Online Personals Watch: News on the Dating Industry and Business

Background Search Conference for Online Dating and Web Communities

PR NEWSWIRE -- Apr 26 -- A special conference concerning background checks for the internet dating and social networking industries will be held July 13-14, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco.  The 2006 San Francisco Internet Dating Conference will focus on pending legislation and their impact, background search technologies and legal regulations. Also, methods of combating fraudulent credit card transactions.  Attending the event will be senior executives from all aspects of the online personals industry, legislators, payment processors, mobile and telecom execs, software companies, marketing firms and entrepreneurs.  LINK 

Mark Brooks: This conference will get you up to speed on background checks.

Venture Capital Investments Up 12%

BIZ REPORT -- Apr 25 -- The pace of venture capital investing is off to its fastest start in four years, propelled by a high-tech comeback that's again pumping cash into the Internet.  VCs committed $5.63 billion in USA in 761 deals completed during Q1, up 12% on last year.  Entrepreneurs and VCs seek to capitalize on "Web 2.0" - a euphemism used to describe the social networks, software services and media alternatives that have been cropping up on the Internet and winning big followings during the past two years.  Over the past year, VCs put $3.1 billion into Internet companies; ~14% of the $23 billion invested in all industries.  FULL ARTICLE @ BIZ REPORT

Mark Brooks: There's still a lot more space for more specialised social networks.  Myspace has warmed everyone up to the concept. Word of mouth travels fastest in shools or college.  How about business networking?  How about social networks focused on specific demographics and interests?  As users become more sophisticated they will demand more. 

Personals for Travellers- Travbuddy.com

MIRROR GEEK -- Apr 25 -- On the site users can review travel destinations, blog about their journeys, and post photos.  FULL ARTICLE @ MIRROR GEEK

Mark Brooks: Nice site.  Also check out www.wayn.com.

Microsoft Spins off Social Networking Project

TECH CRUNCH -- Apr -- Wallop, previously a semi-forgotton Microsoft Research "sandbox" social network and photo sharing project, was spun off into a new, independent, venture backed business. The new entity is led by CEO Karl Jacob (Sun/Microsoft veteran). Microsoft will retain a minority stake.  This is not another "me too" social network offering.  Launch is scheduled for this summer.  FULL ARTICLE @ TECH CRUNCH

Committing MySpacecide

WIRED NEWS -- Apr 25 -- I heard about someone who'd committed "Friendstercide." He'd killed his Friendster page, announcing that from then on he'd only be contactable by phone and e-mail. So you'd call what I did last November (killing my profile) "committing MySpacecide."  FULL ARTICLE @ WIRED

Social Networks Hiring

Apr 27 -- A headhunter for a start-up social networking software company in New York is looking for a Bus Dev Manager and Product Manager. Pay is $90k+ with stock and benefits. Listed at http://www.bondstreetgroup.com/mtmjobs.htm. Email nheasley@bondstreetgroup.com.

2nd Asian Internet Dating Conference is on May 18-19 in Beijing

PR WEB -- Apr 24 -- The conference will focus on management, technology and marketing to Asia and the Far East (China) for the online personals industry.  Attending the event will be senior online personals executives, executives from wireless telecommunication firms, software companies, marketing firms and entrepreneurs located in China. Speakers; YeeYoo, Tianji.com, 21Vianet.com, Plutolife, YeePay, iResearch, Magus, Love21cn.com and Cyber Media KK. Topics include: the online dating / social networking market in China, wireless carriers and business models and marketing for social networking and online dating.  RELEASE @ PR WEB

Mark Brooks: I'll be attending this event.  If you want in on China, best be there. 

Perfectmatch.com Launches Duet(R) Analysis

PR NEWSWIRE -- Apr 24 -- Perfectmatch.com announced their new Duet(R) Analysis Profile with additional emphasis on personality and lifestyle.  Perfectmatch.com appears in "Failure to Launch" with Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker, and in "Superman Returns," in theatres June 30th.  RELEASE @ SYS-CON

For MySpace, Making Friends Was Easy. Big Profit Is Tougher.

