Online Personals Watch: News on the Dating Industry and Business

SpeedDate Launches New Dating App for iPhone

PR NEWSWIRE - Sep 14 - SpeedDate's new iPhone app, "SpeedDate: Real Dates in Real-Time," eliminates the waiting in dating by allowing singles to date anywhere, anytime. With location-based search, SpeedDaters can find nearby singles.

See full article at PR Newswire

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iDate INSIDE Series: Episode #1 - Inside SpeedDate.com

OPW - Aug 23 - iDate INSIDE are a series of videos covering the inner operations of internet dating companies. The video shows the offices and the culture. Here is the first episode, a sneak peek into the SpeedDate.com's office.

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GaySpeedFlirt Screws Up App

OPW - Aug 16 - Thanks to SpeedDate, you can now dive into online dating right from your iPad, but it has some hiccups. When you search for dating in the app store, you might be surprised that the #1 suggested app is actually a dating app for gays - Gay Speed Flirt from SpeedDate that says "Date Local Men". This is where it gets confusing. A cute girl on the screen shot of the Gay Speed Flirt app is luring you in. Huh? Then on the next screen you'll find a guy, who is searching for women. See screen captures.  

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SpeedDate Founder Speaks At Webinar

OPW - May 18 - Join SpeedDate founder Simon Tisminezky and Popular Science's Mike Haney for an exclusive webinar in which they'll reveal the secrets behind their profitable subscription apps on multiple platforms. The event is scheduled for Thursday, May 26, 2011 from 1 to 2pm ET. You can subscribe, as well as find more info here.

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This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch.

Virtual Instant Marriages Now Available On SpeedDate.com

SPEEDDATE BLOG - Apr 1 - SpeedDate.com has been approved as the first ever virtual wedding officiant with its new service SpeedMarriage. The service launched on March 15, 2011 and five to ten electronic marriages are being performed each hour, with peak usage between midnight to 2 AM. SpeedDate connects online daters in real-time on quick 5 minute chat sessions, to quickly find chemistry with potential mates. Now, extremely compatible SpeedDaters can bypass the courtship phase and get married in their next 5 minutes as an added bonus. What’s next for SpeedDate? “We’ve received user feedback that our customers would like to find faster, more efficient ways of having children” says co-founder Simon Tisminezky. “We’re thinking of calling the new feature ‘SpeedBabies’, but our engineers haven’t figured out the technology yet.” By the way, there are absolutely no plans for “SpeedDivorce”.

See full article at SpeedDate blog

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Technology And Innovation Transform Online Dating

BUFFALO NEWS - Jan 25 – A host of new online dating services are transforming the online dating landscape with innovative new ideas, adding alternatives to traditional online dating. With more than 800 online dating sites, according to Mark Brooks, who edits Online Personals Watch, consumers have many decisions to make before the dating even begins. Launched in 2010, Cheek'd, provides members with cards, similar to business cards, containing an icebreaker message and a code. Cards are given to potential dates offline to hopefully initiate an online contact. Virtual world, Weopia, allows people to go on cyber dates prior to meeting in person. Other sites, such as SpeedDate, Skout, Goodwizz, and CanDoBetter, are all adding interesting alternatives for the estimated 20 million Americans who date online. FULL ARTICLE @ BUFFALO NEWS

See all posts on Cheek’d                     See all posts on SpeedDate
See all posts on Weopia                      See all posts on CanDoBetter.com
See all posts on Skout

SpeedDate Mobile With Instant Chat

PRESS RELEASE - Dec 15 - SpeedDate.com is adding real-time chat capabilities to its SpeedDate Mobile for iPhone and iPad. SpeedDate Mobile is free to download from the iTunes™ App Store, and allows singles to chat live with anyone in a growing network of  ~10M people. FULL ARTICLE @ PR-INSIDE

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Ethnic Background Is Still A Factor When Meeting Others Online

