Online Personals Watch: News on the Dating Industry and Business

Dating Sites Become Mainstream And Focus On More Niche Markets

MIAMI HERALD - Feb 12 - Jewcier, a new dating site for Jewish singles, is now open to the public and joins nearly 20 other general and niche dating sites owned and operated by Avalanche, co-founded by Meir Strahlberg and his business partner Kris Covino in 1997. Among Avalanche’s largest sites are Date.com, launched on Valentine’s Day in 1997; Matchmaker.com, which Avalanche bought in 2005, and Amor.com, a Latin dating site also launched in 2005, which has more than 20K members in South Florida alone. Avalanche’s domain names are words people naturally type into the Internet, so they don’t have to spend a lot in marketing, Internet dating experts say. “They’re well respected within the industry for being savvy operators,” said Mark Brooks, an online dating industry analyst and editor of onlinepersonalswatch.com. Within the last six months, Avalanche has added five gay dating sites to its portfolio, which already included GayDating.com, GayMen.com, GayMarriage.net, PinkWink.com, which is oriented toward gay women, MyPartner.com and Gay.mx, a Mexican site. Gay sites are “a growing part of our business,” Strahlberg said. Overall, the company’s sites have 10M members worldwide, and 5-10% of them are paying members, Strahlberg said. Strahlberg, who owns half the company, declined to disclose Avalanche’s revenues, but said it is “highly profitable” and has been since its inception. This year, the company may be looking for outside investors for the first time, he said.

by Ina Paiva Cordle
See full article at Miami Herald

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Kris Covino Wins Scammer Email Competition

OPW -- June 29 -- After receiving an email on this post from a scammer, we launched a scammer email competition to see who could come up with a better scammer email. Kris Covino of Date.com wins the competition and we've donated $200 to his favorite charity, the Sick Kids Foundation.

Real Law Covers Virtual Gifts

LAW JOURNAL -- June 22 -- Date.com executives thought that allowing users to purchase tokens that could be redeemed as "gifts" of virtual flowers, chocolates or other items would be a great way for users to catch each others' eye, but they were uncertain of the legal considerations. Would Date.com be obligated to refund the cost of unused  tokens if users dropped off the site? Date.com has a policy that members who don't visit the site after 365 days are purged from its database. This is a  new area of social networking, and it really isn't specifically addressed in the law. The site needed to make the terms and conditions for purchasing the virtual gifts as clear as possible for users. For instance, users should know that if they violate the Web site's terms and their membership to Date.com is terminated, they also lose unused credits toward virtual gifts. Also the site's policy is to repeatedly e-mail individuals to warn them of pending deletion from the site if they don't access their accounts within a year. FULL ARTICLE @ LAW JOURNAL

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Avalanche Introduces Virtual Gifts

PR NEWSWIRE -- Feb 12 -- Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com have launched Virtual Gifts to its community. Beginning this week, singles can show interest by purchasing online gifts for $1. From a business perspective, this feature will serve as another revenue stream for the company; according to leading analysts, virtual gifts is an estimated $1.5 billion industry. FULL ARTICLE @ PR NEWSWIRE

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www.cheapdate.com

GLOBE & MAIL -- Jan 29 -- Lavalife, PlentyofFish, Match and PerfectMatch have seen their memberships soar after the stock-market plunge. Lavalife registrations are up 11% from last month, PlentyofFish enjoyed 77% growth in visits from Dec '07 through Dec '08. "Unlike the real world, dating sites offer the lovelorn a "completely refined, focused community", says Mark Brooks. Dating sites take care of the formalities. "If somebody wants to wander around and meet somebody, that's not a good idea on two counts: No. 1, it'll take them a long while and No. 2, they've got to get all the difficult questions out of the way." A survey by Florida-based Avalanche LLC - which operates international sites date.com, matchmaker.com and amor.com - found that 48 per cent of respondents were spending more time online or on the phone with a potential date before spending cash on a face-to-face meeting. Joe Tracy, publisher of Online Dating Magazine, agrees that bad economic times force people to "reprioritize their goals in life." Paul A. Falzone, CEO of LoveAccess.com agrees. "People, when they're confronted with any type of dilemma in their lives, tend to want to migrate back to what's comfortable to them. They go back to eating their comfort foods, they crank up the heat by the fire instead of going out all night, and they want someone to be able to share things with." FULL ARTICLE @ GLOBE & MAIL

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Date.com Is Now Free In India

PR WEB -- Jan 29 -- In response to the tremendous surge in online traffic at the start of the New Year, Date.com is now free in India. "In India, there is a long standing culture of matrimony which is similar in nature to online dating," said Date.com CEO Meir Strahlberg. "We've found that the new generation, which is wired and technologically advanced, is embracing online dating as opposed to working with matchmakers." FULL ARTICLE @ PR WEB

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Office Holiday Party Hook Ups

PR NEWSWIRE -- Dec 16 -- "According to statistics from a Pew Internet & American Life Project, 38% of Americans in marriages or long term relationships reportedly met at work or school. Avalanche, owner of leading online dating sites Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com asked their members whom would you end up hooking up with at the office holiday party.

