Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Spark Networks Reports Q4 2010 Financial Results

MARKETWIRE - Mar 10 - Revenue for the Q4 '10 was $10.1M, a decrease of 9% compared to $11.1M for the Q4 '09, and an increase of 2% compared to $9.9M in the prior quarter. Revenue for the full year of 2010 was $40.9M, a 10% decrease YOY. Average paying subscribers in the Q4 '10 were 160,744, a decrease of 5% compared to 168,646 for the Q4 '09 and a 1% increase compared to 158,422 for the prior quarter. For more details, download Spark Networks' Financials PDF or or visit the link on the side bar under 'FINANCIALS'.

The full article was originally published at NewsyStocks, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Spark Networks

'Have An Affair' Bus Ads Anger Swedish Commuters

THELOCAL.SE - Mar 15 - Victoria Milan, a new Swedish website which challenges individuals to dabble in infidelity in order to help them cope with dull, lifeless relationships has been reported to the advertising ombudsman. Married travellers waiting for buses in Stockholm are currently being confronted with the challenge "Are you married? Liven up your life - have an affair" in the form of a billboard campaign from Victoria Milan. Sigurd Vedal is the CEO and he has been quick to launch a defence of the apparent attempt to exploit marital difficulties. "I understand that people react. But no one who is happy within their relationship will make use of our service just because we advertise," he said.

The full article was originally published at TheLocal.se, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Victoria Milan

Find Your Face Mate

TIMES SQUARE CHRONICLES - Mar 15 - Christina Bloom is the founder of Findyourfacemate.com, a new dating site that says we want a partner who looks like us. It’s based upon the fact that successful relationships are a combination of chemistry and compatibility. FYFM employs the latest scientific data and sophisticated facial recognition software, including a complex algorithm to identify potential partners to support the theory that chemistry ignites when we see someone whose facial features are similar to our own. It surely can initiate sparks flying, maybe for life, maybe not.

by Sandi Durell
The full article was originally published at Times Square Chronicles, but is no longer available.

Daters Seek Bad Boys/girls

POSTMEDIA NEWS - Mar 15 - Toronto-based FastLife.ca reports that, based on its analysis of ~40K speed-dating interactions, men and women who "drink often, smoke occasionally, and enjoy frequent rolls in the hay are considered more attractive by the opposite sex" than people who exercise greater self-control in those areas. "At our events, you spend eight minutes chatting with somebody, and if you like them, you put a 'yes' next to their name," says Justin Parfitt, CEO of FastLife. Social drinkers earned a "yes" 44% of the time, and non-drinkers 37%. Secular men and women boasted a success rate of 46%, on average, compared to 42% for the religious. Liberal views on sex correlated with 47% success, while a more conservative outlook saw an average score of 40%.

by Misty Harris
The full article was originally published at Canada.com, but is no longer available.

See all posts on FastLife

Project Amicus Launches

PRESS RELEASE - Mar 15 - The team that developed Grindr announces the official launch of Project Amicus, the codename and website for a new location-based mobile app that lets users discover, interact, and meet with nearby people. Amicus, a Latin word meaning 'friend,' highlights the project's social emphasis. The app will allow users to connect with other people based on their physical location and facilitate new social relationships. Grindr, the world's largest all-male location-based network, has 1.5M members in 180 countries, with 300K active daily users. Grindr is currently available for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry mobile devices.

See all posts on Grindr

Jewish Mother Playing Matchmaker On TheJMom.com

USA TODAY - Mar 14 - On TheJMom.com, it's Jewish mothers — not singles — who are making connections, trying to find potential mates for their kids. Users, who don't have to be moms even though most are, write about their families and can upload pictures of themselves and their single children. They also fill out profile information with their child's name, age, location, education, occupation and religious background, and write about their kid's interests. Since the site was launched in Dec, 60 dates have been established and 500 people have signed on as users.

by Piet Levy
See full article at USA Today

See all posts on TheJMom

JDate Slaps Zoosk, OkCupid, And 2RedBeans With Patent Lawsuit Over Secret Admiring

TECH CRUNCH - Mar 13 - JDate has filed a patent lawsuit against 2RedBeans, Zoosk, and OKCupid. JDate alleges that all three companies are infringing the same patent, which states that Sparks Networks (JDate’s parent company) has invented a method or apparatus for automating the process of confidentially determining whether people feel mutual attraction or have mutual interests. JDate has a patent on detecting secret crushes. The suit calls out OkCupid’s QuickMatch, Zoosk’s Scientific Matching Service, and 2RedBean’s Secret Admire function as infringing JDate-owned patent # 5,950,200, titled “Method and Apparatus for Detection Of Reciprocal Interests or Feelings And Subsequent Notification.” Spark Networks wants the three companies to pay damages to JDate for the infringement.

by Leena Rao
See full article at Tech Crunch

See all posts on JDate         See all posts on Spark Networks
See all posts on OkCupid      See all posts on Zoosk

Looking For A Job?

