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Avalanche LLC (Date.com) Acquires Matchmaker.com
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Online Dating puts Romance Just a Click Away
CHINA DAILY -- Feb 25 -- An iResearch report puts the number of people who used online dating services in China last year at a whopping 10 million, and to 29 million in 2008, said Hou Tao, an executive of the Shanghai-based research firm. Love21cn was founded by Fudan University postgraduate Gong Haiyan who claimed that since the birth of her site in October 2003, 400,000 members have signed up, of whom 26,000 have rung wedding bells. Much of the site's revenue derives from additional services such as moving ads to the front page, at 10 yuan (US$1.23) per day, and a few offline services. The iResearch report puts the online dating market at 37 million yuan (US$4.5 million) for 2004 and 91 million yuan (US$11.2 million) for 2005, and predicts it will grow to 653 million yuan (US$81 million) by 2008. Match.com and Asiafriendfinder.com have already entered the Chinese market. The US market was US$520 million for 2005, and the European market was US$110 million.
The full article was originally published at China View, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Asiafriendfinder does not charge memberships to users located in China. It's one of Friendfinders most highly trafficed properties. Guanxi.com is Friendfinder's Chinese business networking site.
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The Five-Year Itch
NEWSWEEK -- Feb 27 -- Feb. 27, 2006 issue - Mark Brooks, editor of consumer watchdog Online Personals Watch, says the industry stands at a crossroads. "I keep hearing that the industry is slumping," Brooks says. "No, it isn't, but we have got to get our act together." Online dating in the U.S. has reached what Jupiter Research analyst Nate Elliott calls "a point of critical mass."Last year the number of users posting online personals fell "marginally," according to Jupiter, and revenue growth is expected to drop to just 6% this year, down from 77% in 2003. The total U.S. market is now worth $521 million. (In comparison, online gambling sites took in an estimated $10 billion in worldwide revenue last year. Porn sites took in $2 billion in the U.S.) The European market is still growing in high double-digit rates. One reason for the slowdown is that the curiosity factor has worn off. Heather Hopkins, director of research for Hitwise UK says the sites are now focused more on getting current visitors to sign on as paying customers. This love slump is a bit of mystery. Indeed, it may be just a lull. Brooks predicts that the industry will see "a huge upswing" as sites add new services like Web-camera dates, help arranging dream dates and psychological profiling that attempts to find you a soulmate, not just a hunk with the right hobbies and salary profile. Others say the industry needs to move beyond just dating. Bill Tancer, Hitwise GM global research, says e-dating is following the normal trajectory of Internet businesses. "There is an environment of hypercompetition where markets are born, grow, plateau and decline, [but] it's not that the activity itself is going to go away." Instead, he predicts, dating sites will evolve into broader forums for social networking. There are signs this is already happening. Meetic is offering a mobile-phone network called Superlol, allowing users to form groups around common friends and interests.
Mark Brooks: Reporters are writing about the demise of the online dating industry, which is very unfortunate. I believe we are, indeed, at a turning point. To get to 'online personals 2.0' we need to add services and refine our sites to help put people in front of people more quickly, in greater numbers and with better matches. (i) Personality profiling holds high promise, but needs more research. Profiling companies should embrace academic resources and share data with them. Let's lose the 'magic box' approach. Users are becoming more sophisticated and want to know how personality profiling works. Let's tell them. And, if you're going to offer personality profiling, show matches what potential failure modes/conflicts their relationship might be susceptible to, and educate them on how they might communicate and deal with those conflicts. (ii) Add events. They're a pain to coordinate, but are a great way for people to meet and have some instant gratification. They can buy a ticket and meet a roomful of singles immediately. Then they can go and check the profiles of the people they have chemistry with to see if they are a match on preferences such as 'want kids?' (iii) Improve safety. Let's advise users more clearly. They should: 1. not share contact info, 2. meet in a public place, 3. let someone know where they are going and call in to them after one hour. Background checks are a long way from being foolproof, but are better than nothing, and worth considering. (iv) Remove dead and unresponsive profiles, or at least indicate they are unlikely to respond. Anyone who has not logged in or has not responded to a message for 4 weeks should not be listed as a live profile. Let's set expectations realistically. It's good for the industry in the long haul. (v) Consider adding/partnering with matchmaking services for the users who have money, but are time starved. People are paying $50 a month for profiling sites (i.e. eHarmony.com, TRUE.com, PerfectMatch.com) because they have money and want some handholding. Let's up the ante. (vi) Improve search. A friend of mine is Indian. He only wants to meet women who are interested in Indian guys. He'd like reverse search please. Niche sites are popping up for every imaginable preference. Generic sites need to broaden search criteria and functionality or have the niches further incur on their membership revenues. (vii) Add content. Do you know your audience? Really? Then engage them with targeted, mind blowing content that lights their fires, educates and keeps them hooked on your site. Match partnered with Dr Phil. Community Connect, Gay.com and Nerve.com know content. Guide, engage and captivate your users. (viii) Find targeted advertising partners. Find offers with top level brands to improve your brand. Yahoo + Starbucks. There's some great branding affinity there. Brand = Trust. Advertising on online dating sites doesn't tend to bring in much money, but it CAN improve your brand trust and capital if you find the right partners and negotiate suitable offers. Extend your brand into the real world.