Following are the complete results:

• Women/Men
• Single Boss 23.3%  10.7%
• Married Supervisor   3.3%   3.6%
• Hot male co-worker  63.3%   3.6%
• Sexy female co-worker 6.7%  60.7%
• Someone you Supervise 3.3%  21.4%
• The receptionist 3.3%  17.9%
• Mailroom Guy 3.3%   3.6%

FULL ARTICLE @ THE EARTH TIMES

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In These Tight Times, Lovelorn Go Online

MEDIA LIFE MAGAZINE -- Dec 1 - A number of online dating services are reporting that their subscriber numbers have soared since September's stock market turmoil hit. Christian Connection, a London-based online dating service, reports that its revenues in last three months were up about 40% YOY. Perfectmatch.com also said in November that the number of members is up 47% compared to last quarter. And Avalanche.com, which owns Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com, reports a similar trend, with revenue up 17% YOY and membership up 26%. FULL ARTICLE @ MEDIA LIFE MAGAZINE

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Toronto Internet Dating Cocktail Party

TORONTO DATING SOCIAL -- Nov 30 -- The first  Toronto Internet Dating Industry Party for the owners and executives of the Internet Personals and Social Networking companies was held on November 25, 2008. This networking event was attended by 27 representatives of 15 dating technology companies. Companies that attended the Toronto Dating Social Party:

Date.com, OmniDate Inc., Dating Ad Network, Lavalife Corp., Epic Advertising, Canoe / Reseau Contact, ChristianCafe.com, Cupid.com, Talkster, Impact Mobile, Randodate.com, WorldFriends Networks, Personality Pro, Dating Essentials
FULL ARTICLE @ TORONTO DATING SOCIAL

Avalanche Begins International Expansion

PR NEWSWIRE -- Nov 20 -- Avalanche, owner of Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com, started its international expansion with the launch of translated sites in Spanish, Portuguese and German. Avalanche also added PayPal as a payment option for site subscribers. FULL ARTICLE @ CLOUD COMPUTING JOURNAL     

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Avalanche's Revenue Grows 17% In Recessed Economy

PR NEWSWIRE -- Oct 7 --  Avalanche, LLC, owner of dating sites Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com, has experienced growth during these cash strapped times. Additionally, a new poll reveals that site members are becoming frugal with dating, investing more time looking for love online before committing to a date. FULL ARTICLE @ UK SYS

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Date.com Partners With Enlaso

MARKET WIRE -- May 9 --  Date.com and ENLASO, a provider of enterprise language solutions, partners to localize Date.com's network of dating sites into numerous languages. Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com will be translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and German. Before the end of 2009, Date.com plans to have its dating sites available in 18 languages to better accommodate its growing subscriber base from outside the US and to assist it in marketing itself internationally. FULL ARTICLE @ MARKET WIRE

Dating In A Modern Life

PR WEB -- Feb 13 -- A recent poll of Date.com's female members found that 58% would not wait for Mr. Right to come along in order to have children, while only 42% still believe that marriage should come first. Single women who have decided to approach motherhood without any relationship commitment has intimidated many men from getting intimate. FULL ARTICLE @ PR WEB

Paid Dating Sites Discover Local Spam

THE PARADIGM SHIFT BLOG -- Dec 5 -- Paid dating sites have now all adopted the strategy I created 3 years ago and taken it to the extreme. Check out google searches like garrison dating. Date.com  Matchmaker.com take the top spots. Followed by match.com, AmericanSingles, Meetic and Match.com UK.  Matchdoctor and others have started retooling their entire sites to try and rank high for local queries. Its like everyone just caught on in the last couple of months.  FULL ARTICLE @ PARADIGM SHIFT

DateMobile Launches in North America

PR NEWSWIRE -- June 13 -- Date.com (two million active members) launched DateMobile, a new cross-platform mobile dating service in North America. DateMobile was created via a partnership with Plutolife is available through most cell phone carriers to both members and non-members of Date.com. During the regular Date.com signup process, members are able to sign up for DateMobile. DateMobile members can browse profiles, view suggested matches, text, flirt and chat with thousands of other singles directly from their mobile phone. It's free to send a message to other DateMobile members, but costs $.50 to receive text messages.

