Online Personals Insider

Internet Dating Insider # 116, September 28th 2009

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

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:~ INTERNET DATING CONFERENCE ~:

Next iDate event will be held in Miami on Jan 27-29, 2010
Register before October 2 and save $625!
http://www.idate2010.com/register-miami-2010.php

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:~ CEO INTERVIEW ~:

OkCupid - Sam Yagan
http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/sam-yagan-ceo-of-okcupid.html

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:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

MONTHLY NEWS VIDEO SUMMARY (June 2009): http://tinyurl.com/opwnews9

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Online Buddies Acquires Majority Stake In Dlist.com

PRESS RELEASE - Sep 25 - Online Buddies, the parent company of Manhunt, has acquired a majority stake in a social networking site for gay men under age 30, DList.com. As part of the deal, Online Buddies will take over all marketing efforts for Dlist.com. Dlist.com launched in 2006 and similar to MySpace, the site allows members to share music, art, and photos, and build their personal pages.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/onli.html

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True.com Agrees To Settle Class Action

PR NEWSWIRE - Sep 23 - True.com has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that was brought against it by a former subscriber who alleged that True had unlawfully charged fees to his credit card after he cancelled his subscription. True denies all of the allegations, and has agreed to settle the case. As part of the settlement, True has agreed to pay $1.5M into a settlement fund over a period from February 2009 through March 2010.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/truecom-agrees-to-settle-class-action.html

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Background Check On iPhone

MASHABLE - Sep 22 - DateCheck (by Intelius) is a new iPhone app that conducts a comprehensive background check using a name, a phone number, or an email address. The search application filters social web and public record results for the following factors: Sleaze Detector, Compatibility, Net Worth, Living Situation, and Interests.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/background-check-on-iphone.html

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

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WhiteLabelDating.com's Partner Revenues To Exceed L20 Million

PRESS RELEASE - Sep 22 - WhiteLabelDating.com (WLD), the provider of software and services that enable brands to create their own online dating sites, announces that annualised partner revenues for this year are set to exceed L20M. 90% of this revenue will be earned by individuals who have set up their own online dating sites. A further 10% will be earned by existing brands that have unlocked revenue from online communities by launching online dating services.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/whitelabeldatingcoms-partner-revenues-to-exceed-20-million.html

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Locals Launch Dating Site

FLORIDA TODAY - Sep 22 - PlentyofFish.com, a free dating site averaging ~3M unique visitors per month, has seen a jump in growth since the economic downturn. The site saw a 94% increase in traffic from June 2008 to June 2009. eHarmony.com has seen a 48% gain in traffic since last year and Match.com saw its strongest fourth quarter in about seven years in 2008. Two Indialantic entrepreneurs have capitalized on the trend, creating a new site called vacancylove.com. It is in beta-testing until Oct. 1, when it will officially launch. Until then, users who sign up will get a free 90-day membership.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/locals-launch-dating-site.html

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Online Dating Scams – The Biggest Threat To A Growing Industry

IOVATION - Sep 21 - According to Forrester Research online dating is the third largest producer of revenue out of all paid content sites, generating $957M in 2008, a figure that the firm predicts will grow 10% by 2013. The increased popularity of online dating is also good news for scammers. According to trends revealed by Google, search terms like “online dating” and “free dating” are getting the most hits from fraudsters in African countries. One of the important ways Iovation helps companies in the dating industry is by raising the bar for re-identifying scammers, by focusing on the computer they use. With device reputation, it is much easier to identify scammers trying to return to a site and repeat their scam or con.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/online-dating-scams-the-biggest-threat-to-a-growing-industry.html

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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 # 115, September 21st 2009

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

______________________________________________________________________

:~ INTERNET DATING CONFERENCE ~:

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

The London event is 3 days away! Speakers include Google, Juniper, The Guardian and others.
http://www.idate2009.com/speakers-london-2009.php

Please note that September 23 is a special pre-event session with Mark Brooks providing a throrough introduction to the online dating industry.

