Online Personals Watch: News on the Dating Industry and Business

OPW Exclusive Interview #4 - PerfectMatch's CEO

OPW CEO Interview -- June 1, 2005 -- Duane Dahl is CEO of Perfect Match and the former CEO of Kiss.com and Udate, which were acquired by Match.com/IAC.  Perfect Match is eHarmony's most direct competitor.  It's the only other top tier dating site that requires all it's users take a personality test.  - Mark Brooks

How is Perfect Match different from eHarmony?
Dr. Neil Warren has done some excellent things within the Christian ministry and his Christian oriented publications.  However, he doesn't hold a candle to our Dr. Pepper Schwartz.  We've made Dr. Schwartz available and accessible to our PerfectMatch.com members, which we believe is key.  Neil, on the other hand, is a spokesperson who appears on TV and that's all he is.  Our vision has been to leverage experience and expertise for the good of our members through several Dr. Schwartz vehicles:  Her Q&A, chat, monthly column, etc.  Also, we do not condone exclusionary practices.  I think people want to know how people are being matched.  People are starting to question the matching.  If you're going to discriminate, you need to be up front and disclose why you're discriminating.

How does your matching philosophy differ from eHarmony?
Transparency is the key.  eHarmony has a black box approach.  We’ve worked very hard to create a matching algorithm that members can actually use, benefit from and work to their advantage.  Take a look at the True.com test.  They contracted doctors to come up with a test.  It's a good test on a poor site.  We want to put our members in a position to impact results. We encourage our members to review results of their tests and identify with those they had relationships with in the past, so they can get an idea of who would be a good match for them in the future.  Also, wouldn't it be nice, while users are waiting for their matches, for them to be able to search the database freely?  On PerfectMatch.com that’s a highly prized option.  On eHarmony, you just wait for someone else to decide your future.

What are your thoughts on the progression of matching technology?
It's still very, very early days in the business.  I think the business has grown so quickly,  the technology hasn't been able to keep up.  As the space evolves, it's going to become more specialized...more member centric.  We make sure every single one of our members has the ability to have their profile reviewed on the site.  There are millions of members who don't quite get it and they need assistance.  So, we have a comprehensive 10 point review, from photo selection to the content in their profiles.  This review is available with our standard membership.  It's very important to make sure the membership is educated and someone takes the time to teach them what works and doesn't work.  We've developed our own leading-edge technology to have our member services team review all profiles.  We're constantly reinforcing to our membership 'they're not alone here.'  A few years back we saw a Jupiter report and most online personals members were on three or four sites.  The reason?  They don't really know how to use online dating.  They're just going to three  or four 'bars' at different times of the week.  We're making sure our members can leverage the vast experience we have, and greatly increase their odds of success.

Do you really think you can trounce eHarmony?
I have no doubt.  For us, my team got back into the space so we can compete and win.  We are actively seeking out partners.  Every time we compete with eHarmony on a proposed deal, we win.  Sitting back and looking at it, why are we winning?  We're not spending more money.  We are, however, willing to go beyond traditional ads and be creative.  Major brands will not work with eHarmony in this regard.  If I can be in situations head-to-head for business development, I love that.  Christian content is just not mainstream.  We look forward to crushing eHarmony.

eHarmony doesn't favor webcams?   Does PerfectMatch favor them?
A few years ago we thought webcam usage would ramp pretty quickly.  One of the difficulties is the inability to audit what is going on in a community.  This is why many sites have struggled.  The same goes with recorded video.  We just don't have time to review it all.  Also, when we work so hard to build a brand, the last thing we want is a someone uploading inappropriate content. 

eHarmony excludes homosexuals.  What’s PerfectMatch’s position on homosexuals?
We never have and never will judge our members.  We built a community to allow people to find sincere relationships, so of course, we allow individuals to pursue same sex relationships.  I find eHarmony's exclusion of homosexuals almost as appalling as the notion of them excluding people who've been married a couple of times...because the assumption is they never will be happy in a relationship.  To me, it’s absolutely laughable for some 70-year-old guy, who is sitting on the king’s throne in Pasadena, to judge men and women in this culture in such a way.  Relationships go bad.  But, that doesn't mean these people are not worthy of ultimately finding love.  It's really ridiculous. 

What does the future hold?
We're very excited for the online relationship and dating spaces.  Some exciting things are happening at both sites.  Dating sites like Yahoo Personals and Match, but we're still troubled with True's approach, though. We would like them to get away from the business of having to use suggestive female photos to drive members.  I think that hurts both the dating and relationships space.  We remain very committed and excited about the future.  We’re there to compete and win.  And, when we win, our members will win, by finding that special person. 