OPW - Mar 12 - We've updated the iDating industry job listings again. Here are some sample job listings that we thought were interesting:

WhiteLabelDating
   Customer Retention Representative / UK, Windsor office
   Business Intelligence Analyst / UK, Windsor office
   Email Marketing Executive / UK, Windsor office
   Project Co-ordinator / UK, Windsor office

DatingStartsHere
   Affiliate Manager, Dating Aggregator / USA - VA, Reston

Global Personals USA (Webdate, Fling, WealthyMen)
   Internet Affiliate Sales Managers / Online Buyers 
More info: http://www.globalpersonalsmedia.com/careers.html

AreYouInterested (SNAP Interactive)
   Product Manager
More info: http://www.snap-interactive.com/jobs.htm

Be2
   International Product Management Support
   Sales Representative
More info: http://corporate.be2.com/jobs, contact: jobs@be2.com

Cupid Media
   Online Marketing Assistant (Graduate Position)
   Bilingual Customer Service Representatives and Translators
More info: http://www.cupidmedia.com/Career.cfm

eDarling.de
   Customer Care Agent (French or German speaking)
More info: http://www.edarling.de/jobs

eHarmony
   Business Intelligence Analyst / USA - CA, Santa Monica
   Sr. Analyst, Marketing Intelligence / USA - CA, Santa Monica
   Manager, Marketing Analytics / USA - CA, Santa Monica
   Director, Marketing Intelligence & Insights / USA - CA, Santa Monica
   Sr. Director, Creative Services / USA - CA, Santa Monica
   Email Marketing Specialist - Bilingual Japanese / USA - CA, Santa Monica
   Country Manager / JP - 13-Minato-Ku
   Sr. Product Manager, Mobile / USA - CA, Santa Monica
   Sr. Product Manager / USA - CA, Santa Monica
   Marketing Communications Writer / Brazil - Sao Paolo
   Marketing Manager / Brazil - Sao Paolo
   Finance/Office Manager / Brazil - Sao Paolo
  
FriendFinder Networks
   QA Lead / USA - CA, Sunnyvale
   Project Manager / USA - CA, Sunnyvale
   Customer Service Tier 2 Representative (Russian Speaking) / USA - CA, Los Angeles
   Fraud Manager / USA - CA, Los Angeles
   Senior Financial Analyst / USA - CA, Sunnyvale
   Customer Service - Tier2 - Romanian Speaking / USA - CA, Los Angeles
     
FriendScout24 (description in German)
   Senior Manager CRM/Email Marketing / Germany - Munchen
   Manager E-Payment / Germany - Munchen
   Senior PR Manager / Germany - Munchen
     
Lavalife
   Media Buyer
   Product / Project Manager
More info: corp.lavalife.com/web/corp/careers

Match.com, Chemistry.com, People Media
   Product Manager / USA - TX, Dallas
   Sr. Manager, Online Marketing - International / USA - TX, Dallas
   Product Manager - Chemistry.com / USA - TX, Dallas
   VP Marketing & Business Development / USA - CA, Los Angeles
   VP Public Relations and Communications / USA - NY, New York & TX, Dallas
   Executive Assistant to the CEO (OKCupid) / USA - NY, New York
   Reporting Analyst / USA - TX, Dallas
   Billing Analyst / USA - TX, Dallas
  
Online-Buddies
   Bilingual Customer Service Representative
   Business Development Manager / USA - MA, Cambridge
   Director of Systems Operations / USA - MA, Cambridge
     
Shaadi
    Customer Relations Officer / India - Mumbai
   SEO Expert / India - Mumbai
  
Smartdate
   COO / France - Paris
   Product Manager - CRM / France - Paris
More info: http://jobs.smartdate.com/

Spark Networks
   Director of Acquisition Marketing / USA - CA, Beverly Hills and UT, Provo
   Online Media Buyer / USA - CA, Beverly Hills

SpeedDate
   Lead Product Manager / Director of Product
To learn more, email: jobs@speeddate.com

WooMe       
   Site Operations Manager / USA - Los Angeles
   Community Manager  
More info: http://www.woome.com/woome/jobs/#sysadmin

Zoosk  
   Marketing Manager - Google Content Network Specialist / USA - CA, San Francisco
More info: http://www.zoosk.com/jobs.php?from=footer

For the full listing, go here.