FYI, Miami is Jan 27-29, 2010.  Those that register for Miami before September 26 save USD $ 625!
http://www.idate2010.com/register-miami-2010.php

______________________________________________________________________


:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

MONTHLY NEWS VIDEO SUMMARY (June 2009): http://tinyurl.com/opwnews9

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Radar Love

THE GLOBE AND MAIL - Sep 18 - Mobile dating apps such as Skout and Are You Interested let users download software onto their phones that alerts them when a potential match is within a few hundred metres. The pioneer of GPS dating was Lovegety, which originated in Japan in 1998 and notified users if a match was nearby by vibrating their cellphones. Lovegety inspired Bluedating, spontaneous matchmaking via Bluetooth. Soon after came “geosocial” networking services such as Loopt and Brightkite.com, which allow people to keep track of friends and explore social communities around their favourite venues ...

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/radar-love.html

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Match.com's Mandy Ginsberg A 2009 Marketer Of The Year

PR NEWSWIRE - Sep 17 - SVP and North American General Manager, Mandy Ginsberg, has been named as one of Brandweek's 2009 "Marketers of the Year." Ginsberg was honored for her work on Match.com's "It's Okay to Look" campaign, as well as the "Rejected by eHarmony" campaign for Match.com sister site, Chemistry.com.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/matchcoms-mandy-ginsberg-a-2009-marketer-of-the-year.html

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The Tech Behind eHarmony

COMPUTER WORLD - Sep 16 - To match people, eHarmony relies on four database and data warehousing products which include Oracle Database, the open-source MySQL database, open-source data-crunching app, Hadoop, and data warehousing appliances from Netezza. Assigning matches is a complex mathematical problem called "graph partitioning," said Joseph Essas, VP of engineering and operations. Hadoop is speedy, says Essas. "What used to take hours now with Hadoop takes just 30 minutes," he said. eHarmony also uses Hadoop to do real-time analysis of the effectiveness of its TV ads.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/the-tech-behind-eharmony-.html

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messmo for Mobile – Extend your member's iDating experience to mobile. Reach your members 24x7 and convert them with messmo's mobile messaging and billing platform.

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Daters Have Only 30 Minutes To Make A Good Impression

PRESS RELEASE -- Sep 14 --'It's Just Lunch' and American Way in flight magazine reveal that when it comes to dating, there's little time to make a good impression. On a first date, 66% of daters will decide in a half hour whether they will see the other person again. 16% make the decision in the first five minutes, and 5% know immediately. Particularly speedy was the 21-39 year old sub-set of survey-takers, 20% of whom need only 5 minutes.  The 40-49 year olds are slightly more patient, with 33% allowing their dates more than one hour.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/daters-have-only-30-minutes-to-make-a-good-impression.html

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WooMe Partners With IG

PRESS RELEASE -- Sep 10 -- WooMe, the live video introductions platform, partners with IG, one of Brazil's largest online portals, to extend the WooMe service to the Brazilian market. The service is expected to launch later this year. IG will provide local support, reach and marketing support in exchange for a percentage of revenues in the region.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/woome-partners-with-ig.html

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Online Dating In New Zealand

SCOOP -- Sep 14 -- The 2009 NetGuide Telecom Broadband survey reveals that more than 30% of Kiwis surveyed knew someone who had met their current spouse online, although only 9% admitted having a profile on a dating site. New Zealand sees 120,000 couples marrying every year after meeting online. New Zealand’s two most popular dating sites, NZ Dating and Findsomeone, now have ~1.5M profiles listed between them.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/online-dating-in-new-zealand.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 # 114, September 14th 2009

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

______________________________________________________________________

:~ INTERNET DATING CONFERENCE ~:

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

The London event is 10 days away! Speakers include Google, Juniper, The Guardian and others.
http://www.idate2009.com/speakers-london-2009.php

Online Registration closes September 18, with a GBP L 300 savings.
http://www.idate2009.com/register-london-2009.php

Please note that September 23 is a special pre-event session with Mark Brooks providing a throrough introduction to the online dating industry.

