Online Personals Watch: News on the Dating Industry and Business

eHarmony; IPO Outlook Hot For 2005

THE DEAL -- Dec 30 -- Internet companies pursuing initial public offerings in 2005 can expect a reinvigorated IPO market bolstered by strong investor interest. "The IPO market came alive late in 2004, and these things usually don't flame out quickly," said Tom Taulli of CurrentOfferings.com. "I expect we'll see more filings and more late-stage financing of companies, which typically leads to an IPO." Online personals site eHarmony.com closed a $110 million financing round in December that could be a precursor to a public offering. THE DEAL

Mark Brooks: Matchnet (AmericanSingles.com) is also primed for an IPO.

Craig's Quiet Revolution

MOTLEY FOOL -- Dec 30 -- With people using craigslist as a way to meet others in their neighborhood for free online dating services could suffer. Of course, you can sell your stuff on craigslist, too. Which brings us to the big heavyweight in community-based buying and selling, eBay. Both eBay and craigslist boast loyal communities, although craigslist's can be described as grassroots. Is eBay worried? Well, it did take a 25% stake in craigslist this past summer. What's the secret? Craigslist appeals to the young and hip. It's rebelliously anti-corporate; eBay purchased its stake from a former employee. MOTLEY FOOL

Mark Brooks: I wondered how eBay laid their mitts on 25% of Craigslist. Anyone know who the former employee is?

CatholicSingles.com; Give the Gift of Love and Fellowship

MARKET WIRE -- Dec 29 -- CatholicSingles.com, the original and largest Catholic online singles community, announced the launch of its new gift membership program.  Prices vary from $9.95 a month to less than $7.00 a month.

Mark Brooks: Religious sites are doing quite well as a niche.  BigChurch and ChristianCafe.com are the Christian online personals leaders.

Couples Match up Thanks to eHarmony

POST-GAZETTE -- Dec 28 -- eHarmony has nearly 6 million users and 10,000 reported marriages. ...Based on Warren's 35 years of empirical study on successful marriages. The initial sign-up survey takes about two hours to fill out. POST-GAZZETTE

Mark Brooks: Success after success...so why doesn't eHarmony update their home page photos of successful matches more often? I see photos from couples married in 2003.

Online and lovelorn? Call in a Coach

ST PETERSBURG TIMES -- Dec 25 -- Internet dating coaches have emerged in recent years to help struggling singles navigate the labyrinth of dating sites. Many have marketing backgrounds and are turning to strategies they used to sell products to help people sell themselves. Put out the wrong message, little wonder you attract the wrong type of person. ST PETERSBURG TIMES

Mark Brooks: There's help for writing profiles; e-cyrano, profiledoctor. Help with photos; LookBetterOnline, DatingHeadShots. It takes time to find good matches and get them to commit to a date so niche service companies are developing around this need as well.

Couples Matching Preferences Changing

OMAHA WORLD-HERALD -- Dec 27 -- Sociologists at UCLA found that even a $3-an-hour increase in a woman's "premarital wages" boosted her candidacy in the "marriage market." "Men's preferences have changed over time," said Megan Sweeney (co-author of study published Journal of Marriage and Family). "They want someone to contribute to the economic support of the family." Studies have documented that men are contributing far more hours each week to housework. Sweeney's study is part of a growing body of research showing that married men and women are more alike than they were several decades ago, sharing similar educational backgrounds and job experiences. OMAHA WORLD-HERALD

Mark Brooks: Sociologists must be having a field day. One of my favorite books on the subject of the changing preferences of pre-marrieds is Urban Tribes by Ethan Watters.

Online Dating Liars

FALLS CHURCH NEWS PRESS -- ...She came across an older gentleman who claimed he had a Rolls Royce. The suitor shows up at her house in a rusty Ford Taurus. The woman asked, “What happened to the Rolls Royce.” “Look hon, you misunderstood me, I said I’ve got a car and it rolls.” Experiences such as this have led to a dramatic revenue slowdown this year for online dating services. I believe the main reason online dating has peaked is because people are tired of meeting liars and weirdoes. At least in a bar you can usually figure out if someone needs a shrink within five minutes. ...There is only one group of people that isn’t desired by anybody - Liars. So, here is a New Year’s resolution that I think millions of people should consider: “I will not fib on the Internet.” FALLS CHURCH NEWS PRESS

Mark Brooks: Friends can vouch for their friends on Friendster by writing testimonials. This helps build trust - one of the reasons Friendster has been so popular. True.com uses Rapsheets to do background checks so at least women can be more assured they're not meeting a married man or ex-con.

