Online Personals Watch: News on the Dating Industry and Business

Spiritual Profile Crucial To Many Seeking Romance

HUFFINGTON POST - Feb 14 - For some people a potential mate’s religious profile is the most important of all. “God has a match for you," claims a Christian dating site called Christian Mingle. Shaadi.com, a site for the South Asian community, breaks it down even further -- first between Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and others, and then among caste and background. Statistics seem to support this, with interfaith marriages having a slightly higher rate of ending in divorce. "It's about a baseline of comfort," explained one gay Jewish man who used J-Date in his search for a partner.

See full article at Huffington Post

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All 2012 Valentine's Day News

jDate Study Claims More Jewish Marriage Matches Than Its Competitors

JEWISH JOURNAL - Oct 27 - jDate recently announced results from a study that claims the site is responsible for facilitating more Jewish marriages than all other dating sites combined. The study, commissioned in-house by JDate’s parent company, Spark Networks, and conducted by the research company ResearchNow, was based on a survey of 948 Jewish Internet users who have married since 2003. Of those surveyed, 52% said they met their match on JDate, compared with Match.com, which facilitated 17%, and eHarmony, which can claim 10%.

by Danielle Berrin
See full article at Jewish Journal

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jDate's Success - Infographic

OPW - Oct 1 - According to a study commissioned by SparkNetworks, jDate is responsible for more Jewish marriages than all other dating sites combined. 5 out of 9 Jews who married since 2008 used a dating site in their search for love. See the infographic.

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The World of Niche Online Dating

VANCOUVER SUN - Sep 30 - Specialized dating sites such as JDate.com, SeniorPeopleMeet.com, VeggieDate.org and even PiratesPassions.com allow users to meet their match based on factors including ethnicity, age, religion and lifestyle. There’s even Ashley Madison.com, a site for cheaters. Niche dating may sound unromantic, but details matter when it comes to love, says relationship expert Dr. Terri Orbuch. Orbuch is a psychologist and relationship expert for PeopleMedia, which operates more than 20 niche dating sites, including BlackPeopleMeet.com, RepublicanPeopleMeet.com and SingleParentMeet.com. Over 105K Canadians used dating sites run by PeopleMedia last year. Not all niche dating is done online. FastLife organizes speed dating events in Vancouver such as East Asian Dating, Tall Men Dating and Executive Dating. Justin Parfitt, the company founder and CEO, says speed dating is more fun and efficient than its online equivalent. “You’re instantly evaluating people and figuring out if there’s chemistry. There’s no hiding behind a fake photograph or fake profile,” he said.

by Laura Kane
See full article at Vancouver Sun

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JDate Declares Itself Obvious Leader in Jewish Weddings

JEZEBEL - Sep 29 - According to JDate survey, 52% of Jewish married couples who met online met on JDate (compared to 17% on Match and 10% on eHarmony). 63% percent of the online dates the users went on were set up through JDate. And 76% of Jewish online daters used JDate at some point, even if they didn't find a spouse on it.

by Anna North
See full article at Jezebel

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Curious US Dating Forums Boom on the Internet

MCCLATCHY TRIBUNE - July 10 - The internet dating market in the United States is booming: more and more websites are targetting particular social groups, and such specialization brings with it many curiosities. Geek2Geek.com is one of the countless US dating websites aimed at a niche. There is also Ivydate.com, named after the academically elitist Ivy League. At Horseloversconnection.com owning a horse is no must, although profile photos often show one. JDate.com, aimed mainly at the Jewish community, is one of the oldest niche-targetting sites. As of last year, there were "more than 1,500 dating sites" in the country, according to Mark Brooks, an advisor to several such sites. "Many of the new sites are niche dating sites," Brooks says.

See full article at TMC Net

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JDate Slaps Zoosk, OkCupid, And 2RedBeans With Patent Lawsuit Over Secret Admiring

TECH CRUNCH - Mar 13 - JDate has filed a patent lawsuit against 2RedBeans, Zoosk, and OKCupid. JDate alleges that all three companies are infringing the same patent, which states that Sparks Networks (JDate’s parent company) has invented a method or apparatus for automating the process of confidentially determining whether people feel mutual attraction or have mutual interests. JDate has a patent on detecting secret crushes. The suit calls out OkCupid’s QuickMatch, Zoosk’s Scientific Matching Service, and 2RedBean’s Secret Admire function as infringing JDate-owned patent # 5,950,200, titled “Method and Apparatus for Detection Of Reciprocal Interests or Feelings And Subsequent Notification.” Spark Networks wants the three companies to pay damages to JDate for the infringement.

by Leena Rao
See full article at Tech Crunch

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JDate Introduces JPicks: A Site For The Chosen Deals

MARKET WIRE - Feb 8 - JPicks.com is an exclusive daily deal site offering only "Chosen Deals" of 50-90% off at local shops, eateries and entertainment venues in Los Angeles. Typically, a deal is only available for up to 24 hours and only while supplies last, so time is of the essence in redeeming a JPick. FULL ARTICLE @ NEWSYSTOCKS.COM