FYI, Miami is Jan 27-29, 2010.  Those that register for Miami before September 18 save USD $ 700!
http://www.idate2010.com/register-miami-2010.php

______________________________________________________________________


:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:

MONTHLY NEWS VIDEO SUMMARY (May 2009): http://tinyurl.com/opwnews8

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"People Are Experince Goods" Study

OPW -- Sep 14 -- "People Are Experience Goods" study found that virtual dates may decrease this trend. Virtual Dates, which simulate a first date, allow couples to interact in real time. Participants’ reactions were more positive toward individuals whom they had Virtual Date. Each year, more people are drawn to the virtual communities teeming with life online, and some even “emigrate” there: the current population of virtual worlds in games such as Second Life, World of Warcraft, and EverQuest is estimated at ~20M people, and 20% of these gamers claim the online realm as their “primary place of residence”. The average online role-playing game player spends 22 hours a week in his or her virtual world. Read the full study at http://www.people.hbs.edu/mnorton/frost%20chance%20norton%20ariely.pdf

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/people-are-experince-goods-study.html

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Meet The Polyamorists

INDEPENDENT.CO.UK -- Sep 13 -- Polys want a committed relationships but with several people at once. In the UK alone, there are thought to be several thousand enthusiasts. In July Graham Nicholls founded polyamory.org.uk. Polys don't interact solely in cyberspace. As their lifestyle and beliefs suggest, they want to meet as many folk as possible in the flesh. New York's Poly Pride Weekend offers a picnic, rally and "cuddle party" every October. Britain doesn't yet host such a large or high-profile event, but around 300 attendees are expected at Polyday, a day of talks, workshops, socialising and "sex-positive cabaret" in central London on 26 September.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/meet-the-polyamorists.html

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CatchMe.com To Offer Location Based Dating

SYS-CON -- Sep 11 -- With the help of Urban Mapping, a provider of location-rich content for interactive applications, CatchMe.com is the first dating site that allows users to search by neighborhood. This feature has been launched for the New York City region with other markets coming soon.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/catchmecom-to-offer-location-based-dating.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.

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Fuego Nation Social Network Relaunches As A Dating Site

VENTURE BEAT -- Sep 10 -- Fuego Nation launched as a social network in January but now it's being relaunched as an online dating service called Fuego Connect. Brogan Keane, CEO of the company, hopes the new site will do better. The prior site suffered from a lack of marketing and a fundraising cycle that never ended. The company is now engaged in a new round of fundraising that Keane expects to close in the coming weeks. Fuego Connect is free for a single profile in the form of a Passion Card that states what members love to do.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/fuego-nation-social-network-to-relaunched-as-a-dating-site.html

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Hot Or Not War Launched A Card Game

TECH CRUNCH -- Sep 10 -- Hot or Not has released a new app for the iPhone which combines features from its website into a card game. You are dealt 5 cards face up, as is your opponent. You then pick whichever one you think has the highest Hot or Not rating and so does your opponent. You do this for 30 seconds and the person with the most victories, wins the round.The game is free and available now in the iPhone App Store.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/hot-or-not-war-launched-a-card-game.html

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Top 15 Lifestyle-Related Sites

MARKETING PROFS -- Sep 10 -- Online dating sites figure prominently in the list of top 15 lifestyle-related websites, in addition to blogging, children's, and miscellaneous other sites catering to niche audiences, according to Hitwise. Plentyoffish.com, Singlesnet and Match.com took three of the top five spots, with Plentyoffish.com holding a commanding lead.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/top-15-lifestylerelated-sites.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 # 113, September 7th 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 September 18 and save GBP L 190!
http://www.idate2009.com/register-london-2009.php
This includes savings on the special pre-event session with Mark Brooks.