Do you have an idating job offer which is not included? Please, send the details (company, job title, location, link to details) to petra@courtlandbrooks.com and we will add your offer to the list.

The Social Demography Of Internet Dating In The USA

INTERNET DATING SCIENCE - Mar 9 - In 1999 2% of American singles had used idating. The % increased to 25% by 2002 and the business had grown to $304M a year. The industry passed $1 billion in 2008 and will grow 10% a year on average through 2013, despite the recession. There are more singles these days. In 1970 40% of U.S. women and 35% of men were single. In 2003 48% of men and 45% of women were single. And people are marrying later.  In 1970 women got married at age 21 and men at age 23. That rose by 4 years by 2003.  In 2003 women married on average at age 25, and men at 27. Higher income, and higher educated Americans are more likely to be single. Divorcees are most likely to be internet daters. Perhaps because they want to draw from circles outside of the circles of friends they formed while they were married.  

Mark Brooks:  Based on this information, you should:
1. Target some of your ad spends at internet power users who use multiple services and activities on portals.
2. Target your social network advertising at people who have friends who have mentioned internet dating, or specific internet dating sites in their profiles.
3. Survey users when they leave your service to find out why they are leaving, and if they are happy.

Internet Dating Science takes the best academic papers and convert them into plain English so you can make better decisions, improve your idating sites and make more money. Read more at Internet Dating Science.

Title: The Social Demography Of Internet Dating In The United States
Published In:  Social Science Quarterly, 2010

Global Personals Accredited in ‘The Sunday Times Best Small Companies To Work For 2011’

PRESS RELEASE - Mar 11 - Global Personals has been accredited ‘One to Watch’ status in its first year of entering The Sunday Times Best Companies 2011, underpinning the company’s commitment to it’s employees. Currently employing 85 full time staff, the company owns and operates its own dating sites including Singles365.com, DatingAgency.com and FlirtFix.com, whilst its B2B service, WhiteLabelDating.com, offers a platform for brands and individuals to power their own dating sites that currently includes FHM, Cosmopolitan, Magic FM and PlentyMoreFish as users.

Dating Sites Could Match Embarrassing Interests With Microsoft Patent

KING5 - Mar 10 - A newly revealed Microsoft patent offers an online matchmaking service to the socially challenged. The service lets users confidentially tell the system about their private affinities – the kind of information that could cause some embarrassment if listed on their public profiles. Say you like comic books, but you don't want to admit that on your dating profile. You would list that interest privately, and then an algorithm would quietly match you up with someone else who likes comic books.

The full article was originally published at King5, but is no longer available.

SmartDate Available On Smart Phones

ADI NEWS - Mar 11 - SmartDate is a free new app that uses geo-location programming to lets users know when other interested daters are in the area. SmartDate is tied into one of the largest online dating apps on Facebook – Social Connect.

by Mark Whysall
The full article was originally published at ADI News, but is no longer available.

OculusAI Named One Of The 20 Hottest Innovation Companies In Sweden

PRESS RELEASE - Mar 10 - OculusAI, a provider of image rejection services for online dating and social networks, has been selected by The Swedish Institute (SI), a public agency that promotes interest in Sweden around the world, as one of the 20 hottest innovation companies in the country.

The full article was originally published at OculusAI website, but is no longer available.

See all posts on OculusAI

SNAP Interactive Reports Traffic Growth

MARKETWIRE - Mar 10 - AreYouInterested.com dating app surpasses 35M installs. SNAP's newest product, WhoIsNear.com, was launched in February 2011 and experienced exciting growth last month as well. WhoIsNear.com is a location-based service with a fully-integrated web, mobile, iPhone and social app enabling easy access to a user's social graph.

See full article at Marketwire

See all posts on SNAP Interactive
See all posts on AreYouInterested

Dating Websites Still Find A Spot In The Heart

SHANGHAI DAILY MAIL - Mar 10 - There are an estimated 180M single people of marriageable age in China, according to a recent survey. ~24% of parents of marriageable age children are trying to help them find suitable mates, according to the 2010 China Marital Status Report. Zhenai.com was among the earliest matchmaking sites. The service began in 2005 and charges 3,000 yuan/6 months ($450). Member can access the offline services of 1,200 matchmakers. Baihe.com has a different strategy. Of its 27M subscribers, ~10% are subscribers to its matchmaking services. Users are charged 200-300 yuan. Baihe said income from the service last year topped 100M yuan.

See full article at China.org

See all posts on Zhenai
See all posts on Baihe