EHARMONY BLOG – May 25 - Apparently Down to Earth, the free version of the Match.com, now redirects to their newly acquired company, Singlesnet.
The full article was originally published at eHarmony Blog, but is no longer available.
See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on Singlesnet
See all posts on DownToEarth / Stir.com
OPW – Oct 23 – DownToEarth, a free dating site run by Match.com's parent company IAC Interactive, announced exclusively to Online Personals Watch today that the site has relaunched as Stir.com. The new brand will focus on offering young adults ideas for where to go on dates.
“We’re thrilled to announce that Stir.com is going live today to give 18 to 25 year olds suggestions about the best places to go, and people to go with, based on their interests,” said Jacob Solotaroff, General Manager of Stir. “We learned a lot from our trial with DownToEarth.com and know that we have a unique way to help college-aged people interact with one another. Stir.com will help them mix up their nights.”
All of DowntoEarth.com's members have been rolled over to Stir.com. Older members will be incentivised to try Match.com. The site was always meant to be an experiment. They learned that younger generation members weren't over the bar scene, and wanted a more casual environment to 'hang out' in.
Stir has teamed up with fellow IAC directory site Citysearch.com to provide daters with personalized restaurant, bar and activity recommendations. Members will also eventually be able to post their own event suggestions. Social networking features include photo sharing, as Stir members will be able to upload pictures from their excursions. Stir will eventually allow users to buy tickets directly on the site. Tickets to some New York City Halloween parties are already available for users.
The monetization plan for Stir is still in the development stages, according to Solotaroff.
Stir is part of Match’s new plan to target specific dating verticals. In July, Match acquired People Media and its 27 niche dating sites that cater to specifics communities, from singles parents to various religious affiliations.
"Match.com has been increasing its portfolio of vertical dating sites like BlackSinglesMeet and JPeopleMeet,” said Tom Smithyman, Senior Director of Success Marketing at Match.com. “These sites cater to people of certain demographics or with certain interests. Stir.com is adding people 18-25 to that mix, and we're confident it will have a big impact on Match.com's overall business."
Solotaroff says the name Stir was chosen, because the title encourages users to be social and try new activities.
OPW — Aug 6 — Back in January, Match.com launched a 100% free dating site DownToEarth. "DownToEarth.com features a unique RealRatings™ tool and zero tolerance for lewd behavior and inappropriate photos to keep daters honest when creating profiles and posting pictures", stated the official press release when the site was launched. I signed up for DownToEarth today to see how it compares to PlentyofFish.com and OkCupid.com. This is one of the profiles you can find on DownToEarth. Pretty lewd, isn't it? Here's another and another 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,… Is there a profile approval process in place? Has DTE been laid out to pasture? DownToEarth traffic is down 30% over last 3 months according to Alexa. (Full Disclosure: Plentyoffish is a client of Courtland Brooks). – Irena Brooks
ASSOCIATED PRESS — Apr 27 — Before IAC reports earnings for the first quarter on Wednesday before the market opens, a report of key developments and analyst opinion was released. January saw the launch of Match.com’s free dating site, DownToEarth.com, which is aimed at the under 28 crowd. Online city guide CitySearch had dealings with both Facebook and MySpace, launching a revamped version of the site that incorporated Facebook Connect, as well as MySpace Local, which will combine the vast database of CitySearch with MySpace’s user base. IAC also said it would sell Match.com's European operations to France-based online dating company Meetic for a 27% stake in Meetic and a promissory note for 5 million euros ($6.6 million). Analysts expect first-quarter earnings of a penny per share on $329.7 million in revenue.
The full article was originally published at Forbes, but is no longer available.
See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on DownToEarth
See all posts on Meetic
THE DAILY EVERGREEN — Feb 13 – DownToEarth.com started in early January as a dating site geared toward those ages 18 to 25. This Web site appeals to young people because it is free, and it is a way for them to try online dating for the first time, said Jacob Solotaroff, general manager for DownToEarth.com. There are currently more than 95,000 users.
The full article was originally published at The Daily Evergreen, but is no longer available.
THE PARADIGM SHIFT — Feb 13 – We will still grow at least 80% organically this year but I don't think all that much is because of the recession. Most of PlentyofFish users are higher income and aren't really effected by the current economic problems.
Hitwise demographic stats for 4 weeks ending 2/7/2009
12.36% of singlesnet users are under 25
10.15% of match.com users are under 25
9.65% of Plentyoffish users are under 25
7.28% of downtoearth users are under 25.
Hitwise income statistics for 4 weeks ending 2/7/2009.
4.11% of singlesnet users make over $150,000 a year.
5.05% of match.com users make over $150,000 a year.
6.23% of eharmony users make over $150,000 a year
12.37% of Plentyoffish users make over $150,000 a year.
The full article was originally published at The Paradigm Shift, but is no longer available.
See all posts on Singlesnet See all posts on Plentyoffish
See all posts on Match.com See all posts on eHarmony
See all posts on Downtoearth
DM NEWS — Jan 26 — "January and February are usually the best times of the year for online dating sites", said Sam Yagan, co-founder and CEO of OkCupid.com, a free online dating service. According to Datran Media, for new customer acquisition in the dating category, spending spikes in late Jan and early Feb by an average of 18%, and there is a 10% increase in conversion rate from click to Free Trial sign up. Match.com is debuting a new free dating site DownToEarth.com which is based around the RealRatings technology system. "People will pay for online dating, but this is a good way for people who are looking to test the waters and see if this is something that they like," explained Mandy Ginsberg. OkCupid.com is running various promotions, including user meet-ups and contests, as well as introducing the ability to create personality quizzes about relationships and dating. FULL ARTICLE @ DM NEWS
See all posts on OkCupid
See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on DownToEarth
ONLINE DATING INSIDER — Jan 15 — DownToEarth went live Dec' 08 as free-singles.com, signing up 1k people daily. Initial testing was done with churches. ~20k people joined the site in the last few weeks according to Compete. DownToEarth.com is targeting 250k members by the end of '09. RealRatings™, encourages daters to rate other people's profile accuracy. Finally, a dating site that is taking reputation seriously! DownToEarth employs less than 10 people is located in the same building as Match & Chemistry and has no customer service, instead relying on community-based policing. Development was outsourced. The site is seeing strong signups from the south and southwest. I don't see a single reference as being a dating site. The partner page features 20+ competing dating sites with affiliate links. FULL ARTICLE @ ONLINE DATING INSIDER
PR NEWSWIRE — Jan 15 – Match.com, today announced the launch of DownToEarth.com, a free online dating site. DownToEarth.com's pioneering RealRatings system that encourages daters, after meeting in person, to rate the accuracy of the information provided in the other person's profile.
The full article was originally published at PR Newswire, but is no longer available.
TECH CRUNCH — Jan 7 — Earlier this week IAC (owns Match & Chemistry) launched a completely free dating site called DownToEarth.com. This move is IAC/Match.com's answer to Plentyoffish.com. Apparently IAC believes if someone is going to put Match out of business, it might as well be Match. But Markus Frind fancies his chances with Plentyoffish.com.The top free dating sites in the USA are currently:
#1 Plentyoffish
#2 Adam4Adam
#3 Date Hookup
#4 OKCupid
#5 Mingle2
And in the UK:
#1 Plentyoffish
#2 Person
#3 FriendsReunitedDating.co.uk
#4 Smooch
#5 Freedating.co.uk