Online dating is not taking a downturn. $516 million U.S. online dating industry revenue for 2005 barely scratches the surface of the market potential. Industry revenues are growing. We have a nation of lovelorn singles poised and pleading for guidance and assistance. The integrity of our sites can be improved, insofar as how we deliver on our core promise of putting people in front of people. Observe the real world, bottle the best of what you see, improve on it. The online personals world has improved on the real world in the past by offering better search (i.e. asking the important questions up front), offering multiple modes of convenient communication (i.e. email, IM, chat), and through profiling for compatible matches (i.e. asking more than just a few questions...). Your comments please...
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Mark and Irena - Myers Briggs Personality Profiling Analysis
Feb 24 -- My good friend, Pat Dines, runs Mary.com. We often discuss the merits and pitfalls of personality profiling. He set me and my girlfriend up with a Myers Briggs test. I'm an ENFP. She's an ESTP. Here's his analysis of the results... - Mark Brooks (Picture from Prague Charles Bridge)
Key: Extrovert/Introvert, Sensing/iNtuitive, Thinking/Feeling, Perceiving/Judging. "This looks very good. Irena is borderline S/N and you are an N but a weak N so I don't see a conflict there. You're more extroverted than she is which is good. Guys have problems with women who are more extroverted than they are. You're mid point TF and she is a slight T which is good for you. Women tend to be "F" types by nature (60%). Also, F men get along well with T women because it creates a balance between the sexes. F men are more sensitive to women's needs! You're both slight P's so that bodes well for spontaneity in your relationship which is good because business tends to force you to the "J" side of things so when you're together it will be fun. The two "p's" will help take the edge off. (you're both in business so when you're playing, you'll enjoy the relaxation that another P brings to the party). I'd give the match five stars. The only slight problem you may have is in understanding each other's thinking process. She may be more practical than you because she doesn't have the intuitive edge that you have. But, I think if you both communicate well with each other and explain why you think the way you do, it will be a good balance. The SN scale can be deadly if you're more than 40% apart. You're only 13% apart so you may actually complement each other. You'll just have to be a little patient with the time she takes to reason things out, and she may actually help you make sure that your intuitiveness didn't make a faulty jump."
Mark Brooks: So, what are your thoughts on the merits and pitfalls of personality profiling?
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OnlinePersonalsWatch.com Progress
Feb 24 -- OnlinePersonalsWatch.com was started June 2004 and stands at 1101 posts with 1100 comments, has a three month Alexa average rank of 43k with 1000+ visitors a day, has been quoted in Miami Herald, USA Today, ABC, Fox, Wired, has interviewed the heads of Match, Yahoo Personals, Webdate, Cupid and is now a significant resource for both the press to research the industry, and the executives to stay ahead. How can we improve? What else would you like to see? - Mark Brooks .
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UK Mobile Communities Roundtable
NMK -- Feb 24 -- Match Mobile users are urban, younger, of a lower socio-economic base, and (in the US) more from the immigrant population, with Match Mobile growing at a rate of 15% per month. The most favoured mobile content applications, according to recent Enpocket research in the UK: Sharing pictures with friends and family7 – 46%, Making / receiving video calls – 36%, Downloading songs -23%, Video clip of sports highlights – 20%, Text flirting / dating – 16%, Watching movie trailers – 12%, Help in managing a diet – 11%, Celeb news / gossip – 9%. There are 52 million handsets and 60 million people in the UK. China has 350 million handsets and 300 million texts a month are sent in Singapore and the Philippines. overall, Japan and Korea are 2-3 years ahead of the UK, who are in turn about 1-2 years ahead of the US.
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Gay Papers to Provide Readers with Online Dating Service
GAY WIRED -- Feb 23 -- HX, the New York Blade and Toronto FAB are the first gay publications to launch fee-based online dating services through their websites through a partnership with Advanced Membership Services (the folks who run the popular M4M-USA.com site). Steven Polakoff, president of AMS believes every newspaper should have an online dating component.
The full article was originally published at Gay Wired, but is no longer available.