Mark Brooks: Strong pricing model. Looks like datemobile users will only be able to access other datemobile users though, like Match.com's offering. Makes for a great flirty chat app. Webdate allows access to their entire database of online users via webdate mobile. That's the best approach that serves serious daters that want local matches...but it costs far more to build that kind of application. 

Avalanche LLC (Date.com) Acquires Matchmaker.com

PR NEWSWIRE -- Feb 27 -- Avalanche LLC, a company owned and operated by the founders of leading online dating site Date.com, has acquired Matchmaker.com which will share a technical platform with Date.com. Said Meir Strahlberg, President of Avalanche LLC and CEO of Date.com. "Through this acquisition, we are looking forward to breathing new life into the site and reinvigorating the brand."  Matchmaker will continue to operate as a separate entity, and will become a destination for the marriage-minded single. Date.com will continue to be a home for the more casual dater. 

Userplane Enhances Award-Winning Webchat and Webmessenger

BUSINESS WIRE -- Jan 18 -- Userplane Webchat Version 1.8.7 features streaming audio and video (through Flash MX), mini-profiles, a user photo, and an overall usable and flexible Flash interface.  The new version allows for full support of unlimited user video streams, integrated chat history display, advanced user and administrative block and ban functions, and site-administered room alerts.  In addition, Userplane has significantly improved security functions and will soon offer advertising revenue-sharing to clients.  Userplane's Webmessenger 1.8.11 include a much-requested skinning feature allowing full color and icon customization, advanced notification of accepted and rejected IMs, and a resizable interface. This Flash instant messaging tool provides live text and audio/video instant
messaging.  "There is a lot more to come - 2006 will be an exciting year for us," CEO Michael Jones said.  "Look for a range of new partnerships and developments that will enable us to expand our features, to drive exciting user experiences and additional revenue for our users and partners."  Recent
clients include: Date.com, Friendster, Honda, and Red Bull. 

Mark Brooks: Mike knows how to look after his customers and is a pleasure to work with. 

Date.com Signs New Relationship Advisor

PR WEB -- Jan 11 -- Date.com announced today the addition of its newest relationship advisor, sexy scribe Anna David; responsible for providing advice to our more than two million members nationwide. She will write a monthly column devoted to contemporary dating and relationship issues, which will appear on Date.com's interactive webzine "Date Info." David has conducted interviews and written for Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Details, Vanity Fair, Playboy, Maxim, The New York Post, Us Weekly, Variety and penned the "Sex Files" column in Razor magazine. Date.com is adding new members at a rate of 250,000 per month.

Mark Brooks: Nice move.  Content keeps users around.  They need educating on how to find the right person and how to keep it together.

November 2005 Site Rankings

Dec 27 -- The November rankings are live (see left bar).  Nielsen has tidied social networks Myspace, Facebook, hi5 and Friendster out of their online dating rankings, leaving Yahoo Personals (1), Match (2) and TRUE (3) with the November 2005 top spots.   

Not much change with the Alexa rankings.  Plentyoffish and Friendfinder bump Date.com down two spots to #6.  For the social networking rankings Facebook bumps Friendster out of the top 3.  Myspace now leads the social networking category, followed by Hi5 and Facebook.

TRUE trumps American Singles on the Hitwise top 15 rankings for November and takes the #5 spot.  Singlesnet moves up one spot to #7 and wrestles Plentyoffish and adult oriented Mate1 down one place.  MSN leans on it's online dating and moves up five full places to take the #10 position.  Niche site Blackpeoplemeet impressively moves up a spot to #11 and Perfect Match gets squeezed out to #12.  Youngsters online dating site, Hotornot, moves up a spot to #13.  - Mark Brooks   

Net Gains in Love Games

THE TELEGRAPH -- Nov 7 -- Age: 25, Occupation: Service, Calcutta, Sites visited: OkCupid, LoveCompass, date.com, datingindya.com   , yahoo.com, Frequency: Several times a day, Since: High school.  So how many in Net-savvy Calcutta are ready to say "Aati kya Khandala" online? Quite a few actually, if one goes by the figures by one of the leading Indian online dating sites, Fropper.com.  Navin Mittal, head of Fropper.com, told GoodLife from Mumbai: "We have some 15,000 members in Calcutta, 60% age 18-25. There is far less response from the 35+ age bracket." Starting in 2003 with only a few thousand members, Fropper today boasts 850,000 members and over 15 million page views a month.  The name Fropper (short for "friend hopper") seems to underline a change in social attitude. The new-age partner-seeker is ready to search for compatibility. The anonymity of the Net allows one to search, fail and search again. FULL ARTICLE @ THE TELEGRAPH