Marc Simoncini, Meetic CEO/Founder - Video Interview

OPW INTERVIEW -- June 17, 2007 -- Marc Simoncini's Meetic.com is taking on Match.com head on to become the pre-eminent matching service in Europe. Marc (French) knows Europe. He says that Meetic is different from other dating sites becuase Meetic merely promises 'dates' and that's a more European approach. But Marc hasn't stopped short of Europe, he's advancing on China now. In an acquisitions spat earlier this year, Meetic acquired Yeeyoo in January and Match acquired eDodo in China, and picked up Netclub around the same time to take a stronger position in Meetic's back yard, in France. Here's my video interview with Marc at the Asian internet dating conference. - Mark Brooks

Comments

[Fernando Ardenghi]

Mr. Brooks! The sound of that video interview is terrible, with a lot of bath noise!!!

"He says that Meetic is different from other dating sites because Meetic merely promises 'dates' and that's a more European approach."
Huh! The European population is getting older and older on average! Also life expectancy continues to increase and net immigration is likely to continue.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_population

What had really happened with Ulteem?
Please see previous interview http://onlinepersonalswatch.typepad.com/news/2006/10/meetic_founder_.html
"Brooks: What is your goal for the next 12 months?
Simoncini: The strategy is to become number one in Europe with Ulteem and to launch successfully our new Meetic product (V3) all over Europe.
October 09, 2006"

"to become number one in Europe with Ulteem"
But they failed!
Ulteem.com, Ulteem.nl, Ulteem.it, Ulteem.de, Ulteem.fr, Ulteem.es are complete fiascoes.

- the Chinese online dating market:

* http://onlinepersonalswatch.typepad.com/news/2006/05/moneymaking_woe.html
"the Chinese online dating market could reach USD $82 million in 2008."
I personally estimate the actual Latin American online dating market (Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, etc) over USD $100 million!!!

* Different from other countries, where women population are nearly 1.15 times the men population (there is always more women than men) Chinese Population will be severe unbalanced until next / for to 20 years. (until 2025)
There will be nearly 40 million men more than women!!!!

* PATTERNS AND UNIVERSALS OF ADULT ROMANTIC ATTACHMENT ACROSS 62 CULTURAL REGIONS Are Models of Self and of Other Pancultural Constructs?
JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY, Vol. 35 No. 4, July 2004 367-402
http://www.bradley.edu/academics/las/psy/pdfs/schmitt%5B1%5D%5B1%5D.etal.2004.romatt.jccp.pdf
"secure romantic attachment was normative in 79% of cultures and that preoccupied romantic attachment was particularly prevalent in East Asian cultures."

Kindest Regards,

Fernando Ardenghi.
Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
[email protected]

[Mark Brooks]

I use two Sony microphones. One for me, one for the interviewee. They're fastened onto our shirts. Most of the video interviews will be conducted at conferences so not sure how to get around the background noise. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Mark

[Sarah Brown]

Fernando what would you expect on a busy conference?

[Mark Brooks]

I bought better microphones. I'll be doing more video interviews at future conferences.