Mark Brooks: After the interview Duane gave me a heads up on the following upcoming Dr Phil show...

"Finding Your PerfectMatch, June 3rd on Dr. Phil Dr. Phil wants to help make some love connections! Along with PerfectMatch.com, he's setting the entire studio audience up with their "perfect match!" Then, he kicks off "The Dating Game" ... Dr. Phil style! See what happens when Bree, who's been unlucky in love, quizzes three bachelors who are supposedly right for her and then chooses her man. And, Dr. Phil sends two singles on a date that will test their true compatibility ... as future parents. If you haven't met the partner of your dreams, find out what you could be doing wrong."

Crazy For You - Here's the Scan to Prove It

SYDNEY MORNING HERALD -- May 31 -- Scientists believe Love could be mistaken for psychosis.  Scientists have for the first time produced brain scans of people in the first stages of love and those who have been rejected and concluded that romance is a biological urge distinct from sexual arousal.  Writing in The Journal of Neurophysiology, the scientists from New York and New Jersey said romance was closer in its neural profile to drives such as hunger, thirst or drug craving than to excitement or affection.  However, as a relationship deepens, the neural activity alters slightly, and in some cases primes those areas involved in long-term attachment.  2500 brain images from 17 college students who were in the first weeks or months of new love were analyzed. Last year, scientists in Atlanta reported that they could turn promiscuous male voles into stay-at-home fathers by activating the areas highlighted in the new study.  You can almost imagine a time where instead of going to Match.com you could have a test to find out whether you're an attachment type or not.  FULL ARTICLE @ SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

Therapists Guide to Finer Points of Online Dating

MANITOWOC -- May 31 -- There’s a right and wrong way to approach online dating. Clinical psychotherapist Diane Berry shares common mistakes and tips for success in her new book, “Romancing the Web: A Therapist’s Guide to the Finer Points of Online Dating.”   She sets a one-month rule of thumb and recommends e-mailing each other for about a month, then moving to telephone contact for about a month. 

Mark Brooks: Two months before meeting?  I'd have chewed off my left leg in that time.  Good advice for women...Guys will have a hard time with that kind of advice.  A quick meet at the local Starbucks is the way to go, after a couple weeks of IMing and a week of talking on the phone.

Why MySpace Is the Hot Place

BUSINESS WEEK -- May 31 -- Only 20 months old, MySpace has 14 million uniques a month. Friendster started three years ago and has 1 million uniques. "We're crushing it," says MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe, 39. Bands can create their own home pages, with photos, tour dates, and as many as four songs -- all for free.  Now, MySpace has become something akin to the hippest bar in town.  They need to boost revenues, which come largely from ads from companies ranging from Procter & Gamble to NBC. Complicating matters is rising competition from Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL who are moving into social networking.  Yahoo (112 million) plans to launch Yahoo! 360 this fall.  MSN (88 million users) launched 'Spaces,  in April, and signed up 10 million users in a matter of weeks.  Blake Irving, VP for MSN communications says it will offer e-mail, instant messaging, and social networking all in one place. "I think people will want one digital profile that says: 'This is my digital self.'"  These networks are part entertainment -- a substitute for TV.  Myspace is developing into a powerful way to reach 16 to 30 year olds, one of the most sought-after and elusive demographic segments.  Friendster, with its smiley-face logo, has focused on fostering safety and trust. MySpace has let its members do whatever they want.  FULL ARTICLE @ BUSINESS WEEK

Mark Brooks: I know, I know, yet another article on MySpace...but it's Business Week already!  Friendster still has shot at stealing back some of it's thunder.  I will interview the new Friendster CEO, to try and get some insight on his plans, for a feature on OPW at the beginning of July.

Tell-All Sites Put Online Dater Profiles to Truth Test

WASHINGTON POST -- May 30 -- There's a handful of new Web sites that are making it their business to let users review their online dates.  "This dater takes great photos, but when you meet face to face, he's small and skinny. The face is the same, but none of his photos show his true size," says a typical posting.  Singles, be afraid. Be very afraid.  Truedater launched in January.  Visitors can input online identities from Match, American Singles, Yahoo Personals and JDate and search for reviews that'll tell them if, say, Lovinit62 isn't quite the six feet he claimed, or if Cutedoctor14 seems longer in the tooth than 32.  Helpful links take you to the target's profile with a button click.  The site's basic question: whether the person reviewed is a "truedater," i.e., truthful in his or her self-portrayal.  Match.com's Kelly  says, "a free-form venue to discuss people is interesting.  That does seem to be something that consumers want to do. But you have to be real careful about violating people's privacy."  Opinity.com launched last month as an "online and social reputation services company," also guards its information carefully.  "We don't let users browse the reviews," says CEO Ted Cho. "This is not for fun."  Users can rate other people online under the categories of commerce (say, a seller on eBay) , community (a voice on a Yahoo message board), gaming (a player of Ultima Online) or dating.  FULL ARTICLE @ WASHINGTON POST

Mark Brooks: This idea may well catch on.  Bodes well for Truedater.com.  How will they make money though?  Background check add-ons perhaps?  Advertising?