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Illinois Background Checks Legislation Approved; Moves to Senate
ASSOCIATED PRESS -- Feb 23 -- Internet dating services would have to tell Illinois subscribers whether other users have undergone background checks under a proposal the House approved today. Sites failing to notify subscribers could face a fine of one-thousand-dollars or more. The measure was approved 74-to-36 and now moves to the Senate. Bill HB5299 RELEASE @ WQAD
Mark Brooks: Wow! Your comments please...
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Social Networking Goes E-Commerce
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Bebo the Top Social Networking Site in the U.K.
PR WEB -- Feb 22 -- A record 1.5 million U.K. students visit Bebo in December, surpassing MySpace for the first time, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. "In just seven months, Bebo has grown to become the most popular social networking site for students in the U.K., and we are rapidly gaining ground in Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand," said Michael Birch, Bebo CEO. There are 22 million registered Beboers worldwide. RELEASE @ PR WEB
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Estonias Social Network
Feb 22 -- First there was Friendster...Actually, first there was Sixdegrees, then Planetall, Eturn, Everyonesconnected, then Friendster, then Linkedin, Myspace, Facebook, Flickr, Hi5, Piczo, Fropper. We'll see more and more utilitarian and demographically targeted social networks pop up this year. Check out Estonia's answer to Myspace. www.rate.ee - Mark Brooks
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You Can't buy Friends Like These, Well, Actually, Now You Can
BOSTON GLOBE -- Feb 21 -- Catch27 was created last year by E. Jean Carroll, an Elle advice columnist and former 'Saturday Night Live' writer. Carroll specializes in riffing off established social norms. Her last site was GreatBoyfriends.com, where women can recommend ex-lovers. "I was watching all these kids on MySpace, spending all their time saying, 'Add me. Add me,' and I thought: Why not buy people? So you understand? The whole thing started as a joke." Members join, upload a profile, and site staff would assign the newbie a monetary quantity based on their overall attractiveness. Members who wanted to be friends with other members would either have to beg or trade their way to the top. FULL ARTICLE @ THE BOSTON GLOBE
Mark Brooks: The site peaked last year at around 40k Alexa rank. Alexa rank is 78k average now.
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Yahoo! Launches Social Network Site for UK
JOURNALISM.CO.UK -- Feb 21 -- Yahoo! has launched a social network and community publishing platform for the UK. Yahoo! 360° invites users to build their own profile page incorporating their blog postings, Flickr photographs, reviews of local events and restaurants, links to friends' blogs and discussion groups as well as lists of favourite TV, books and music releases. The UK version is being launched in beta and has been developed using research and feedback from the US version. Around one million of MySpace's 50 million registered users are in the UK. MySpace UK will be promoted on other News Corporation platforms such as Sun Online and Times Online and will initially aim to build its audience through the UK music scene. FULL ARTICLE @ JOURNALISM.CO.UK
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WebmasterRadio.FM Airs Exclusive iDate 2006 Radio Special
PR WEB -- Feb 21 -- WebmasterRadio.FM, a free, business, 24/7 internet radio network, announces the iDate 2006 radio special airing Thursday, Feb 23, 3pm EST. Hosted by FriendFinderInc.com, the iDate special will cover all aspects of the recent iDate conference. Held on February 2-3, 2006 at the Wyndham Miami Beach Resort in Miami, the iDate conference is the biggest dating industry event of its kind. The third annual Internet Dating Conference (iDate) Miami 2006 event focused entirely on the business management, marketing and technology of online dating and social networking Web sites. Programs are available immediately in podcast and archived format at www.WebmasterRadio.FM. RELEASE @ PR WEB
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Yahoo's Challenge
INFORMATION WEEK -- Feb -- Yahoo's chief data officer Fayyad knows if you're about to buy a new car. "When you're on the Yahoo network you're telling a lot more about yourself and your intent...I can turn that into a very powerful ad-matching machine...in many cases, much more powerful than search." Yahoo; $5.26 billion in revenue last year, 47% more than 2004. Google; $6.1 billion in 2005, a 92% increase. Between November 2004 and November 2005, Yahoo went from handling 32% of Internet searches to 29.5%, according to comScore Media Metrix. Google's market capitalization stood at $106 billion earlier this month, more than double Yahoo's market cap of roughly $46 billion. Yahoo is more diversified than Google, with 12% of its revenue coming from user fees. Yahoo has more unique users and they spend 10 times as much time on Yahoo. "If I get 10% more usage from the average consumer, I have suddenly created 10% more inventory for my ads," Fayyad says. Yahoo accomplished something like that last year when it made an effort to improve user retention with Yahoo Mail.
Mark Brooks: Yahoo Personals, complete with premier profiling, is a goldmine for contextual advertising.
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