Dr Warren on Long-Distance Love

THIRD AGE -- Q. How much time should you spend with someone in person before deciding to relocate? A. Create as many opportunities as possible for face-to-face interaction before either of you move. Visit each other under as many different circumstances as you possibly can. Wait as long as you can afford to wait and gather as much information from as many different circumstances as you can before you propose marriage. THIRD AGE

Mark Brooks: Go on a road trip.

Silicon Valley VC Firms Invest $110 Million in eHarmony

SAP INFO & MERCURY NEWS -- Dec 22 -- Matchmaking Internet site eHarmony has landed a $110 million investment from two Silicon Valley venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures, scoring one of the biggest funding deals of the year. Analysts said the total market for Internet personals is estimated to be about $450 million a year, making it the largest category of paid online content. But growth rates are slowing. Spending for online personals grew at 4% in Q2 of 2004, compared with 60% in Q2 2003 and 376% in Q2 2002, according to the Online Publishers Association and ComScore Networks. EHarmony said it has almost 5.8 million registered users and is profitable. Its sales in November were up 264% from the same month a year ago. Analysts said eHarmony would likely use a big chunk of its funding to continue its advertising blitz, including regular spots on radio and television. "These guys are spending every penny they can to brand themselves,'' said Nate Elliott, an analyst from Jupiter Research. "It's helped them go from nowhere to near the top of the pile in a short amount of time.'' SAP INFO & SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Mark Brooks: This helps validate eHarmonys approach. The future is in helping people find great matches.  "Who to marry," is the most important decision we make in our lifetimes.  Most people get it wrong.  We need help! True and PerfectMatch are the other top online dating companies branding on personality profiling.

Barry Diller Splits Expedia and IAC (Match.com)

NY TIMES -- Dec 21 -- InterActiveCorp, the Internet travel, retailing and ticketing company controlled by entertainment mogul Barry Diller, announced Tuesday that it will separate into two publicly traded companies. The company's shares surged on the news. Expedia will include Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire and other travel sites. IAC will include Ticketmaster, Home Shopping Network, LendingTree, Citysearch, Evite and Match.com. The proposed deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2005.

Mark Brooks: IAC continues its business streamlining!

Degreedate.com Launches

PRWEB -- Dec 21 -- Degreedate.com launch announced today. The service is the first in a cluttered market of predominantly one-size fits all dating services; Degreedate.com is entirely focused on bringing together educated singles.

Mark Brooks: Go on most online dating sites and you can search for degreed singles. However, on most sites, non-degreed singles can contact you. The higher priced communities (i.e. eHarmony)tend to pull a more professional crowd.

JDate's Matzo Ball on Christmas Eve

PRNEWSWIRE -- Dec 21 -- JDate today announced it will present the Matzo Ball, a chic and fun Christmas Eve party, in 13 cities across the U.S. and Canada to a number of the continent's trendiest clubs.  JDate was established in 1997 and today has over 600,000 members. Approximately 300 engagements and weddings result from JDate introductions each year.

Mark Brooks: It takes a lot of effort to put on these kinds of events.  They're difficult to justify based on ROI bucks.  But, great events are great for word of mouth marketing.  I think we'll see more events activity from online personals companies in 2005.

For Millions of Singles, New Year's Resolutions Start With Finding TRUE Love

PR NEWSWIRE -- Dec 20 -- This survey is part of a three-month study of the phenomenon known as the Holiday Blues conducted by TRUE in partnership with the popular publication Psychology Today and Dr. Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire in the UK.  Gifts are Important.  More than 65% of respondents ranked not receiving a gift from a significant other as the moment they're most dreading this holiday season, while 21% said hearing annoying questions from their families about settling down is the moment that brings them the most trepidation.  Dr. James Houran, Ph.D., relationship expert and chief psychologist at True.com, offers tips to help singles stay on track with New Year's resolutions. 

Mark Brooks: It's great True.com is contributing to these kinds of academic studies.  The Univeristy of Hertfordshire is my alma mater!