MSN to Offer Social Networking Tools, Says Exec

INQ7 -- May 29 -- After offering users more ways to connect with the launch of its blogging service, MSN Spaces (8.5 million users), Microsoft is now looking at adding more social networking features to its current suite of communication solutions,  including MSN Messenger.  Adrian Lee, lead for MSN Southeast Asia’s Information Services, said we are witnessing a “generational shift in the way we communicate.” MSN reaches 180 million users on Hotmail and 155 million users on MSN Messenger.  FULL ARTICLE @ INQ7

Mark Brooks: MSN (and Google) on one side and MySpace on the other.  Friendster has it's work cut out.

New Spin on Background Checks and Photo Verification

PRWEB -- May 28 -- Getogethersafe members can choose to do background searches, free of charge, but are only allowed access to specific information which would keep them safer.  Users are encouraged to use law enforcement databases  (such as Bureau of Prisons) where records can be perused for previous criminal interaction of potential suitors.  False picture posting is also discouraged through a picture rating 'check and balance' system.  Rating cannot occur until a special client password is supplied, following a first date.  This causes the client to actually have visual contact, which induces most participants to post real pictures to the site. 

Mark Brooks: If users are inclined to do background checks wouldn't they rather pay a few bucks more and have the site do the background check for them.  Interesting photo check system, but how many users will actually remember to bring their passwords on a date.

Senior Couples Adventure on the Internet

MONTEREY HERALD -- May 27 -- Four years ago Paul Henry (now 82), 50 pounds overweight, twice widowed and alone. A few hundred miles away in Carmel, widow Jen-Chi Anderson (now 83) had an empty house and an empty heart.  They cast their nets worldwide on the Web and soon the sweet tones of a modem heralded the beginning of their octogenarian affair. They met face-to-face three months later and were living together within a year.  "When you get up near 80," Henry said, "you don't mess around."  The spirit of their relationship -- sweetness spiked with humor.  Despite their differences, Henry and Anderson are members of a growing club: senior citizens who are going online. According to the Pew Internet & American Life project latest survey, 27% of seniors were wired.  "It might be a bit surprising for people your age, but we have a real love affair," said Henry. "I don't feel like I'm in my 80s."  Henry has lost 50 pounds with his partner's help. FULL ARTICLE @ MONTEREY HERALD

Teledildonics - Just Between Us Girls

WIRED -- May 27 -- When dorkbot decided to host a presentation for its members about the current state of teledildonics, they asked Violet Blue to step into the spotlight for a hands-on demo of the Thrillhammer, the first commercial teledildonic sex machine, housed at the Museum of Sex in New York.  While Blue has written articles and lectured on the history of teledildonics, this is her first public demo.  One of the factors hindering the development of internet-facilitated sex is that no one has yet figured out how to serve a basic consumer level, although HighJoy and Sinulate are both trying hard.  Tribe should make social-networking with a really easy interface for anonymous sex that involves teledildonics.  FULL ARTICLE @ WIRED NEWS

Mark Brooks: Might be time Woody Allen made a sequel to Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex.  I'll keep an eye out for the first (adult) online personals site that is 'teledildonics enabled.'  Lest we forget, online dating sites are in the business of love...which means, by default, we are also in the sex business.  Public sex awareness is becoming ever more open, and sites like www.passion.com (a FriendFinder co-brand of AdultFriendFinder) are reaping the reward.

Court Puts Kibosh on 'Lonely Housewives' Spam

AFP NEWS AGENCY -- May 26 -- US regulators obtained a court order shutting down a spam operation that sent out millions of e-mails urging recipients to "date lonely housewives." The operation violated nearly every provision of CAN-SPAM.  A federal court froze the assets of California-based Cleverlink Trading and Real World Media which control more than 180 websites including wiveswhocheat69.biz and hookuptomorrow.com.  Messages look like they come from an internet dating service containing lonely housewives who want casual sexual relationships.  In a four-month period alone, the defendants took in nearly $700k in membership fees.

Mark Brooks: Ashleymadison.com ("when monogamy becomes monotony") specialises in hooking up married people.  An abhorrent but very profitable niche.

