Online Personals Watch: News on the Dating Industry and Business

Business 'Social' Networks; Expand Your Enterprise

WALL STREET JOURNAL -- Jan 31 -- Sites like Friendster.com let users meet new people through their friends on the network -- in effect, a mutual friend provides an introduction. As the popularity of these sites has boomed, more people have realized that online networking can also be useful for business purposes. Making new business contacts is the third-most-popular feature of online networks -- after contacting friends and looking for jobs -- says Nate Elliott, an analyst at Jupiter Research, a unit of Jupitermedia Corp. of Darien, Conn. A total of 15% of all online users are interested in using networks to make business contacts.

Mark Brooks: I highly recommend the business network leaders LinkedIn.com and Ryze.com. OnlineBusinessNetworks.com is good guide.

Online Dating Offers Way to Meet Variety of People

THE EXPONENT -- Jan 31 -- Online dating puts one in contact with people one wouldn't normally meet in the routine of everyday life. If one is dreaming of an Australian mate or a beautiful Brazilian, online dating may help find the exact match. The drawback, of course, is that the Australian bloke may actually be a Hoosier from Muncie that is married with kids. So before buying the plane ticket to Sydney, make sure online image matches offline reality. FULL ARTICLE @ THE EXPONENT

Mark Brooks: Hook up the webcams to see people in real time. A photograph isn't quite enough if one is considering treking half way around the world.

Match.com Launches National Print Campaign

ADRANTS -- Jan 31 -- A new national print campaign, created by Hanft Raboy, introduces the theme line "Love is complicated. Match.com is simple" to "capture love's mystery and complexity." The ads will appear in People, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker and other publications. Soon to follow is a multi-million dollar national television campaign that is slated to break in March. Larger images of the campaign can be seen here and here.  ADRANTS BLOG

MeetUp; Virtual and Real Worlds Unite

BOSTON GLOBE -- Jan 30 -- Enabled by the New York technology company Meetup.com, they are this year's Friendster for the networking set. More than 2 million people have registered for meetups somewhere in the world. It makes its money primarily by charging $5 a month for ''premium accounts" that let meetup members e-mail each other, view enhanced profiles, and upload photos of meetup events.  The only categories banned from organizing with the meetup technology are hate groups and so-called ''adult" groups.

Mark Brooks: Pierre Omidyar of eBay also invested in this company.  MeetUp is a great community service.  They have no real direct competition as yet, besides the likes of Yahoo Groups.

Is Marriage Healthier for Men Than for Women?

THIRD AGE -- Jan 27 -- Dr John Gray -- Studies have shown that, overall, married men are mentally and physically healthier than single men. The reverse, however, is true for married women in unhappy marriages.  Women attempt to stay engaged in a discussion while their husbands begin to withdraw or "stonewall" -- leading wives to feel frustrated and even more stressed. In difficult marriages, that continual heightened stress produces physiological responses in women than can lead to poorer health.  Venusians need to recognize that their mates need time and space to cope with and resolve conflict.  FULL ARTICLE @ THIRD AGE

More Men Are Becoming Gold-Diggers

NEW KERALA -- Jan 28 -- "Now that women are sharing a majority of both college degrees and professional jobs, they are getting a taste of something else that used to be a male-only province: gold-digging dates," a report in the Wall Street Journal said.  "Many women are surprised to find their earning power has become a magnet for the opposite sex."  Research by Megan Sweeney, an assistant professor of sociology at the UCLA, shows a trend towards higher-earning women marrying at higher rates.  Match.com, a dating web site with 15 million users, is seeing a rise in men who specify that they want to date only women above a certain income level.

Mark Brooks: Rising costs of housing in high cost of living cities such as New York and San Francisco are most surely driving this trend.  Also, until online dating came along, guys had less visibility into the incomes of their potential wives.  Now guys have some visibility. 

Survey Pairs Wine With Personalities

PRNEWSWIRE -- Jan 28 --  The Australian Wine Bureau and Match.com polled more than 2,300 single men and women nationwide and found that 62% believe that their date's choice of beverage provides insight into their lifestyle, and 52% felt that it is indicative of their personality. 

