Online Personals Insider

Internet Dating Insider # 112, August 31st 2009

The Online Personals Insider is the internet dating conference weekly news summary

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:~ INTERNET DATING CONFERENCE ~:

September 24-25, 2009 - London
http://www.idate2009.com

Register before September 7 and save GBP £ 275!
http://www.idate2009.com/register-london-2009.php
We've extended early registration until next Monday....Be sure to register and save.  This includes savings on the special pre-event session with Mark Brooks.

FYI, Miami is Jan 27-29, 2010.  Register before September 7 and save USD $ 825!
http://www.idate2010.com/register-miami-2010.php

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:~ CEO INTERVIEWS ~:

6rounds - Ilan Leibovich
http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/ilan.html


Jumbuck - Ted Verani
http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/ted-verani-svp-sales-marketing-at-jumbuck.html

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:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:


Falling Back Into The Dating World

WESTENDER -- Aug 26 -- Singles in Vancouver seem to put more effort into finding a mate when the leaves start to turn. “Once it starts getting a little bit colder, people stay indoors a lot more — and, of course, are on their computers — and would like to find someone to snuggle up and watch a movie with,” says Kate Bilenki, spokesperson for Plentyoffish.com. “We notice an increase in the fall, and a very large jump comes around Christmas.” While Plentyoffish generates a high volume of traffic because it offers free membership, local paid dating services such as Executive Search Dating (ESD) also see an increase in business in the fall.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/falling-back-into-the-dating-world.html

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Sex With A Stranger

GLAMOUR MAGAZINE -- Aug 26 -- A startling number of young women are living out a fantasy with guys they meet online – and don’t know at all. Liberating or just plain dangerous? Hookup or “casual dating” websites like Fling, SexSearch, OnlineBootyCall, and others often outperform mainstream dating sites. Match.com had 5M unique visitors in May. AdultFriendFinder had nearly 24M and Fling 18M. Statistics show that ~50% of these users are women.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/sex-with-a-stranger.html

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Romance Recession-proof As Dates Without Dinner Thrive

PRESS RELEASE -- Aug 25 -- Casual dating site forgetdinner.co.uk is reporting a 200% increase in membership over the last 3 months as the recession begins to bite. Forget Dinner was established last summer by Howard James who is not surprised by the site’s success. “Our members know that they can meet without feeling obliged to spend money but still have a great time”, he says.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/romance-recessionproof-as-dates-without-dinner-thrive.html

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Start a new niche dating site on White Label Dating, the top choice for serious affiliates, dating site entrepreneurs and newspapers/magazines.  Email gtaylor@globalpersonals.co.uk.

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Rise Of The 5-9 Entrepreneurs

WLD -- Aug 24 -- A great article was published in The Sunday Times on the increase of individuals starting their own businesses whilst holding down full-time jobs. According to Enterprise Nation, the home-business website, ~5M people in the UK keep their jobs while building their own company at night and at weekends. Most of WLD.com's successful partners are easily generating ~L5,000 per month within 6 months by working in their spare.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/rise-of-the-59-entrepreneurs.html

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The Top Online Meat Markets

FORBES -- Aug 25 -- Online dating is now a $950M industry and according to Nielsen dating sites snared 27.5M unique visitors in June. Forbes used Nielsen's latest unique-visitor data for June 2009 to rank the 10 most popular dating sites. #1: eHarmony.com, with 4.25M visitors, up 48% YOY. Yahoo Personals came in at #2, with 4.1M uniques, followed by Match.com, with 3.4M. Plentyoffish.com, at #6, boasting 2.2M viewers, nearly double the amount a year ago. Noteworthy is the 91 minutes that an average users spends per visit. "Unlike other dating sites, Plentyoffish relies less on a marketing blitz than on word of mouth from satisfied customers", says founder Markus Frind.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/the-top-online-meat-markets.html

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RSVP Revenue Down

THE AUSTRALIAN -- Aug 25 -- Fairfax Media CEO Brian McCarthy said the 2008-09 financial year had seen the "worst environment" he had ever experienced in the media sector. Fairfax's full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 27% to $605M for the year to June compared with 2007-08. The company's online division, which includes New Zealand auction site TradeMe, accommodation site Stayz and dating site RSVP, suffered in the tough climate and recorded an 8% fall in EBITDA.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/rsvp-revenue-down.html