Online Dating Help for Jewish Gays

LA INDEPENDENT -- May 25 -- Enter qjew.com, an online dating service that caters solely to Jewish gays.  “I went on tones of dates,” recalls the Founder, Shubert, a New York native who moved to Los Angeles in 2002 to work in the entertainment industry.  Making its debut in March, the free online dating service — the first of its kind catering to Jewish gays — created with former college comrade Mickey Rapkin has largely met with success, averaging 15,000 hits a month, Shubert said.  qjew.com has a kitschy, playful and humorous touch.  FULL ARTICLE @ LA INDEPENDENT

Mark Brooks: OK, that's it, I think we can now officially say every niche has been covered.

OPW Exclusive Interview #3 - Click2Asia's CEO

OPW CEO Interview -- May 27, 2005 -- Click2Asia is focused solely on the Asian dating market and competes with AsiaFriendFinder and AsianAvenue.  Pierre Wuu co-founded Click2Asia in 1999 and talks about his company and the Hong Kong internet dating convention (photos). - Mark Brooks

Pierre Wuu - During the internet heyday Click2Asia was an Asian online portal.  In late 2002 we adjusted our business model and focused on Asian online dating.  Now we have two major divisions; nationwide events and online dating.  We get quite a lot of Yahoo and Match defectors because we're so focused.  They offer 'Asian.'  We offer 23 breakouts so there are a lot more Asian subcategories for people to search on.

How is Click2Asia different from Asiafriendfinder and Asian Avenue?
Many of the Asia FriendFinder women are overseas Asian and many of the men tend to be non-Asian.  Our site focuses more on the core U.S. Asian community.  We don't have many overseas women.  Asian Avenue tends to be a much younger demographic. Their average age is early twenties whereas our demographic is more late 20's. 

Where are most of your members?
L.A. and San Francisco followed by NY and pockets of Seattle, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and Vancouver.  All in line with US census.  Asians represent 4% of the U.S. population which is roughly 12 million.

How did the Asian internet dating convention go?
It went well, Marc did a great job.  We got to network and learn a lot about the Asian market.  It opened my eyes in terms of what they are doing in China.  Especially the mobile and seeing how much further advanced beyond the USA they are.  It's a huge market with a lot of upside but it has it's share of challenges; namely pricepoint and payment procurement.  You can have tens of thousands of subscribers but may only get $4-$7 a month.  Also, payment can be up to 3-6 months delayed.  For example, with China telecom, we could be waiting 3-6 months for payment.  Online dating in Asia is huge but it shouldn't be treated as homogeneous market.  Korea, Phillipines, China, Singapore, Vietnam, all need to be treated very differently.  Finally, the advancement of the mobile technology is way ahead of North America; texting, paging, use of mobile devices and how they pay with mobile. 

How much are they willing to pay?
In China people are willing to pay 20-25% of the U.S. online personals memberships; $4-$7 a month.  However, for events, we should be able to get 50% of the U.S. market rate.  There's definitely a group of people who will pay a higher price point at events, there's a finite number of tickets, but it's better to be less expensive with online dating to maintain critical mass. 

How about the presentation on the Indian market?
The presentation on the Indian market opened my eyes.  They don't typically date.  They are more interested in marriage.  It's a totally different approach. 

What does the future hold for Click2Asia?
We're looking at Asia and expanding our network within North America.  When you look at the Jewish market, Jews in North America represent half of the Asian market.  So you can see the ethnic online dating market has huge potential.  We want to make inroads on the kinds of numbers Jdate are doing.  Jdate is a good comparison for our future potential. 

Match.com Movie Placement

ADJAB -- May 24 -- Tonight, during the American Idol finale, I caught an ad for the upcoming film The Perfect Man, starring Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, and Chris Noth. Locklear comes into Duff's room, asking if she can "scan this to put it on Match.com," speaking about her photograph.  The plot; Locklear is looking for a new man.  FULL BLOG POST @ ADJAB

Mark Brooks: Online personals companies have saturated online ad spaces and are looking for new, more creative advertising channels.  Perfect Match also has a placement in an upcoming movie.

Friendster Loses Big-time NBC Exec

CBS MARKETWATCH -- May 25 -- Friendster to announce Wednesday that CEO Scott Sassa has resigned according to a Tuesday all-staff meeting.  Former NBC exec, Sassa will be replaced by Taek Kwon, EVP of product at Citysearch.com; to begin June 13.  Sassa will remain through the summer to facilitate a transition.  Kwon was chosen because of his technical background and is expected to focus on technology improvements.  Sassa is known for developing "The West Wing," "Law & Order," and "Fear Factor."  He replaced former Yahoo CEO Tim Koogle, an early Friendster investor. Sassa ushered in an advertising business model.  One year later, the company has roughly the same number of employees, and is expected to generate about $10 million in annual sales. But it's not yet profitable.  Friendster started a trend whereby other social-networking sites, like Google's Orkut and Tribe.net started.

