Online Personals Watch

Lookin' For Love In Canada

CANWEST -- Aug 16 -- A growing number of Canadians are willing to pay for services such as online dating, speed dating, singles groups and matchmakers. Kim Hughes, editor-in-chief of Lavalife, says there are two key reasons that people pay to date: efficiency and customized searches. It's Just Lunch is a matchmaking service that works with upscale restaurant partners and charges $1,995 for one-year membership. Meet Market Adventures is a more casual singles service. It is a "pay-as-you-play" model with no membership fee, but individual fees are charged for each event. Meet Market organizes approximately 35 to 45 events every month. Justin Parfitt was single and looking to improve on existing speed-dating models when he founded his company, FastLife, in Australia in 2003. FastLife is now based in Toronto and has expanded into Canada, the U.S., New Zealand, the U.K. and China. The price of a standard event is $79 and includes an open bar. FULL ARTICLE @ THE WINDSOR STAR

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Don´t Call It A Dating Service

24 -- Feb 14 -- A singles service, Meet Market Adventures, organizes gatherings and invites singles to sign up for them online. "We're not really a dating service, so to speak," said Mark Smith, president of the company's Alberta franchise. "What we do is bring singles together in a safe evening and they mingle among themselves." Meet Market Adventures, launched five years ago in Toronto, and has 3,000 members since it set up shop in Calgary six months ago. Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com and a consultant to the Internet dating industry, said the number of people visiting online dating sites in December 2007 was down 10% over December 2006 (according to comScore). He said that doesn't mean the industry is declining, but that the people who are still doing it are serious about it. FULL ARTICLE @ 24 (page 8)