______________________________________________________________________

Internet Dating Conference
The business conference for the online dating industry @ InternetDatingConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.InternetDatingConference.com

Conference Organiser
 Marc Lesnick, info@idate2007.com, 212-722-1744

Media Relations
 Press, please contact Mark Brooks
 mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636

_________________

Online Personals Watch
www.onlinepersonalswatch.com or opw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636

Internet Dating Insider # 111, August 24th 2009

The Online Personals Insider is the internet dating conference weekly news summary

______________________________________________________________________

:~ INTERNET DATING CONFERENCE ~:

September 24-25, 2009 - London
http://www.idate2009.com

Register before August 31 and save GBP L 275!
http://www.idate2009.com/register-london-2009.php

FYI, Miami is Jan 27-29, 2010.  Register before August 31 and save USD $ 825!
http://www.idate2010.com/register-miami-2010.php

______________________________________________________________________


:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:


Much Talk About Marriage, Little Talk Of Romance

GUARDIAN.CO.UK -- Aug 24 -- While internet dating is commonplace, Shaadi.com is a more serious proposition; one of the most successful matrimonial websites and increasingly popular with Asians looking for a life partner. Since its launch in 1997 ~15M people have signed up to Shaadi. The site has 300M page views a month; 6,000 new profiles are added every day. The site is tailored to the typical criteria of traditional matchmakers, with questions about family values (traditional, moderate or liberal), profession and even complexion.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/much-talk-about-marriage-little-talk-of-romance.html

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80% Of Profile Pictures Are Fake According To CheckedProfile.com

PR NEWSWIRE -- Aug 20 -- According to a research by a new online photo verification site, http://www.CheckedProfile.com, over 80% of online daters have suspected that the profile images being used online are fakes and over a third have actually discovered that a person's identity does not with their online persona. CheckedProfile.com is a new service that has launched today in the US.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/80-of-profile-pictures-are-fake-according-to-checkedprofilecom.html

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SNAP Interactive Announces Q2 '09 Operating Results

PRESS RELEASE -- Aug 19 -- SNAP Interactive, a provider of online dating apps for social networks, announced operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. Operational Highlights: Q2 2009 revenue: $784,242, as compared to $533,257 in Q2 2008, a 47% YOY increase, sixth consecutive profitable quarter.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/snap-interactive-announces-q2-09-operating-results.html

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Stop fraud before it happens!  Learn how to proactively block out scammers before they attempt to defraud or abuse your good customers. Visit iovation.com or call (503) 224-6010 today.

______________________________________________________________________


New Dating Site For Lawyers

PRESS RELEASE -- Aug 20 -- The Dolce Network, a new exclusive dating social network whose members include creative, affluent and attractive professionals, launched its first Internet dating site, Lawdate.com. Lawdate lets singles (non-legal professionals and lawyers) search for single and available lawyers.  Subscriptions begin at $19.99 for the first month.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/new-dating-site-for-lawyers.html

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Top 10 Most Affordable Cities For Dating

PR NEWSWIRE -- Aug 18 -- Match.com has found that there are still plenty of cities where a romantic night out won't break the bank. Pittsburgh tops this year's list with a casual dinner and two movie tickets costing $77.80. The same date in the most expensive city on the list, Los Angeles, comes in at $126.06.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/top-10-most-affordable-cities-for-dating.html

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Dating In The "Facebook Era"

EXAMINER -- Aug 18 -- Clara Shih is the author of the newly released bestseller, “The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff”. When asked about how Facebook has changed the dynamic of dating relationships, here is what she had to say:

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/dating-in-the-facebook-era.html

______________________________________________________________________

Internet Dating Conference
The business conference for the online dating industry @ InternetDatingConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.InternetDatingConference.com

Conference Organiser
 Marc Lesnick, info@idate2007.com, 212-722-1744

Media Relations
 Press, please contact Mark Brooks
 mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636

_________________

Online Personals Watch
www.onlinepersonalswatch.com or opw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636

Internet Dating Insider # 110, August 17th 2009

The Online Personals Insider is the internet dating conference weekly news summary

______________________________________________________________________

:~ INTERNET DATING CONFERENCE ~:

September 24-25, 2009 - London
http://www.idate2009.com

Register before August 31 and save GBP L 275!
http://www.idate2009.com/register-london-2009.php

FYI, Miami is Jan 27-29, 2010.  Register before August 31 and save USD $ 825!
http://www.idate2010.com/register-miami-2010.php

______________________________________________________________________


:~ CEO INTERVIEWS ~:

Anupam G. Mittal, Shaadi
http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/anupam-g-mittal-founder-ceo-of-shaadicom.html

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:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:


Executives From Match.com & DatingDirect.com Hired By WLD.com

WLD -- Aug 17 -- WhiteLabelDating.com, provider of software and services that enable brands to create their own online dating sites, appoints Darren Damiano to the position of Finance Director and board member. Darren joins WLD from Match.com where he was involved with their strategy plans, pricing, due diligence and ?nancial modeling. In addition, Katie Mowe will also be joining the company as Consumer Marketing & PR Manager. Katie joins from DatingDirect.com where she was UK Marketing Manager responsible for managing all PR, branding and marketing, including the development of all external messaging and communications in the UK.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/executives-from-matchcom-datingdirectcom-hired-by-wldcom.html

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Economy Drives Free Relationship Counseling

PR NEWSWIRE -- Aug 14 -- Men and women are turning to Internet sites like SideTaker.com not only to ask advice about their problems, but to help decide their arguments, noting it's a cheaper alternative to professional relationship counseling. SideTaker.com allows for both sides of an argument to be voiced simultaneously, letting others vote on who's at fault while giving their own advice in the matter. Keeping it all completely anonymous, arguers can offer all the facts and the outcome is brutal truth.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/economy-drives-free-relationship-counseling.html

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IAC Reports Q2 Results - Revenue Graph

OPW -- Aug 13 -- Here's a revenue graph showing the new Q2 '09 revenues against prior revenues. Match.com revenue for the Q2 '09 declined 5% from $93.3 in Q2 '08 to $88.3M reflecting the sale of Match Europe to Meetic on June 5th. Excluding the results of Match Europe, revenue grew 9% during the quarter driven by a 9% increase in U.S. subscribers.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/iac-reports-q2-results-revenue-graph.html

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Enable your dating site with voice with Talkster. Email mark@courtlandbrooks.com for more info.

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Bharatmatrimony.com Postpones Public Issue

LIVE MINT -- Aug 13 -- Online services firm Consim that runs the Bharatmatrimony.com matchmaking service has postponed its plans to sell shares to the public through an IPO by up to 2 years and has also scaled back by 75% its expansion plans for brick-and-mortar matrimony centres across the country. Consim’s CEO/founder Murugavel Janakiraman said “I certainly want to do an IPO no later than 2011." He added that the company’s revenue would increase 50% this year and profit margins move up to 20% from 10%. Janakiraman did not disclose the actual revenue or profits of the firm.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/bharatmatrimonycom-postpones-public-issue.html

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Zoosk Desktop And Zoosk Mobile Launched

PRESS RELEASE -- Aug 11 -- Zoosk, the social dating community, has launched Zoosk Desktop and Zoosk Mobile. Zoosk Desktop is a downloadable app, built using Adobe AIR technology, that runs on users' computer outside of their web browsers. Members can see a real-time stream of activity by other singles in their local area as well as instant notifications when they receive winks, emails, or virtual gifts.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/zoosk-desktop-and-zoosk-mobile-launched-.html

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Spark Networks Q2 2009 Financial Results

MARKET WIRE -- Aug 11 -- Revenue for the Q2 '09 was $11.2M a decrease of 25% compared to Q2 '08. The revenue for Jewish Networks was $7.1M (down 18%) and $701,000 for General Market Networks (down of 68%). Average paying subscribers for Jewish Networks were down 10% comparing to Q2 '08.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/spark-networks-q2-2009-financial-results.html

______________________________________________________________________

Internet Dating Conference
The business conference for the online dating industry @ InternetDatingConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.InternetDatingConference.com

Conference Organiser
 Marc Lesnick, info@idate2007.com, 212-722-1744

Media Relations
 Press, please contact Mark Brooks
 mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636

_________________

Online Personals Watch
www.onlinepersonalswatch.com or opw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636

Internet Dating Insider # 109, August 10th 2009

The Online Personals Insider is the internet dating conference weekly news summary

