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

MyLovelyParent Helps Adult Kids Play Matchmaker For Their Parents

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - Dec 4 - Matt Connolly created myLovelyParent, which launched in October. It is active in many countries, including the U.S.

Q: How is this different from other dating sites?
A: I designed it to be incredibly easy to use. The journey starts with the adult child. They start the profile. Then parents get the invitation. 

Q: Do the adult kids reach out to the potential mates?
A: No, that's only done between the parents.

Q: What kind of feedback have you gotten from clients?
A: I got the most wonderful email from a lady.  She wrote: "Thank you so much, because no matter what happens with dating, it was worth it just to read what my son wrote about me.

by Jenniffer Weigel
See full article at Chicago Tribune

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Computerized Dating Dates To The 1960s

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - Nov 22 - Online dating has a relatively short history characterized by explosive growth in recent years, experts say. Most consider Match.com, launched in 1995, to be the first Internet dating site. The company was a pioneer, but using computers to connect eligible singles predates Match.com by decades. In the mid-1960s two Harvard undergraduates came up with "Operation Match," a computer program that paired men and woman based on a series of questions. Online dating also has become big business. According to IBISWorld, ~3,700 dating service companies generate ~$2 billion in annual revenue.

by Erin Meyer
The full article was originally published at Chicago Tribune, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Match.com

Datemyschool.com: Surfing For Romance On Campus

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - Oct 9 - Datemyschool.com launched two years ago by two Columbia University business school students who found it difficult to meet women outside of their department. The site has 150K users at more than 1.3K four-year colleges and universities. The site is free for current students with a college email address. Alumni pay $9 a week.

by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
See full article at Chicago Tribune

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Mixing In Matching

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - July 10 - According to a recent national poll dating across ethnic lines still carries some apprehension. A study out of the University of California at Berkeley examined more than a million profiles from a free online dating site and found that young white men and women (ages 20 to 39) reached out to other whites 80% of the time, while white men reached out to blacks only 3% of the time and white women did so 8% of the time. Young black daters were much more open, reaching out to whites and blacks about equally. Fewer than 2% of new marriages in the U.S. between 2008 and 2010 were between blacks and whites, according to a Pew Research study.

by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz
See full article at Chicago Tribune

Mark Brooks: More interracial mating will happen over time, and we'll all end up coffee-colored in 200 years. People who are into interracial dating can find sites that allow them to meet similar. Afroromance is a good example. 

State Senate OKs Online Dating Safeguards

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - Mar 29 - The Illinois Senate passed legislation requiring online dating sites to say whether they perform criminal background checks on prospective members. The legislation also would require dating services that say they conduct background checks to use government databases, including criminal court records and sex offender registries. In addition, the sites also would have to say whether they allow someone with a criminal record to sign up. Furthermore, the legislation would require sites to post safety tips, including warnings that background checks aren't foolproof and suggestions to leave their addresses off the sites. Sites that fail to follow the requirements or that lie about conducting background checks could face fines of up to $50K per violation.

by Alissa Groeninger
The full article was originally published at Chicago Tribune, but is no longer available.

Valentine's Day For Cheaters

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - Feb 13 - Everyone knows Valentine's Day is Feb 14th. Not quite as as many may know that Feb 13th is Mistress Day. "79% of married men that we polled planned to spend Feb 13th with their mistress," said Noel Biderman, the founder of AshleyMadison.com. Biderman said, despite having a company slogan that states "Life is short — have an affair," he is not trying to convince people to cheat, but merely creating a community of discretion for those who do. With~13M members throughout 17 countries, it seems like it's caught on. While the majority of the members are married men seeking women, Biderman said 22% are single women seeking married men. And Biderman said when you factor in hotels, jewelry and luxury travel, the infidelity economy is a trillion-dollar-a-year business.

by Jen Weigel
See full article at Chicago Tribune

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All 2012 Valentine's Day News

Illinois Proposed Legislation To “Lower Risks” Of Online Dating

CHICAGO TRIBUNE – Jan 26 – Legislation has surfaced in Springfield, Illinois that would require any online dating site operating in or offering services to Illinois residents to announce prominently and repeatedly on their website whether or not they conduct background checks on members. Senator Ira Silverstein is taking a crack at passing the legislation. Though he acknowledges that the bill isn’t fool-proof, he believes it would set up a “new level of consumer protection with dating sites.” Similar laws have passed in Texas and New Jersey.

by Alissa Groeninger
The full article was originally published at Chicago Tribune, but is no longer available.

Dating Services Shed Stigma

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - July 23 - Online dating is now an accepted and commonplace way to meet someone, having largely shed its stigma as an option for only socially stunted nerds. Match.com celebrated its 15th anniversary in April. Online dating has grown into big business. Match.com is part of IAC/Interactive Corp. and recently became the exclusive dating service on Yahoo, while eHarmony has acquired other Web properties related to weddings and parenting, including Weddingbee and JustMommies. Another twist on the model was launched this year through WinkVid, which offers online speed dating through webcams, with each date lasting four minutes. Although some dating sites brag about their ability to match up life partners, other services acknowledge their limitations."I really think of our responsibility as 'no bad first dates,' which seems like a low bar, but the reason is we can't promise you a soul mate," said Sam Yagan, co-founder of OKCupid. "That's ridiculous. That's chemistry and what happens when you see each other."