NY TIMES -- Apr 23 -- Chris DeWolfe bought the MySpace.com address in 2002 and first used the site to sell E-scooters.  He became a master of aggressive forms of online marketing; e-mail, pop-ups. eUniverse/Intermix backed him with Myspace which tapped into three passions of young people: expressing themselves, interacting with friends and consuming popular culture.  Fox Interactive Media (News Corp.) is stitching together several Web properties into a big Internet company focused on youth. MySpace may rival eBay and Craigslist as a place where nearly anything is bought and sold.  On advertising...the best way to get, say, a television show in front of the MySpace audience is to win the hearts, one by one, of thousands of members who will display the show to all of their friends.  Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers created a profile for the animated square hamburger character from its television campaign and ~100,000 people signed up to be "friends" with the square. DeWolfe is opening an office in London to coordinate MySpace's expansion in Europe and cutting deals to let members connect to MySpace over cellphones. MySpace has spent $20 million, in part to nearly double its staff of 250 (1/3 customer service). FULL ARTICLE @ NY TIMES

Mark Brooks: Myspace was a internet design company in 1996,  sold virtual hard drive space in 2000, scooters in 2002 and kicked off as a socail network in 2003.  I remember calling them to see if they wanted to sell the company in 2003, while they were still smaller than Friendster.  The underground site went mainstream. They've done a great job being big AND 'underground.' However, there are still opportunities for other flavors of social network.  Enter Bebo and Tagworld.

European Online Dating: An 'Ideal' Web Business

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE / NY TIMES -- Apr 24 -- Mark Simoncini, Meetic CEO, built a company in four years with 17 million profiles in 13 countries speaking nine languages.  The idea behind Meetic emerged in 2000, after Simoncini sold iFrance, iEspana and iDeutschland to Vivendi for 182 million Euros ($224 million).  Meetic raised 100 million Euros from its October IPO.  Annual results released in March showed a doubling of revenue to 43 million Euros in 2005 (net profit 5.7m Euros).  Both Meetic and Match claim to have the largest online dating community; each has roughly 275,000 users on the Continent.  Simoncini argues that the American approach to relationships gets lost in translation overseas.  Match.com has local sites for 31 countries in 18 languages.  Europe's acceptance of such dating services has been accelerated by the proliferation of social networking, according to Mark Brooks, editor of Online Personals Watch.  "The Europe online dating scene is still in the growth phase, which is why I am basing myself out of Prague right now," said Brooks.  "American sites have had some trouble moving into other cultures,  which has opened opportunities for Meetic as well as single-country players in Europe."  Meetic last year started Ulteem.  A high-end service costing 99 Euros for a three- month subscription.  Meetic recently bought Lexa (100,000 users), a dating service in the Netherlands and Yeeyoo (4 million users), a youth-oriented Chinese site.  Competition among youth-oriented sites like Superlol is fierce.  FULL ARTICLE @ INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Mark Brooks: Meetic started Ulteem to compete with Parship.de, in similar fashion to Match starting Chemistry.com to compete with eHarmony.

Myspace Online Scene

LA TIMES CALENDAR LIVE -- Apr 9 -- It's become a thriving meat market, just without the jello shots and beer-soaked floors.  "Everyone's hooking up with each other [on MySpace] and they really don't know each other," says Mark Brooks, online dating industry analyst and editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com. Brooks cautions newbie daters to be on guard for fakers and to never give out too much personal information online. 

Social Networking Site 900 Seconds Gets $6.5 Million Funding

PAID CONTENT -- Apr 21 -- Stealth social networking service 900 Seconds is based in Palo Alto, CA and run by a former Epinions marketing director. Investors include Trinity Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures. 

Mark Brooks: After News Corp. picked up Myspace (and accoutrement companies) a little VC feeding frenzy has ensued.  Valuations are very rosy for niche dating sites and (viral) social network startups.  The market will follow the same trajectory as online dating sites with many niche sites being formed around geographic areas, interests and next generation (read, web 2.0) functionality.

Sisterwoman.com Launched

MARKETING VOX -- Apr 20 -- Sisterwoman.com is a social network targeting women age 25 to 50.  It allows the incorporation of brands into the community experience and plans to expand the brand to wireless, print, TV and events. The site has two prominent sponsors at launch - Neutrogena and TLC.  FULL ARTICLE @ MARKETING VOX

Mark Brooks: Great target market.  I signed up to peruse the site.  They ask for address as part of the sign up process and then ask me, 'how many girlfriends do I want to communicate on a regular basis.'  Part 3 of the terms and conditions; they reserve the right to charge for services in the future.  Once I sign up I'm able to access the entire community.  Not much network integrity here. Anyone can join, view profiles and hook up.  I join two groups only to find that of ten membeer profiles that I click on, none of them have entered profile info.  Ah well.  This target market is still looking for a social network.  ;-)  Who wants to take on iVillage?

AOL Preparing 'Something' In Social Networking

TECH WEB -- Apr 20 -- Rumors are, AOL is close to launching a social network off of its AOL Instant Messenger service that would make it easier for subscribers to share and create content.  AOL claims 43 million AIM users.

Mark Brooks: I wonder if they'll see the wood for the trees.  The top social networks have been started by small teams of young programmer-entrepreneurs, so far.   

Matchguam.com Launched

GUAM PACIFIC DAILY NEWS -- Apr 21 -- Matchguam.com is live. Guamanians are already using Web sites like peoplefromguam.com and Myspace.com.

