Internet Dating Video News Summaries

Internet Dating News Briefing #7

Online Personals Watch Weekly News Summary #7, May 18th, 2009 from Mark Brooks on Vimeo.

Hello, and welcome to the Monday May 18th, edition of Online Personal Watch’s Weekly News Roundup. I’m Mark Brooks, we're in Malta this week, and this is what made industry news this week.

Basisnote is developing technology to match couples based on the genetic components of the human immune system -- and their odor. Studies have shown that people are most likely to be attracted to the smells of those who have different histocompatibility genes than their own. With Basisnote, clients order a test and receive it two days later. Then they swab their cheeks and put the sample into a machine. Ten minutes later out pops a code of 0's and 1's. A client enters their unique code on Basisnote's Web site, and the software matches them to a person with a completely different immune system. Much like the Paula Abdul song, opposite immune systems attract.

SpeedDate.com, the world’s first speed dating Web site, announced the availability of its Android application, allowing singles to effortlessly connect with potential matches from their mobile phone. SpeedDate is a free service which gives singles the ability to connect via three-minute instant messages or live video dates. They are the first major dating site to launch an Android application, which is completely integrated with the web site. After experiencing such tremendous success with the newly released iPhone application, Android was the ideal next step to bring the convenience of SpeedDate.com to those engaged in online dating.

Earlier this week, Craigslist announced that they are no longer allowing new ads to be posted on their controversial “Erotic Services” section. In its place, Craigslist will erect a pricier and moderated option termed “Adult Services”. Adult services listings will cost $10 per post, and go through a manual approval process. Fees for Erotic Services listings were being donated to charity, but its not yet clear if Craigslist is planning on doing the same with the new fee. The announcement sounds like less of an actual change in policy by Craigslist, and more of a reactionary switch to avoid legal repercussions.

Adbrite founder Philip Kaplan is adding another Twitter application to his name. He recently created both Tweetname, which registers website domain names, and Fast140, a Twitter speed typing game. Now he is launching Flirt140, a flirting and dating site for Twitter. The new site is free and allows users to search for other Twitter users by gender, geographic area and keyword. Flirt140 also allows members to send direct messages to anyone on Twitter, whether or not they are following each other.

Spark Networks recently released their first quarter 2009 operating results, and unfortunately the numbers are not looking good. Net revenues decreased 20% to $12 million in Q1/2009 compared to $15 million in Q1/2008. Net revenues for the Jewish Networks segment decreased 12.5% to $7.6 million. The decrease in net revenues is primarily driven by a lower average paying subscriber base. Net revenues for the General Market Networks segment decreased 63.5% to $940,000. Spark Networks CEO Adam Berger stated that the company is now in the midst of an investment cycle to reduce their dependence on one brand, and remains optimistic for the future.

According to the projections of EmPower Research, the online matrimony market in India is poised to grow in the next few years, with a revenue-generation of $63 million and a user-registration of 21 million people by 2011. Shaadi.com, India’s leading matrimony site, currently has 11 million subscribers and 200 million page views per month. In 2004 they launched a brick and mortar storefront to reach people without internet access, and now have a network of 250 centers in 87 cities. Sensing the growth potential of e-matrimony, other sites have jumped on board. Jeevansathi.com has nearly 2.5 million registrants, 14 brick-and-mortar centers and is the country’s third ranked matrimony site.

ABC News recently did a piece on wealthy men being blackmailed through sugar daddy dating sites. Sites like SeekingArrangement.com can be fertile ground for con artists who take advantage of men with deep pockets. Young women, and even couples or husbands of these women, are threatening to expose the secret sex lives of wealthy men unless a ransom is paid to keep them quiet. While this type of situation is fairly uncommon, one man in the article had been blackmailed 3 separate times. EstablishedMen.com does not allow the "money for sex element" that typifies many of the other sites, banning girls from asking for an "allowance." However ABCNews.com was told by EstablishedMen that "with any relationship service there is an inherent risk of deception between users which we cannot 100% control."

And lastly, love is literally in the air at Air New Zealand. The airline is flying singles from Los Angeles to Auckland on October 13, 2009 with the aim of each passenger finding love in air or in New Zealand. Matchmaking Flight passengers will be encapsulated in the matchmaking experience, including a pre-flight gate party; themed food, drink, and games throughout the flight; entertainment; and a large-scale, singles-only party at the SKYCITY Convention Centre in Auckland. Matchmaking excursion packages are also available once passengers arrive in New Zealand and are ready to experience the country. Fasten your seatbelts for this one!

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.

Internet Dating News Briefing #6

Online Personals Watch Weekly News Summary, May 11th, 2009 from Mark Brooks on Vimeo.

Welcome to the Monday May 11th Online Personal Watch Weekly News Roundup. I’m Mark Brooks, we're at Kings College in Cambridge, England, and this is what made industry news over the last several days.

Several dating sites have been launched this week, including eHarmony’s new site Compatible Partners. For a limited time, Compatible Partners is offering a free 6 month membership to anyone who joins. SNAP Interactive also announced the beta launch of their stand alone site for Are You Interested, which is currently available through Facebook as well as on the iPhone. MatchMakingInc.com is a new site for single entrepreneurs and business owners who want to meet like-minded singles. They also offer a number of live speed dating events hosted across the country.

Matchmaking website BharatMatrimony plans to grow by about 50% this year and will expand its online matrimony services to a couple of south Asian markets. The online matrimonial site is considering tapping countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where the institution of marriage is quite similar to that in India. Most of the company’s services and business models that have been successful in India will be replicated in these foreign markets. BharatMatrimony recently launched the religion-based matchmaking services ChristianMatrimony and SikhMatrimony in addition to personalized services for the super-rich and celebrities called EliteMatrimony and BharatMatrimony Privilege.