Internet Dating Advice

THIRD AGE -- Jan 27 -- In 1727, Helen Morrison, a lonely spinster in Manchester, England, placed the first lonely hearts personal, advertising for a husband in the local weekly newspaper. In response, the town mayor committed her to a lunatic asylum for a month.  Internet dating is here to stay, and it's only going to grow.  Just like bars or clubs, different sites tend to attract different types of people, but that isn't often obvious until you've read a number of profiles. Make sure your profile serves you well.  Be honest when creating your own profile, and keep your radar up when reading others'.  FULL ARTICLE @ THIRD AGE

Mark Brooks: Dr Andrew Conru created one of the earliest online personals ads in 1994 when he added his post to webpersonals.com, which he later sold to a company that was eventually rolled in to what is now Lavalife.  He then went on to create the FriendFinder sites in 1996.   

Battle for Supremacy Among Leading Online Relationship Sites Heats Up

BUSINESS WIRE -- Jan 27 -- Online relationship sites devoted to serious relationships are  attracting millions of new members. This burgeoning market segment will continue to attract interest, investments, and members in 2005, and the two companies poised to capitalize on this trend are PerfectMatch.com and eHarmony.com. "eHarmony has done a very good job at educating the market about the differences between a dating site and a relationship site," said Duane Dahl, founder and CEO, PerfectMatch.com. "They've spent a tremendous amount of money, but money doesn't necessarily mean success for eHarmony's members. We are gaining ground quickly." 

Mark Brooks: The holy grail of online dating = finding a truly compatible match (whatever your preferences might be).  The three big psychological profiling based online dating players are eHarmony, True and PerfectMatch.  I'll be profiling the PhD's behind these sites shortly.  Yahoo, Match and FriendFinder offer optional profiling as well, but a minority of their users have taken the profiling tests. 

Reinventing Online Love

CBSNEWS -- Jan 27 -- As they face cutthroat competition several top sites have overhauled their online dating experience, and up-and-coming companies are wooing people like the marriage-minded, the security-conscious, and the religious. All in all, the changes may be turning online dating into a friendlier world. Video and audio links offer singles the opportunity to see and hear one another before the traditional coffee date. Compatibility surveys aim to match people who have similar outlooks on life and love.  From the beginning of 2001 to the end of 2003, customer spending on the sites rocketed from $8 million to $117 million.  But in Q2 2004 spending was stagnant at $114 million. 

Mark Brooks: A typical date costs $50-$100.  Most online dating companies charge $20 a month.  Money is being left on the table.  Expect to see more innovation, premium service offerings and overall improvements in the online dating user experience.  The focus needs to be on saving time and improving the quality of matches.

Dating by Degrees

CALIFORNIA AGGIE -- Jan 26 -- With a tagline of "Where Brilliant Minds Meet," DegreeDate is set to launch Jan. 31. to target college-educated Internet users. "I believe interest and financial stability are going to be dictated according to someone's education," said Perlman, who created the site in response to the frustration he found using other online dating services.  FULL ARTICLE @ THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Mark Brooks: Most other online dating sites give users the ability to search on education level.

A Single Soldier is Just One Click Away

PRWEB -- Jan 26 -- A new breed of dating sites has emerged on the online dating scene. The Military Dating Network is part of a growing trend of online dating sites focused on specific niches rather than one size fits all. One site that features many other military dating sites is single-in-the-military.com. Here you’ll find other sites focused specifically on military singles and their admirers.  FULL RELEASE @ PRWEB

Love in a Modem

LEHIGH JUNIVERSITY PAPER -- Jan 23 -- It was an especially horrendous experience last year that made me practically swear off men forever. I had the worst freshman year ever because of one guy. But, to the point of my article, I found solace in a place where many people wouldn’t think of going: I went to the Internet. Online dating has lots of perks. You don’t have to worry about that awkward face-to-face contact typical of a first meeting. If you don’t like someone, it’s really easy to drop off the face of the earth. You can search for someone who has the same interests as you — none of that guesswork. You get to know the person based on personality first — not looks. FULL ARTICLE @ THE BROWN AND WHITE

Mark Brooks: This student went to Match and Yahoo Personals. MySpace, TheFaceBook and HotOrNot have captivated many younger online personals users.

Internet Creates a New Venue for Cheating

WILLIAMSPORT SUN-GAZETTE -- Jan 25 -- Across the country and around the world, people are increasingly caught up in a trend of cheating on the Internet via e-mail, instant messaging or adult Web sites. According to Dr. Dan Egli, a licensed psychologist in Williamsport, “no question about it. Internet cheating is one of the most common forms of unfaithfulness for a married couple today. It’s cheating and no different from meeting someone in a bar.”