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

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Dating Site For Those Over 40 With Face-To-Face Component

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - June 3 - Jeff Taylor is the founder of Meetcha, new online dating service, which targets over-40 singles exclusively. Launched in April, the site is an offshoot of Taylor's baby boomer social networking site, Eons. Meetcha is a subscription service ($30 a month), and Boston-area subscribers can attend group social gatherings. Live gatherings in more cities will be added if the idea takes off.

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

Matchmaker Helps Young South Asians

CHICAGO TRIBUNE - Jan 27 - Jasbina Ahluwalia got a master's degree in philosophy, went to law school, and then seven years into a successful law career, she became a professional matchmaker. Many young South Asians have little dating experience because parents discouraged it earlier because of religious or cultural beliefs. Ahluwalia trains them in dating do's and don'ts. For those who are actively searching sites like shaadi.com or bharatmatrimony.com, the agency helps with the online profiles. It all begins though with a $375 pre-consultation. After the initial consultation, which includes a background check, clients can be selected into a tiny pool of 30. They place personal ads. Introductions are made. Dates are evaluated and discussed. Prices range from $5,000 into the tens of thousands of dollars.

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

Homosexual Harmony Or Violation Of Scripture?

CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- Apr 14 -- As part of the settlement reached in Nov, eHarmony agreed to offer CompatiblePartners.net, market it in gay media and reel in the first 10,000 singles by registering them for free. But some Christians who rank religion fairly high say the company’s actions violate Scripture that label homosexuality a sin. They also feel betrayed. “You have now officially joined the list of Companies Promoting Immorality (CPI)--a growing list, indeed,” wrote Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth, a conservative Christian advocacy group, in a letter to Neil Clark Warren, who has retired but is still on eHarmony’s board. FULL ARTICLE @ CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Mark Brooks: Match, Plentyoffish, Yahoo Personals, and numerous other dating entities are also in the same violation then, I guess. Equal rights vs Scripture. I vote for equal rights, and freedom, every time. Sorry scripture. Your moral compass is off on this one, so says modern society. I believe in sexual freedom, and openness. Your comments please.

See all posts on eHarmony
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Dating With Children

CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- Mar 13 -- There are 12m single parents living with children younger than 18 in the U.S., according to 2007 Census Bureau figures, a whopping 200% increase over 1970, when there were 4m. Match.com reporting that 47% of its U.S. members have kids. "Single parents are coming out of the woodwork and are no longer ashamed of their status," says Morgan Siler, 29, co-founder of iheartsingleparents.com, which went online a year ago and gets 200,000 page views a month.

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

Mark Brooks: I am one such woodworm child-of-a-single-parent. SingleParentsMeet.com is the niche leader for single parents and is run by People Media, formerly Zencon Media, which also operates the category leading BlackPeopleMeet.com service.

See all posts on Match.com

Matchmakers Cash In On Business Of Love

CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- Feb 9 -- "When the Dow is down, dating and love are up," said Barbie Adler, president of Selective Search, a matchmaking service based in Chicago. Selective Search charges $15,000 fee for a full year of service. The personal touch is also fueling growth for It's Just Lunch, a matchmaking service launched in Chicago seventeen years ago with offices in 100 locations. Members pay $1,800 a year to be matched for lunch, drinks or brunch. Chicago sales climbed 8% in 2008, and January was up 4% from the prior year.

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

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As Seniors Live Longer, Their 'Love Expectancy' Grows

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS -- July 16 -- Seniors today are the fastest-growing users of Internet dating services and the fastest growing group of cohabiters. Longer healthy life expectancy is part of the explanation. According to Mark Brooks, a consultant who tracks the Internet-dating industry, the number of seniors joining online dating services has risen at double-digit rates annually since 2003, the most of any age group. But attitude changes are probably the biggest factor in the expanding social lives of seniors. Falling in love at an elderly age was seen as somewhere between unwise and dementia. 

FULL ARTICLE @ MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Seeking A Companion

CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- June 4 -- Gone are the days when it took a date, maybe two, to find out a person's resume of likes and dislikes. Dating sites rendered that notion quaint years ago, and now SNS are doing their part to obliterate it. Thanks to online profiles that list everything from salary range to current reading selections, we've gotten used to knowing someone's vital stats before we even meet face to face. "We're looking for a companion," she said. "One hundred years ago a man needed a woman who would bear him healthy babies and take care of the home. Now we're looking for a marriage between equals", said Helen Fisher, a noted anthropologist at Rutgers University and author of numerous books, including "Why We Love". FULL ARTICLE @ CONTRA COSTA TIMES