U.S...Since 1999, MatchNet's sales have grown 460% to $36.9 million...InterActive is planning its own foray into social networking...There seems to be demand for complex psychological profiles -- enter eHarmony and True.com...It's likely perceived that people will pay more for real "matching," which eHarmony and True both claim to provide. Hold your criticism: many users probably feel the higher prices insinuate users who are more serious about "real relationships." So, if MatchNet decides to revive its scuttled IPO filing later -- or if the other privately held contenders decide to go public themselves -- my advice would be: Look out, investors; when it comes to this industry, you may have to kiss a lot of toads.

Lavalife Mobile; Color, Picture Wireless Dating

NEW YORK and TORONTO, Aug. 23 /CNW/ - The newly enhanced full color, graphic premium WAP(x) version of Lavalife Mobile allows members to seek out and exchange messages with other active singles wherever, whenever, conveniently using their mobile phone... "We are excited to build on the success of Lavalife Mobile, by offering an enhanced color, picture version of the service," said Lavalife CEO Bruce Croxon... $4.99 a month subscription service.

CGI Holding Announces Acquisition of WebCapades

DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 2004--CGI Holding Corporation  has acquired WebCapades which owns several online dating and relationship web sites. WebCapades has grown steadily, achieving gross revenues and pre-tax income during the first six months of 2004 of $3,264,717 and $1,535,095, respectively.   CGI paid $3.5 million in cash, 1,904,762 shares of the Company's common stock, and $1.2 million of promissory notes.

Love.com Survey; Olympic Dream Dates

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 2004-- While Olympic medal hopes may be over for men's beach volleyball player Dain Blanton, American women have given him the gold according to a new survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for love.com. The men chose beach volleyball maven Misty May as the Olympian they would most like to date.

udate.com Sexiest Olympians Survey

DALLAS, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- In a survey commissioned by online personals site udate.com, swimmers Amanda Beard (26%) and Michael Phelps (42%), both known for their head-turning good looks, topped the list of sexiest American Olympians.

Interoffice Romance Survey Results

NEW YORK, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Forget speed dating or Internet personals; love may be lurking just a cubicle away.  41% of employed Americans ages 25-40 have admitted to having engaged in an office romance, according to a joint survey of 1,747 adults aged 25-40 sponsored by GLAMOUR magazine and lawyers.com.  Romance among peers are widely accepted (75%), relationships between management and subordinates are still considered unacceptable. Only 14% say dating one's own manager is acceptable.

eBay Acquires Minority Interest in craigslist

SAN FRANCISCO & SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2004--eBay has acquired a preexisting minority ownership interest in craigslist of approximately 25%. The resulting relationship will allow eBay and craigslist to share expertise, resources, and creativity on behalf of online communities everywhere. With dedicated sites in 45 cities around the world, craigslist is an online meeting place for millions of people looking to share ideas, meet a friend, find a date, find a job, or locate an apartment.

Florida Becomes Fourth State to Support TRUE's Safety Campaign

DALLAS, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Gaining further support for its national legislation campaign that seeks to protect online daters from interacting with sexual predators and criminals, today TRUE announced it has secured legislative support in a fourth key state -- Florida...State Rep. Kevin Ambler is the sixth lawmaker to embrace...TRUE's proposed safety legislation requiring all online dating services to conduct felony and sexual offense background searches on their members.

PlanetOut Postpones IPO

San Jose Mercury News / AP, Thurs 12th Aug -- PlanetOut postponed it's IPO due to unfavorable market conditions. "Given the current difficult market for IPO's, we feel the appropriate value of the company would not be realized," CEO Lowell Selvin said. The SF company hasn't withdrawn it's registration but will continue to evaluate the timing of a share sale.

MatchNet Withdraws Plans for IPO

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- MatchNet has withdrawn plans for it's U.S. IPO citing a faltering market for Internet-related IPOs. It will reconsider an offering next year. Todd Tappin, president and CEO, has resigned, but will remain on the company's board of directors. The company announced the appointment of David Siminoff (Stanford MBA), who has served on MatchNet's board since February, as its new CEO. ...will focus on the core business and put in place a cost reduction initiative and eliminate about 40 full-time or temporary positions, effective immediately.

Webdate Expands Wireless Services

MIAMI, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Webdate today announced that it has introduced a new Java version of its popular mobile webdating service, expanding availability to customers of AT&T, Cingular and T-Mobile wireless services. Webdate Mobile offers mobile searches, profile browsing, messagingand chat.

Date.com Poll: Women More Likely to Snoop than Men

NEW YORK, NY, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ - In the new film, Little Black Book, Brittany Murphy's character engages in some high-tech snooping on her new boyfriend. Based on this scenario Date.com asked its members: Have you ever snooped on your partner? 22% of women answered: "I have snooped, and found out information that ended the relationship." Only 14 percent of men chose the same answer.