Hooking Up in the Information Age - Mobile dating

WIRELESS WEEK -- Apr 15 -- In 2004 Webdate Mobile launched with U.S. Cellular. Several months later Match.com Mobile got on deck with Cingular Wireless and Sprint. Lavalife signed Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.  Webdate has since launched with Boost Mobile and Sprint Nextel and Webdate CEO Abe Smilowitz says he's pleased with the amount of revenue being generated.  Mark Brooks, editor of onlinepersonalswatch.com, estimates there are currently fewer than 1 million mobile daters, compared with 5 million users of mobile flirt applications. He draws a distinction between mobile dating applications - which typically feature photos, profiles and the ability to send messages back and forth - with simple social networking applications that let users flirt via texting. "Mobile dating applications are focused more on getting people together," Brooks says. "There's far higher adoption of chat, because it doesn't require much of an application. That's a very different animal than mobile dating." Most are available for a flat monthly rate of $4.99. Match.com spokeswoman Kristin Kelly says 42% of MatchMobile customers are 18 to 25 years old, 81% are between 18 and 35.  Webdate Mobile gives customers access to Webdate's database of 6 million profiles. "It's seamless. Mobile and online are virtually the same. That's been our approach and continues to be our approach," abe says. Osmak doesn't see much future for Bluetooth-enabled matchmaking, mainly because no billing systemis in place for such transactions.  And if having Bluetooth-enabled phones is the only thing the individuals have in common, what's the point? "The real value is in finding suitable people, not just people," says Brooks.

24 Hours on Craigslist

FILM CRITIC -- Apr 2006 -- In certain parts of the country, the word "Craigslist" requires no additional explanation. In other regions people will look at you, baffled about what you could be talking about.  It's responsible for the decline of newspaper classified advertising.  People use it to find apartments, sell stuff, find jobs, and make love connections.  24 Hours on Craigslist is documentary about the Craigslist phenomenon.  FULL REVIEW @ FILM CRITIC

Mark Brooks: Craigslist is one of the great viral stories of web 1.0.

Facebook Gets Another $25M

RED HERRING -- Apr 19 -- Privately held Facebook received $25 million in its second round of venture financing to help expand features for sharing information.  Greylock Partners led the round. Meritech Capital Partners also participated, joining existing investor Accel Partners and angel investor Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal. The company, based in Palo Alto, California, has now raised $38.2 million. The site now boasts over 7 million users and is the seventh-most-trafficked site on the web (comScore) and has 72% of fulltime American college students on its network. Two-thirds of users visit the site daily. Facebook has deals in place with Cingular Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and Verizon Communications for its mobile service. 

Mark Brooks: Facebook is in a strong position for the future because of its focus on the most influential and illusive market segment.  Traditional media are losing the 18-35 segment and want to claw it back.  Watch the landgrab.  Facebook turned down an offer for $750 million recently (Vivendi). 

Hooking Up in the Information Age - Mobile dating

WIRELESS WEEK -- Apr 15 -- In 2004 Webdate Mobile launched with U.S. Cellular. Several months later Match.com Mobile got on deck with Cingular Wireless and Sprint. Lavalife signed Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.  Webdate has since launched with Boost Mobile and Sprint Nextel and Webdate CEO Abe Smilowitz says he's pleased with the amount of revenue being generated.  Mark Brooks, editor of onlinepersonalswatch.com, estimates there are currently fewer than 1 million mobile daters, compared with 5 million users of mobile flirt applications. He draws a distinction between mobile dating applications - which typically feature photos, profiles and the ability to send messages back and forth - with simple social networking applications that let users flirt via texting. "Mobile dating applications are focused more on getting people together," Brooks says. "There's far higher adoption of chat, because it doesn't require much of an application. That's a very different animal than mobile dating." Most are available for a flat monthly rate of $4.99. Match.com spokeswoman Kristin Kelly says 42% of MatchMobile customers are 18 to 25 years old, 81% are between 18 and 35.  Webdate Mobile gives customers access to Webdate's database of 6 million profiles. "It's seamless. Mobile and online are virtually the same. That's been our approach and continues to be our approach," abe says. Osmak doesn't see much future for Bluetooth-enabled matchmaking, mainly because no billing systemis in place for such transactions.  And if having Bluetooth-enabled phones is the only thing the individuals have in common, what's the point? "The real value is in finding suitable people, not just people," says Brooks. 

eHarmony Takes 47,000 SF Office

GLOBE STREET -- Apr 14 -- eHarmony has signed a five-year lease for more than 47,000 SF in Pasadena.  The lease is worth ~$8 million over five years.  FULL ARTICLE @ GLOBE STREET