Hello, and welcome to the Friday April 24th edition of Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup. Dobry den, we’re in Prague today, I’m Mark Brooks, and this is what made industry news this week.
Skyecandy is currently in the beta testing stages of a new speed dating service for the Internet phone provider, Skype. Skyecandy is a free service that matches members for 5 minute speed dates with real people all over the world. The service allows you to choose the number of consecutive dates you would like to have, rate your dates, and add successful matches to your Skype contact list. Users are currently being asked to provide Skyecandy with feedback on their experiences using the service in order to help them improve.
Markus Frind from Plentyoffish recently announced his decision to remove the instant messaging function from his website. Though the feature was popular with many users, Markus felt it was the biggest strategic mistake he’s ever made with the site. Within 4 days of removing instant messaging, Plentyoffish’s UK visits increased by 10% and Australia was up over 15%. Reactions from readers on Markus’ blog are fairly mixed, but most users seem to agree that removing the feature was a good idea. If you’re thinking about pulling IM, bear this in mind. I’d expect more traffic to result, initially from removing IM for your site. Where else are users going to go but your other messaging alternatives. But will they be happy not using IM? What will the growth numbers look like in a month?
RSVP, Australia’s largest online dating site, reported a membership increase of 31% for the first quarter of 2009 as compared to the previous quarter. Male membership was up by 30% and female membership by 36%. A recent survey conducted of RSVP’s membership showed that most singles believe it to be far more expensive being on your own than in a relationship. This is yet another example of the global trend of growth in the online dating sector despite the global economic slowdown.
SNAP Interactive recently released their 2008 operating results that show a dramatic 609% increase for the fourth quarter 2008 compared to the same quarter in 2007. Additionally, they closed the year with $3 million in revenues and gross profits up 526% at $2.24 million. Cost of Revenue was up over 1000%, though total operating costs only increased 2.5% to $1.27 million. Though they tried to keep costs down during 2008, it was noted that “expansion and hiring of new programmers became necessary” as the company grew. The operating results were released just two weeks after SNAP announced the launch of their application “Are You Interested” on the iPhone.
According to two nationwide surveys conducted by Chinese dating site hongniang.com, mainland women interested in finding a foreign partner plunged from 42% to 16% over the past year. The global financial downturn is being blamed for this shift in interest away from Western men, who now appear to be financially unstable to Chinese women. Mixed marriages, which reached 400,000 last year, had been on a steady rise in China until the US subprime mortgage crisis started a global financial meltdown. Even though more Chinese women may now be looking for Chinese men as partners, the one-child policy and traditional preference for male children has created a gender imbalance that will leave 32 million men without any hope of marriage, according to a study published by the British Medicine Journal.
Having an affair just became easier with the launch of Ashley Madison’s mobile dating service. Though it is only in the Beta testing phase, several thousand people signed up within the first few hours of it becoming available. The site already boasts over 3.5 million members, but believes that number could reach 20 million with the continued adoption of phones that are capable of hosting the application. With the launch of Ashley Madison Mobile, cheating has become easier and more progressive than ever, allowing users to “Have an Affair. Anywhere.”
A new Christian dating site called JCMatch.com has just been launched, and they are making sure the Christian singles community takes note of their presence. The site offers monthly membership for $6.79 a month, with $1 of that going to their charitable organization, JCMatch.org. Members will vote at the end of each month on which project the money should be donated to. They have also launched an online magazine, A Time to Love, which members will have access to with their subscription to the site.
Things are beginning to look up for iovation, following a rough 2008. The struggles of a key customer forced the company to lay off 24 employees last fall, and new orders have been slow for several months. However, tough economic times usually cause an increase in fraudulent activity, and companies need to protect their bottom line now more than ever before. In 2008, Iovation’s systems stopped 3.5 million fraudulent activities, and surpassed 100 million acceptable devices for authorized transactions. In addition to catching credit card fraud, Iovation’s technology helps catch child predators, online stalkers, and those cheating at online games.
And finally, the site 7orbetter.com claims to take the guesswork out of dating, because size does matter, if you know what I mean. The site provides a way for above average men to meet women who have a greater appreciation for certain parts of their physique. They claim to separate the men from the boys, and let a woman know she will not be disappointed when she meets her match.
That’s all for this week’s edition of OPW’s Weekly News Roundup. Tune in again next week as we bring you the latest and greatest from the world of online dating. No ads, no fluff, just raw news and CEO interviews served up daily. I’m Mark Brooks, nashledanou from Prague.
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