FYI, Miami is Jan 27-29, 2010.  Register before September 18 and save USD $ 825!
http://www.idate2010.com/register-miami-2010.php

______________________________________________________________________


:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS ITEMS ~:


Appliance Of Science In Finding Love Online

TELEGRAPH.CO.UK -- Sep 5 -- eHarmony, which is launching a major advertising push into the UK this month, claims 236 of its successfully-matched couples get married every day in the US. eHarmony used the research to create a patented algorithm to match up potential lovebirds' core traits and personalities. "This is real scientific stuff, we've got the UCLA marriage lab and six PhDs working on this," says Dr Warren Waldorf. The company has expanded into Canada, Australia and the UK and is "actively looking" at opening in several other countries. It is also exploring the possibility of specialist ethnic and religious sites. Since its launch in the UK a year ago, eHarmony has attracted just 400,000 members, compared with 6.5m at rival Match.com.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/appliance-of-science-in-finding-love-online.html

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Twitter-like Dating

READ WRITE WEB -- Sep 3 -- According to OK Cupid, only 32% of dating site messages receive a response. Of the successful efforts, the majority of first contact messages are brief. The ideal message length from men to women is between 200-300 characters and from women to men it's a mere 50 characters. In a recent blog post, the company writes, "Almost 16% of first messages are over 2000 characters (roughly 400 words), and the average is 743! We've found that the most effective messages are much shorter. After about 360 words (1800 characters), you start scaring people off, like the online equivalent of a face tattoo."

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/twitterlike-dating.html

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Interracial Dating Trends

BLACK STATE -- Sep 1 -- Caucasian females are least likely to date Asian men, whilst white males in the U.S tend to be least attracted to female African American's. With all the choice and online dating niches available, cross cultural online dating is one niche that remains untapped. Up until 1967, U.S law prohibited marriage outside of ones race. Interracial dating and marriage is far more acceptable in main stream society now. According to 2008 U.S census data black men married 310,000 white women, 4,190,000 black women, and 39,700 Asian women. White men married 55,399,200 white women, 137,000 black women, and 713,000 Asian women. Asian men married 193,000 white women, 8,400 black women, and 2,790,000 Asian women.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/interracial-dating-trends.html

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

______________________________________________________________________


Thread.com Raises $1.2 Million For Facebook-Powered Matchmaking Service

TECH CRUNCH -- Sep 1 -- Thread.com, a startup formerly known as Frintro, has closed a $1.2M funding round led by some of Silicon Valley’s most well known investors. Included in the round are First Round Capital, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, fbFund, and a number of independent investors, including Ron Conway, David Sacks, Auren Hoffman, Pedro Miguel Martins, Reid Hoffman, Joe Greenstein, Saran Chari, and Shervin Pishevar.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/threadcom-raises-12-million-for-facebookpowered-matchmaking-service.html

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Zhenai, The World's Largest Dating Site?

PR NEWSWIRE -- Sep 1 -- Zhenai.com, China's largest matchmaking website, announced that the number of its registered members reached 20,022,000 on July 31, 2009. With ~40,000 new members each day, the website has exceeded the number of members on Match.com in the U.S. Jiayuan, a Chinese dating site that closely trails Zhenai.com in the number of registered members, announced that its total registered members bypassed 17,580,000 on July 31, 2009, with 20,000 new members registering each day. iResearch Consulting predicted that the number of Chinese online daters will reach 140,000,000 by 2010.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/zhenai-the-worlds-largest-dating-site.html

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Ten Announces 40% Stake In Oasis Active

ASIAMEDIA JOURNAL -- Sep 1 -- Network Ten is investing in free Australian dating site Oasis Active. Network Ten currently holds just under 40% of Oasis Active, with the remainder held by private investors. Oasis Active commenced operation in April 2008 and its international network of users is ~998,000, with average monthly growth of 15% or more than 80,000 users. Oasis Active was developed and is managed by 3H Group. 3H Group was founded by CEO Dave Heysen and CTO Daniel Haigh. Mr Haigh previously established one of the largest international online dating websites, Soulmates Technology, which was acquired by match.com.

http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2009/09/ten-announces-40-stake-in-oasis-active.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