Q: Where have all the men gone? A: They're hiding

THE UK INDEPENDENT -- Dec 19 -- Speed-dating - where it is possible to meet two dozen potential partners in a single evening - has proved so popular with groups of single women there are not enough events to cope. But unless male interest can be doubled, expansion will grind to a halt. One company thinks it has the answer, though. The Single Solution has just started marketing their "sugar mummies" - well-off women who are happy to pick up the bill. "They are women who have got lots of money from a divorce and they are happy to pay," said the company's Kirsty Jones. "And, not surprisingly, loads of men are queuing up to meet them." INDEPENDENT.co.uk

Mark Brooks: Speed dating events are typically hard to fill with males aged 40 and older. Same deal on the younger end for women. It's hard to find enough twenty something women. The top USA speed dating events companies are PreDating, Hurrydate and 8 Minute Dating.

Charity Work Helps Singles Find their Future Mates

MERCURY NEWS -- Dec 19 -- Philanthropy is the theme of Meeting For Good. All you have to be is single and looking and willing to volunteer with local Bay Area charities. Members can choose from activities that range from serving at soup kitchens to helping out at homeless shelters to working on educational projects for kids. SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

Mark Brooks: Would be great to have a nationwide Meeting For Good service. We have online personals sites for pet lovers, republicans, big and beautifuls, how about a community for singles who like to give their time to charity.

Cherish.com; Raises $15 million

BUSINESS WIRE -- Dec 7 -- CGI Holding Corporation today announced that the Company has raised gross proceeds of $15.05 million through a private placement of its common stock and warrants. "We expect to extend our leadership position in online and traditional advertising and marketing, driven by our search engine marketing, online dating, and other complementary businesses," said Chairman T. Benjamin Jennings.

Mark Brooks: CGI owns Websourced, Keyword Ranking, Cherish, and other online properties. 

Match.com Selects Ten Most Influential Moments in Dating for 2004

PRNewswire -- Dec 16 -- Match.com today named its selections for the most influential dating and romance moments of 2004. - In the dating criteria specified by single women, income has become less important when choosing a mate.
- Seniors click with online dating.  On Match.com alone, senior membership has tripled since 2000. - Farewell Sex and the City; parting line..."The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself.  And if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." - Women are more comfortable than ever when it comes to making the first move in dating situations. - Same-sex marriage ignites a national debate. - Online dating achieves mainstream status. 

Mark Brooks: Online dating loses it's stigma this year...and growth slows.  Social networking, personality profiliing, singles events...what's going to drive growth in 2005?

Meetic; European Leader for Online Dating

PR WEB -- Dec 17 -- Meetic is the European leader for online dating (source Nielsen October 2004 #1 Meetic : 1.5 million visitors in October). The French dating site launched in early 2002 by Marc Simoncini will open up to 4 additional countries in the coming weeks: Poland, Ireland, Greece and Portugal and will now be present in 15 European countries.

Mark Brooks: Meetic has a respectable 3500 Alexa rank as well. In comparison, the top US focused online dating sites see over 5 million uniques a month.

FriendFinder Launches LesbianPersonals.com

BUSINESS WIRE -- Dec 14 -- FriendFinder Inc., the world's largest online dating network, today announced the launch of LesbianPersonals.com, an online dating destination focused on enabling women to pursue their romantic and sexual interests online. With over two million active members, LesbianPersonals is already the world's largest online personals and swingers community for alternative-minded women.

Mark Brooks: Dr Conru has been creating targeted online personals communities since 1996. He's up to 19 dating sites now. ItalianFriendFinder was the last community. FriendFinder Inc OWNS the adult online dating space with Alt, AdultFriendFinder and Outpersonals. Comscore, Nielsen, Hitwise; let's see the stats for these sites in your online personals roll-ups please.

MySpace Emerges as Social Networking Victor

SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW -- Dec 16 -- The (social networking) trend started with the fatally successful Friendster, which became slow and unwieldy as the site’s traffic grew beyond its capacity. Friendster began losing its enthusiastic participants to Tribe.net, MySpace and other competing networking sites. These days, it would seem that MySpace has emerged the victor. Its appeal lies chiefly in the fact that users’ profile pages are highly customizable--video clips, music, custom backgrounds and fonts. MySpace admins are doing their best to enforce the site’s no-nudity rule. (It would seem to be a losing battle.) Reynoso gave up his personal MySpace profile when he began spending hours a day online. He now concentrates solely on his band page but there are still times when he gets sucked down the MySpace rabbit hole. “You see a good-looking girl, and you click on her pic. And then you see another good-looking girl on her friends list, and you click.” SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW

Mark Brooks: MySpace reached the ultimate social connectors -- musicians and DJs. Then they allowed them to express themselves musically and graphically on MySpace. Then they came from 'left field' and trumped Friendster.