MARKETWIRE - Oct 27 - SpeedDate.com has released key findings on dating preferences based on a random sampling of 1.7M dates over the course of 18 months. While many singles are open to dating outside of their ethnicity, key demographic factors such as gender and age play a critical role. 53.6% of women prefer to date men of their own ethnicity compared with 42.9% of men. Starting at age 25, the percentage of men and women open to dating outside of their ethnicity begin to greatly differ. By age 60, 70% of women on SpeedDate.com prefer meeting others exclusively within their own ethnicity compared to just 38% of men who consider it an important factor. FULL ARTICLE @ MARKETWIRE

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SpeedDate Surpasses 10 Million Users

PRESS RELEASE - Sep 15 - SpeedDate.com, the online speed dating service, has reached 10M users. SpeedDate is connecting singles in real-time via five minute dates via web/video chat and mobile devices. The live interaction allows singles to find out early on if there is chemistry between them. The company recently announced its mobile app for the Apple iPhone and other smart phones has reached ~1M unique downloads. FULL ARTICLE @ BUSINES WIRE

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Women Get More Aggressive With Age

BUSINESS WIRE - June 30 - SpeedDate.com has released findings based on 100,000 speed dates over the course of two days on who is more likely to break the ice and start a conversation during a first time meeting online. Findings conclude that 78% of men initiate conversation compared to 22% of women. However, starting at age 42, the number of women initiating conversation dramatically increases to the point that by age 60 women are more likely than men to start the conversation. FULL ARTICLE @ BUSINESS WIRE

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Dan Abelon, President And Co-Founder Of SpeedDate

OPW INTERVIEW - June 18 - SpeedDate brings people together to participate in first dates over their webcams. The service resides at the intersection of two very interesting and important trends. The rise of computer based webcam use, and the rise of phone based webcam use. Have you seen the iPhone 4? That’s a real game changer that should bring growth to the likes of SpeedDate, Woome and other sites that offer webcam based dating services. - Mark Brooks

Listen to the interview

How big of a deal is mobile for SpeedDate?
It’s an extremely big deal for us. We’re fairly focused on mobile. We launched as a destination site on SpeedDate.com but over the past year mobile services have been an increasing part of our business. 20 to 30 percent of our activity each day is coming from mobile.

How do you define activity?
I would define activity as people registering for the site as well as using the services offered by SpeedDate.

So that’s 20% defined by activity which is log ins. How about the money split? Are you seeing the same sort of money split?
I can’t give exact details on the financial side but it is definitely a growing part of the business overall. We’ve found that the people who use our mobile services are not more or less likely to pay for the service than people on the site. But I think it’s an area where there is a lot of potential for the online dating industry in general. I think it will become a bigger focus for other companies in the industry as time goes by.

I’ve heard rumors that some mobile dating apps monetize better than others. Do you have any comment on that?
We’re monetizing pretty well for both the iPhone and mobile as well as for the site. We’re not seeing a huge difference there. However, there are some challenges on the mobile side. The marketing and distribution channels are not nearly as built out over the web. I wouldn’t say it’s the Wild West but it’s still a pretty early stage in terms of the inventory that is available and how easy it is to expand.

How is it going with the iPad app?
It’s going well. I think it’s a really exciting platform in terms of what’s available. On the iPhone we have 1.3 million downloads. I’m not sure how long it will take for the iPad to get there but I think there is a lot of potential.

If we were to look at mobile versus online; has there been any surprises to you for usage patterns between mobile and traditional online users?
The interesting thing is that there are a lot of females who are using the iPhone and iPad applications.

You must be excited about the new iPhone having a camera on the front. It fits perfectly with your application. What are your plans for the new iPhone?
Yeah we’re really excited about it. I think all killer dating apps should be mobile so you can use it anywhere and anytime you want. The killer experience from the app should also be live and interactive. I think when you marry those 2 together, the interactive side and the mobile side, then the world basically changes for singles.

Do you have any plans to integrate into SMS as well?
Yeah, that is something we’ve been thinking about. As time goes by and we obtain more potential users
outside of smart phones then SMS will become more attractive for us.