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Online Dating Enjoying A Boom Among Boomers

TIME - Nov 26 - At Match.com, the 50-to-65 age group is the online dating site's fastest-growing demographic, up 89% in the last five years. And on JDate.com, members in the 50-plus age group jumped 40% from 2008 to 2009. JDate's parent company also owns SingleSeniorsMeet.com, which is its fastest growing property. According to one estimate, one in four second marriages for Boomers began online. Boomers often have a more open-minded view of potential partners. "Older people are looking for a companion, a lifelong partner," says anthropologist Helen Fisher. "They are not looking for a reproductive partner, so they can look at a broader range of individuals and are more likely to pick somebody from different social economic or religious backgrounds. FULL ARTICLE @ TIME

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How To Choose The Best User Name On JDate

OPW - Nov 4 - This time, In JDate’s 3-part webisode series - JDate Walking, Eric Schwartz who is a comedian, is asking people their advice on the best screen name. Watch Webisode 2 here:

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How To Choose The Best Profile Photo On JDate

OPW - Nov 4 - In JDate’s brand new 3-part webisode series, JDate Walking, Eric Schwartz who is a comedian, is asking people their advice while giving his signature commentary. Watch Webisode 1 here:

Stay tuned for webisodes 2 and 3…to be released weekly.

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Looking For Mr. Goodbuyer

ONLINE BARRONS - Sep 18 - JDate, a dating site for Jewish singles, is a hit with its clientele, but its parent company is a bust with the shareholders. Spark shares are languishing~$3 a share, amid disappointing financial results and after a proposed buyout at $3.10 a share earlier this year by the company's largest holder, Great Hill Equity Partners, was rejected by a special committee of the board. Spark shares look reasonably priced, based on the company's profits, solid balance sheet and JDate's franchise value. Osmium Partners, an investment firm that owns 6.7% of Spark, opposed the Great Hill bid, arguing Spark's intrinsic value exceeds $6 a share. "Spark is highly undervalued, and it would be a nice fit for an acquirer at the right price", says John Lewis, a principal at Osmium. In 2009, JDate generated $29M in revenue. While that was 63% of Spark's sales, it's a small fraction of the $1 billion in annual revenue generated by the online dating industry, which is dominated by eHarmony and Match.com. In contrast, general dating sites spend heavily on TV and Web ads. eHarmony may spend $125M on marketing and advertising, or more than 40% of its estimated $280M in 2010 revenue. JDate spends as little as 5% to 10% of sales on marketing and advertising. FULL ARTICLE @ ONLINE BARRONS    

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As Dating Pool Shrinks, Love Matches Grow

ABC NEWS - June 18 - Spark boasts 32 dating sites in all. Adam Berger, CEO of the Spark Networks, calls it "niche" dating. "Niche dating makes people instantly feel comfortable," said Berger. "They're among people who are just like themselves in many different ways." JDate, which caters to Jewish singles, is Spark Networks' most successful and popular web site. It claims 750,000 active users. While JDate may be the most well-known of the dating web sites, Spark's other niche web sites are booming. "ChristianMingle has probably been one of the sites that's grown faster than any other lately," said Berger. Subscriptions to Spark Networks sites cost from $9.99 to $39.99. The company maintains call centers where Spark representatives help love-starved subscribers find ways to improve their profiles and dates. The center takes more than 1,700 calls a day. FULL ARTICLE @ ABC NEWS

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JDate Goes Mobile

MARKET WIRE - May 25 - JDate announced the official beta launch of JDate Mobile, a mobile application compatible with any web-enabled phone in the world. Unlike most other mobile apps, JDate Mobile works not only on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices, but across all mobile platforms, regardless of handset model or carrier. FULL ARTICLE @ FOX BUSINESS

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Date Site Operator To Play The Field

LA BUSINESS JOURNAL - Apr 26 - Spark Networks turned down a March 2 offer from Great Hill Equity Partners III, a Boston-based private equity fund that owns 44% of Spark, to buy the rest of the company for $3.10 per share. The bid represented a 5% premium to Spark’s March 1 closing price of $2.95 and valued the company at $64M. The offer was widely denounced as low ball for Spark, which owns 29 niche dating sites, including JDate.com. Osmium Partners, another fund that owns 6.1% of Spark, called the deal “grossly inadequate” and vowed to fight any offer less than $6 a share. Shares have since risen, closing at $3.59 on April 22. Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com and a dating service consultant, believes the Great Hill valuation was probably about right – for now. “I think the valuation is pretty solid at $3.10,” Brooks said. However, he believes that Spark can do better. “I know the management at Spark Networks and they are smart people. Someone is going to acquire them,” he said. “They have a hallmark brand and they think they can do better once the market picks up.” The decline in Spark’s business corresponds to a slump in the entire online dating sector, as paid providers face new competition from free dating sites and social networks such as Facebook, Brooks said. FULL ARTICLE @ LA BUSINESS JOURNAL

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Niche Dating Sites Attract Date ‘Crashers’