______________________________________________________________________

:~ INTERNET DATING CONFERENCE ~:

September 24-25, 2009 - London

http://www.idate2009.com

Register before August 31 and save GBP £ 275!

http://www.idate2009.com/register-london-2009.php

FYI, Miami is Jan 27-29, 2010.  Register before August 31 and save USD $ 825!

http://www.idate2010.com/register-miami-2010.php

______________________________________________________________________

:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

Radio Date™ Is Coming To Dallas

PR WEB -- Aug 10 -- BlackPeopleMeet.com and The Steve Harvey Morning Show are now seeking black singles from Dallas to participate as contestants in Radio Date™, a creative and interactive take on dating game shows of the past. One woman and three men, all from Dallas, will be selected to appear on the show on August 19. The lucky couple's date will take place Saturday, August 22nd. Winners of the Radio Date receive an elegant, all-expenses-paid night on the town.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/radio-date-is-coming-to-dallas.html

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Guardian Soulmates Goes Mobile

GUARDIAN.CO.UK -- Aug 7 -- The Guardian's online dating site, Guardian Soulmates, has celebrated its fifth birthday by launching a beta version mobile site. Guardian Soulmates was launched in July 2004. Since then, over 275,000 people have signed up as members.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/guardian-soulmates-goes-mobile.html

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New Dating Site With Video Profiles Only

NEWS4JAX -- Aug 7 -- VideoSingles.net is a new service that lets members create a video profile. The clients come to the Southpoint studios in Jacksonville and make a video.  That way they know what they're getting into before they go on a date. The service launched last week and already has ~50 people with profiles online.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/new-dating-site-with-video-profiles-only.html

______________________________________________________________________

Start a new niche dating site on White Label Dating, the top choice for serious affiliates, dating site entrepreneurs and newspapers/magazines.  Email gtaylor@globalpersonals.co.uk.

______________________________________________________________________

New Friends Reunited Owner Plans Over-50s Dating Site

GUARDIAN.CO.UK -- Aug 7 -- Friends Reunited's 60 staff will all keep their jobs under new owner DC Thomson, with the Beano publisher planning to launch an over-50s dating service to appeal to users of its genealogy business Find My Past. DC Thomson acquired Friends Reunited from ITV for L25m yesterday.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/new-friends-reunited-owner-plans-over50s-dating-site.html

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eHarmony Attempts To Cut Off Patent Suit

LEGALTIMES -- Aug 6 -- Last week, eHarmony’s attorneys from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe asked Judge Paul Friedman at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to declare that the company had not infringed on patents owned by eRecruitment, a job search site based in the UK. According to the complaint, eHarmony received a letter dated July 14 asking the company to either shut down its site or pay a licensing fee for the technology that classifies and indexes users’ personal information.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/eharmony-attempts-to-cut-off-patent-suit.html

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Skout Hooks Up with Billing Revolution

WEBWIRE -- Aug 5 -- Billing Revolution, a mobile payments and billing solutions company, partners with Skout, a location-based dating company, to enable both mobile and web based transactions. Billing Revolution will provide its single-click payment solutions to simplify the consumer checkout experience for Skout users.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/skout-hooks-up-with-billing-revolution.html

______________________________________________________________________

Internet Dating Conference

The business conference for the online dating industry @ InternetDatingConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.InternetDatingConference.com

Conference Organiser

Marc Lesnick, info@idate2007.com, 212-722-1744

Media Relations

Press, please contact Mark Brooks

mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636

________________

Online Personals Watch

www.onlinepersonalswatch.com or opw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636

Internet Dating Insider # 108, August 4th 2009

The Online Personals Insider is the internet dating conference weekly news summary

______________________________________________________________________

:~ INTERNET DATING CONFERENCE ~:

September 24-25, 2009 - London
http://www.idate2009.com

We have extended the early deadline for registration by 1 week.  Register before August 7 and save GBP £ 350!
http://www.idate2009.com/register-london-2009.php

FYI, Miami is Jan 27-29, 2010.  Register before August 7 and save USD $ 775!
http://www.idate2010.com/register-miami-2010.php

______________________________________________________________________


:~ CEO INTERVIEW ~:

People Media - Josh Meyers
http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/07/josh-meyers-ceo-of-peoplemedia.html

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:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:


Looking For Mr. Or Mrs. Right? Check Your DNA

CTV.CA -- Aug 1 -- ScientificMatch.com, an online matchmaking company, pairs up singles based on differences in their DNA. According to Eric Holzle, founder of ScientificMatch.com, research shows that people (and animals) are attracted to potential mates who have different immune system genes, which ensures healthier relationships and children. The service will match both heterosexual and same-sex couples, but it does have some restrictions. Women on the pill cannot sign up because oral contraceptives trick a woman into thinking she's pregnant, which causes her to seek out people with similar genes. People who were not raised by their biological parents very early in life are also exempt from signing up, because research has shown that adoptees often seek out people based on their adoptive parents' immune system genes.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/08/looking-for-mr-or-mrs-right-check-your-dna.html

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Online Gaming For Singles

PRESS RELEASE -- July 30 -- Connected Thought Ltd, has launched a new dating site, Smeetme.com. Singles can search profiles and chat and create Smeetme games and send them to potential dates . The games comprise different types of challenges - such as brain teasers, audio challenges and picture challenges. Each challenge can have its own reward if successfully completed.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/07/online-gaming-for-singles.html

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Best Cities For Singles 2009

FORBES -- July 24 -- The New York metro area boasts a larger number of active accounts on Match.com than any other place in the country, making up 8% of the entire site's active members. Close competition with New York includes Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C., which round out the top five best cities for singles. Only 2% of Angelinos, who live in the second-largest metro in the country, actively use the site. To generate our list of best cities for singles, we ranked 40 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas in seven different categories: coolness, cost of living alone, culture, job growth, online dating participation, nightlife and the ratio of singles to the entire population of the metro.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/07/best-cities-for-singles-2009.html

______________________________________________________________________


Stop fraud before it happens!  Learn how to proactively block out scammers before they attempt to defraud or abuse your good customers. Visit iovation.com or call (503) 224-6010 today.

______________________________________________________________________


IAC Reverses Year-Earlier Loss

WSJ -- July 29 -- IAC/InterActiveCorp posted Q2 earnings of $40.8m compared with a year-earlier loss of $421.6m. Earnings before amortization in the media and advertising segment, which includes the Ask.com search engine, dropped 56%. The Match unit posted a 25% profit gain despite a 5% revenue drop and a 13% subscriber decrease. Excluding Europe, subscribership was up 9%.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/07/iac-reverses-yearearlier-loss-.html

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Marriage-Maker Claims Are Tied In Knots

WSJ -- July 29 -- eHarmony has twice commissioned studies from Harris Interactive to estimate its impact on marriages. The first, in 2005, found that 90 people a day married because of the site. The second, in 2007, found that the number had surged to 236. Using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on marriages, eHarmony estimated that it could claim credit for 2% of marriages in the U.S. A Match.com media kit claimed that 12 marriages a day trace their roots to the site, but the company now says it's inaccurate. Markus Frind, CEO of PlenyofFish.com, says his site creates 800,000 relationships each year, according to exit interviews with departing members. ~100,000 marriages per year. The only statistic Mr. Frind knows with certainty is the number of members who have self-reported success stories on his site -- now ~ 2,000.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/07/marriagemaker-claims-are-tied-in-knots.html

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New Travelodges Open In Affair Hotspots

EMEDIAWIRE -- July 28 -- IllicitEncounters.com, an extra-marital dating site, has now over 340,000 members in the UK. IllicitEncounters.com was in talks with Travelodge, a hotel chain, to negotiate an offer for their members. Travelodge may be facilitating more than people's need to sleep, after opening four new hotels in several adultery hot-spots including Edinburgh, Kent and Essex. "Edinburgh currently holds the largest number of llicitEncounters' subscribers of any Scottish county." says Sara Hartley, representative from IE.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/07/new-travelodges-open-in-affair-hotspots.html

______________________________________________________________________

Internet Dating Conference
The business conference for the online dating industry @ InternetDatingConference.com

Industry Message Boards @ mb.InternetDatingConference.com

Conference Organiser
 Marc Lesnick, info@idate2007.com, 212-722-1744

Media Relations
 Press, please contact Mark Brooks
 mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636

_________________

Online Personals Watch
www.onlinepersonalswatch.com or opw1.com

Editor: Mark Brooks, mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com, 212-444-1636