SUN-SENTINEL -- May 26 -- "I wasn't the right person to go forward," said Sassa. "I thought that where the company was, we wanted someone more versed in technology.  It's certainly not like we're building buggy whips when cars are just coming into fashion.  Social networking is just in the early innings, and Friendster is a great brand."  The Mountain View company also said it had laid off five employees, leaving a staff of 50.  "When the original innovator is ostracized from his company, I think that puts it in jeopardy," said Sean Parker, a founder of Plaxo and Napster and now president of Thefacebook. 

Mark Brooks: Jonathan (Friendster founder) is friends with Sean.  Friendster is backed by VC's Kleiner Perkins (Sun, Amazon, AOL), Benchmark (ebay, AOL, ofoto)  and Battery Ventures (infoseek, akamai) along with a number of individual investors.  I interviewed Jan, the new CEO of Tribe two weeks ago and will interview the new Friendster CEO for the beginning of July.  Let me know your ideas for questions I should ask him.  Before Citysearch, Taek was VP Engineering at Hotwire.

Sugar Mommas

FOX 12 -- May 24 -- Traditional roles are becoming a thing of the past. It's now women snaring professional well paying jobs and many men are attracted to that.  Men want to date only women above a certain income level, or even ask for those who make more than they do.  True.com says more than a third of their male clients in the Portland area want to find a woman that earns more than they do. 

Lemontonic Sold to Silverback Media

CANADIAN PRESS -- May 24 -- Lemontonic, a networking software firm, is selling its online dating business for $15.2 million in shares of Silverback Media before merging with another company. The reorganization will be a non-arm's-length transaction.  Lemontonic will then merge with Pioneering Technology.  Pioneering has taken three products from concept to commercialization: the Battery Eliminator, the Safe-T-element and the Powergrill ignition system.

Mark Brooks: Some creative financing.  Interesting they describe themselves as a 'networking software firm?'  Lemontonic's Alexa rank is a semi-respectable 19k and growing (11k today).

Spark Acquires MingleMatch

PRNEWSWIRE -- May 23 -- Spark Networks announced that it has completed the acquisition of MingleMatch.  MingleMatch's brands will join Spark Networks online personals communities led by AmericanSingles® and JDate®. 

Mark Brooks: MingleMatch runs 21 dating sites: Adventist Singles Connection, Asian Singles Connection, BBW Personals Plus, Black Singles Connection, Canadian Personals, Catholic Mingle, Christian Mingle, Deaf Singles Connection, Greek Singles Connection, Indian Matrimonial Network, Interracial Singles, Iranian Singles Connection, Italian Singles Connection, Jewish Mingle, Latin Singles Connection, LDS Mingle, Military Singles Connection, Muslim Matrimonials Network, Prime Singles, Single Parents Mingle, UK Singles Connection

Google Mapping of Member Locations

PRWEB -- May 23 --  Visitors of dating site 4ppl may search for members and see their location on a detailed map.  BoonEx and AEwebworks Dating Software Development, two online dating software development companies announced the new system which uses Google Maps. 

Mark Brooks: AEwebworks (based in Kyrgyzstan) charges $690 for it's online dating software.  Step 1 - Setting up an online dating site - $690.  Step 2 - Building the membership to critical mass - $3 million.

SafetyMinute.com President Endorses MyPrivateLine

PRNEWSWIRE -- May 23 -- Online phone directories make it easy to take a person's phone number and use it to look up that person's name, address, and other personal information. Enter MyPrivateLine.com, a private way to receive phone calls while protecting the identity of your real phone number.   

Mark Brooks: A throw away number for 15c a minute. 

PlanetOut Initiated with "Buy" Rating

NEWRATINGS -- May 19 -- A Hambrecht analyst initiated coverage of PlanetOut with a "buy" rating. The 12-month target price is set to $11. PlanetOut has +3.3 million members and is a leader in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender centric market. Revenues and EPS are likely to increase by 75% and 285%, respectively, over the next couple of years, WR Hambrecht adds.  FULL ARTICLE @ NEWRATINGS

Mark Brooks: PlanetOut went public in October 2004 raising $41.6 million.  The stock went from $10 to $14 and then dipped to $6 and is on the rise again.  Graph