MSNBC - Mar 29 - According to a study in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, men are “more likely to misrepresent personal assets, relationship goals, personal interests and personal attributes whereas women are more likely to misrepresent weight.” JDate - has been crashed by so many non-Jews over the years. "I think people don’t pay attention to the specialty aspect of the site” says Tina Tessina, psychotherapist and author of “The Unofficial Guide to Dating Again.”“Whether a relationship can make it or not depends on the character of the two individuals,” she says. “Not their external circumstances.” Furthermore, pretending to share some common interest might make a potential partner angry. “You can only fake it for so long,” says Wellman, who advertised on SugarDaddy4Me.com. “It’s not like the girls are going to ask to see your bank statements but if you take them to Jack in the Box for dinner, the jig is up.” FULL ARTICLE @ MSNBC

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Finding The Right Online Dating Service

LA TIMES - Feb 14 - Piper Jaffray Investment Research predicted U.S. spending on online dating would reach $1.7 billion annually by 2013, and $1.2 billion was spent in 2008. The Internet is essentially the world's largest bar, explains Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch. The first step is figuring out which nightspot is for you: There are those with no cover charges, PlentyofFish and OKCupid, and hookup spots Fling.com and OnlineBootyCall.com. There are "theme nights" geared toward particular interests, such as BikerPlanet.com, and "neighborhood watering holes" based on religion or culture, such as JDate or AsiaFriendFinder. There's comfort in name recognition from eHarmony and Match. Or get a yenta through eLove.com.

"One of our more popular sites as of late is DateaCougar.com," says Stephen Ventura, VP of First Beat Media, which owns GothScene.com, BikerPlanet.com, FitnessDates.com and others.  Want a dash of romance with your social networking? Brooks says to look to Zoosk. It syncs with a users' Facebook's profile page. Spark's Kizmeet is attempting something similar. Still, Brooks says it's unlikely that social networking sites will kill the online dating market. "If people are anonymous, people tend to be more aggressive and more outspoken," he says. "On an Internet dating site, if you want to cut somebody off, you can easily. When you're on a social network, you have to be [polite] because their friends are watching."

Match.com's mobile members alone grew 250% from 2008 to 2009, says Whitney Casey, Match's relationship expert. Industry experts Brooks and CyberDatingExpert.com's, Julie Spira also praise GPS-based mobile applications like Skout and Foursquare. "I'm looking forward to people using Internet dating on the iPad," Brooks adds. "You can look up a profile very easily on that format. The iPhone is still a phone." Spira says to look to webcam dating sites, Speeddate.com or WooMe.com. Hitwise reports that visits to free dating sites like PlentyofFish rose 19% over the previous year.
FULL ARTICLE @ LA TIMES

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From Cougars To Dog Lovers, You Can Find A Match

NBC - Feb 12 - Ronnie Ann Ryan, known to her followers as "The Dating Coach," and author of "MANifest Mr. Right," says 12% of today's marriages start in cyberspace. Ryan often sends her clients to sites like match.com and plentyoffish.com.com. Web sites now cater to lifestyle choices, such as those that target vegans, religious groups -- like jdate.com and catholiccupid.com, dog lovers, and even political affiliation. Web sites are also catering to tastes, such as cougarlife.com, which connects older women with younger men. There are also websites that may spell out a new reality in the online dating world. Ashleymadison.com claims to be the largest dating resource for married people who are looking for affection outside of their vows. FULL ARTICLE @ NBC

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JDate User Perspective

NY TIMES -- July 2 -- Spark Networks, the owner of JDate, runs 32 dating sites. In the first quarter of 2009, JDate’s sites accounted for $7.6m of the company’s $12m revenue. JDate is the oldest of the company’s services, which partly explains its success. Ron James’s marriage of 13 years ended so he joined JDate. In 18 months, he e-mailed 500 to 600 women and dated 40 to 50. “Internet dating in the 21st century is a hard process,” he said. Over that year and a half there were women he met who lied about their age, posted photos that were 10 years old, misrepresented their jobs and pretended to be more successful than they were. “A lot of the photos didn’t look like them,” he said. “I learned to watch out for sunglasses.” FULL ARTICLE @ NY TIMES

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Dating From The Dorm Room

BOSTON GLOBE -- June 24 -- In 2007, eHarmony lowered the minimum age for completing its membership questionnaire from 21 to 18. Mark Brooks, who runs a consulting firm for online dating sites, said interest in online dating among young people has increased over the past few years. “These youngsters started on social networks; they warmed up on Friendster, they drifted to MySpace, then Facebook,’’ he said. “They are used to having a world of choice under their fingertips, and they are more demanding of a good match. And so, according to Brooks, today’s 18-to-22-year-olds are far more likely to look for love online than previous generations were. Most dating sites like eHarmony, Match.com, and the Jewish dating site JDate accept members 18 and older. Others like Universityloveconnection.com and Campushook.com are restricted to people enrolled in school; Studentlove.com requires users to have a “.edu’’ e-mail address to sign up. FULL ARTICLE @ BOSTON GLOBE

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