Mark Brooks: Many of the adult dating sites have 'discrete relationship' categories. The top adult personals sites are AdultFriendFinder, Sexsearch and Eroticy. New entrant Ashley Madison Agency actually caters to cheaters.

Blow a Virtual Kiss this Valentine's Day on DateMyPet.com

PRWEB -- Jan 25 -- "Date Me, Date My Pet." The DateMyPet site was launched on September 2004, and has continued to grow in popularity. Datemypet.com offers light-hearted virtual flirting techniques such as the Virtual Kiss and the "how cute is my pet?" survey. It is not uncommon for animal lovers to find themselves with a mate or partner that is intolerant of their love for their pets i.e. "I hate your dog"s drooling", "I"m allergic to your cat" and "I"m afraid of horses". Perhaps this Valentine"s Day will find couples horseback riding, kitty adoring, and doggy walking, among other ideas for shared enjoyment!  FULL RELEASE @ PRWEB

Mark Brooks: AnimalAttraction is another interesting pet/dating site.

College Dating Game

NORTHERN STAR -- Jan 25 -- It has become increasingly difficult for the youth to find places to congregate. Online relationships definitely have the advantage of being convenient. The Internet used to be a scary place to meet strangers. Now it seems to be one of the few ways which we can transcend the obstacles we face in our day-to-day social lives. Online communities may not be the perfect solution to the communication barriers of our generation, but they sure are a great start.

iDate 2005 Photos

OPW -- Jan 24 -- The online personals industry signature conference was a grand success again this year.  Industry execs from eHarmony, Cupid, Date, True, FriendFinder, Community Connect and local Miami mover and shaker WebDate rubbed shoulders with mid sized players such as MingleMatch and ChristianCafe.com and smaller players such as PlentyofFish, DateMyPet and MyeMatch.  Periphary services companies such as LookBetterOnline and SafeDate, and advertisers such as MetricsDirect joined the tour de force.  The convention enjoyed double the attendance of 2004 in it's plush new quarters at the Wyndham Resort Miami.  Please post comments if you attended.  Here are the photos from iDate 2005

Friendster, Love and Money

NY TIMES -- Jan 24 -- Fifteen months ago, Friendster enjoyed the kind of enviable status that Silicon Valley start-ups dream of: A-list investors and millions of users. The company endured three chief execs during 2004 and has seen a spate of senior executives depart in recent weeks. A younger, flashier rival called MySpace has eclipsed Friendster and Friendster loyalists have groused that the company has done almost nothing to enliven its site. Reid Hoffman (of LinkedIn), another early Friendster investor, agreed that the company frittered away its sizable head start over the competition. Last summer, the company hired Mr. Sassa a former NBC executive taking over from Timothy Koogle, an early Friendster investor and former Yahoo chief exec, who ran the company after the board lost faith in Mr. Abrams. FULL ARTICLE @ NY TIMES

Mark Brooks: Jonathan did a stellar job of observing the real world and emulating social group interaction online. I'd love to see Jonathan take the Product Development reigns. Seems MySpace has outfriendstered Friendster.

PlanetOut On the Record

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- Jan 23 -- Lowell Selvin, CEO of PlanetOut, the Web portal for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, with 3.3 million users, navigated PlanetOut through an IPO in October 2004, netting $41.6 million.  The funds will be focused primarily on products, features, technological investments and to expand internationally.  This is an under-served market -- $600 billion in buying power in the US alone. PlanetOut reaches 3.3 million out of roughly 15 million adult gays and lesbians in the US and 260 million adult gays and lesbians in Europe, Latin America, Asia and North America combined. We're just scratching the surface.  FULL ARTICLE @ SFGATE

Online Dating is on the Wane

TWIN CITIES PIONEER PRESS -- Jan 21 -- E-dating revenues rose 73% in 2002 and 77% in 2003. For 2004, the growth slowed to 19%. Spending on online personals dipped during the first two quarters of this year to less than $114 million, compared with $117 million in the last quarter a year ago. Some companies are cutting employees. One fast-rising site chose not to go public. It seems people who jumped into the game with enthusiasm now talk about disillusionment with the people they met who were nothing like what they expected. Women say some men were married or just window-shopping. FULL ARTICLE @ TWINCITIES

Mark Brooks: 19% sounds like a pretty healthy growth rate to me.