What words of advice would you give to the industry for anyone considering creating a new mobile app?
Experiment and innovate with the user experience.

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SpeedDate.com Launched On iPad

PRESS RELEASE - May 14 - SpeedDate.com, the speed dating site, today announced the first dating app for the Apple iPad. SpeedDate for the iPad allows singles to browse photos and profiles, search for matches and connect while on the go. FULL ARTICLE @ EARTH TIMES

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SpeedDate.com Surpasses One Million Unique Mobile Downloads

EARTH TIMES - Apr 30 - SpeedDate.com, announced that SpeedDate Mobile, the company’s iPhone/iPod app, has surpassed one million unique downloads. In addition, SpeedDate Mobile now ranks amongst the top 50 of all iPhone apps. FULL ARTICLE @ EARTH TIMES

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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

See all posts on PlentyofFish              See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on OkCupid                    See all posts on DateaCougar
See all posts on Fling                         See all posts on Zoosk
See all posts on OnlineBootyCall         See all posts on SpeedDate
See all posts on JDate                        See all posts on WooMe
See all posts on eHarmony                 See all posts on Spark Networks
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Post V-Day Dream Date Offered By SpeedDate.com

PRESS RELEASE - Feb 10 - SpeedDate will give one lucky person the chance to truly experience the date of their dreams. From February 8-14, folks will be encouraged to share their worst or most amusing dating stories. On Feb 15th, SpeedDate will choose a winner who will receive either a trip for two to Las Vegas, romantic day of wine tasting in Napa Valley, or dinner and limo in their hometown.

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App And Mobile Dating Market Continues To Skyrocket

CHICAGO NOW – Nov 3 - Worldwide, the mobile dating market, which included app, mobile Internet services and text-based services, has grown from $330 million in 2007 to $550 million in 2008. That figure is expected to more than double to $1.3 billion by 2013, according to Juniper Research. Skout, SpeedDate, DateCheck, Zoosk, Grindr, Radaroo and Gelato are but a handful of offerings in this market. Traditional online dating sites are also realizing the need for a mobile dating solution. Match.com and OkCupid have made strides in this direction. Traditional online dating sites must offer a mobile solution in order to remain competitive. FULL ARTICLE @ CHICAGO NOW

Internet Dating Industry Weekly News Oct 23rd, 2009 - 3.5 mins

This is the news for October 18th through October 23rd, 2009. Please follow this link to enjoy the high-resolution version. Here are some of the topics we covered for this week:

• People Media ranked on Deloitte’s prestigious Technology Fast 500 list
• Zoosk’s member base surpasses 40 million users
• Newly-launched eLove.com fuses online dating and traditional matchmaking
• AARP partners with Perfectmach relationship expert Dr. Pepper Schwartz
• Australia’s Cupid Media rejecting 3,000 profiles a day due to fraud suspicions

 

Internet Dating Industry Weekly News - 6 Mins

Online Personals Watch Weekly News Summary #7, May 18th, 2009 from Mark Brooks on Vimeo.

Basisnote scent matching, Speedate on Android, Craigslist to moderate Adult ads, Kaplan launches Flirt140 Twitter dating service, Spark revenue 20% down, Indian matrimonials to hit $63m in 2011, sugar daddy blackmailing, and Air News Zealands matchmaking flight.

SpeedDate.com Launches App For Android

PR NEWSWIRE -- May 12 -- SpeedDate.com, the speed dating Web site, announced the availability of its Android application, allowing singles to effortlessly connect with potential matches from their mobile phone. SpeedDate.com is a free service which gives singles the ability to connect via three-minute instant messages or live video dates. FULL ARTICLE @ PR NEWSWIRE

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This post also appears at the iDate Forums

Internet Dating Industry Weekly News Summary - 5 Mins

Online Personals Watch News Summary #2, April 10, 2009 from Mark Brooks on Vimeo.

This weeks news covers the rise of philandering, virtual goods companies making $500m+, mobile dating to hit $1.4b in 2013, banner ad blindness, lock and key and events, online speed dating and a survey of fussy singles.