Rumors have come in from multiple sources now that Userplane, the world’s premier social software provider for online communities, is closing up shop. It’s too small for AOL to consider selling, and apparently not worthwhile for them to continue running. Companies like Toksta and Ekko.tv stand to benefit from the void Userplane will leave. We received a number of comments on this post, including one from Jason Grunstra who stopped by the Userplane offices in Santa Monica this week to find all the doors locked and not a person in sight. Felix from Toksta also commented and invited Userplane members to a 15 day free trial at Toksta as well as a 10% lifetime discount for current Userplane members if they sign up by May 15. All signs point to Userplane being well on its way to gone, but we will keep you informed on any further information that pops up.

In 2007, OkCupid founder Sam Yagan decided to launch a marketing campaign in the form of a website called CrazyBlindDate.com to help drive traffic back to OkCupid. It did not go well in the beginning, but after it launched in New York, Boston and San Francisco, the media began to take notice. By early 2008, OkCupid had doubled its monthly userbase to about 2 million, with just over half a million active daters. CrazyBlindDate has become a dating site in its own right, and matches up singles for short-notice blind dates the same night. Yagan says he will continue to expand the CrazyBlindDate network and has tentative plans to integrate the two sites so users can access the CrazyBlindDate platform from OkCupid.

It's certainly not unusual for people to look for romance online. But should prisoners have the right to do just that? Thousands of them, many who will spend the rest of their lives in prison, have personal ads looking for love. But some family members of victims say that is just not right. Prisoners, themselves, are not allowed access to the Web, so they pay an Internet company to post the ad for them. Women either write directly to the inmate in prison or the company forwards the message. Some sites do include the crime the inmate committed, but not "Hot Prison Pals." Founder, Sam Wagner, said anyone who may be thinking of writing to inmates should do their own homework. The courts have repeatedly ruled that inmates have the right to send and receive mail, but many of the victim’s families feel that someone is put in prison to be punished for a crime, not to make new friends.

And finally, WealthyMen.com made news recently when one of the stars of the reality show “Real Housewives of New Jersey” planned to meet a potential new boyfriend she found using the site. Her date, who goes by the screen name “Guccilove”, sadly stood her up at the restaurant. Wealthy Men is a site for women looking to meet men who make over $100 grand a year. Perhaps she will have better luck next time.

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, from Kings College Cambridge, good afternoon.

Internet Dating News Briefing #5

Online Personals Watch News Summary, May 1st, 2009 from Mark Brooks on Vimeo.

Hello, and welcome to the May 1st edition of Online Personal Watch’s Weekly News Roundup. I’m Mark Brooks, we're in Lincolnshire, England this week, on our honeymoon, here's what made the industry news this week.

Since the onset of the recession in September 2008, online dating sites have been attracting new users like they were going out of style. In the UK, traffic to online dating sites grew 13% between September 2008 and February 2009, to attract just shy of 5 million visitors with a reach of 13% of the total UK online population. The appetite for love apparently has been re-ignited from the ashes of consumer-capitalism, and continued site growth is expected into 2009. The most popular online dating property in the UK is currently Meetic, which attracted 1.4 million visitors in February in combination with newly acquired Match.com. Trends are similar throughout the world as more and more people are seeking the help of online dating and matchmaking sites to bring them comfort during this economic downtime.

Some fear that online chat rooms and dating sites are becoming today's virtual bathhouses, where HIV and AIDS first percolated among gay men in the 1980s. More new infections occur among young people ages 13 to 29 than any other age group -- precisely the demographic that uses the Internet for social networking. Public health professionals are now turning to social networks as a tool to combat the high numbers of HIV and AIDS infections and raise awareness of this continuing problem. ManhuntCares.com has been an industry leader in this area, providing partner notification, outreach, and research services to their members since 2002. Health professionals are hoping that other social networks will establish similar programs.

According to a New Media Age report, White Label Dating is now the second largest paid dating site in the UK. With the merger of Meetic and Match.com, White Label moves up the charts to become the number two paid dating service, and the number three overall site in the UK, with Plentyoffish in the number two spot. The site is experiencing greater growth than all of their competitors over the past year, with visitors up 205%.

Viximo, a leading provider of virtual goods services to social networks, online dating and casual gaming sites, introduced its new modular virtual goods platform for the web and iPhone. For the first time, this “a la carte” offering will allow publishers to selectively choose from Viximo’s core services including access to its premium content library, an interactive digital storefront, merchandise payment systems and detailed analytics. The company also announced new partnerships with social networking sites Wadja, Booksie, and I Beat You. Viximo currently reaches more than 20 million unique monthly visitors through its network of more than a dozen web publishers. The company is committed to getting publishers started from scratch with a complete virtual goods platform.

iovation, The Device Reputation Authority™ for the Internet, announced recently that it is now offering iovation Risk Module, an add-on service to iovation ReputationManager that scores new and unknown devices on the Internet. iovation has been helping their customers combat online fraud and abuse since 2004 by using device fingerprints to create device reputations that can be provided to iovation customers in real time. Now customers can not only act on the reputations for devices known by the iovation network, they can also receive risk scores for new devices, that aren't even on the network.  This new service is intended to help predict and stop fraudulent activities before they even happen. 

Barry Diller is looking to expand his internet dating empire. Mr. Diller, Chairman and CEO of IAC, which owns Match.com, stated that he was “very interested” in Yahoo’s personals operation. Yahoo would not comment, but analysts say it may outsource Yahoo Personals as its new chief executive focuses on more core businesses.

IAC, the parent company of Match.com, released its first quarter financials this week. Worldwide subscribers to Match increased by 6% from 1.35 million to 1.44 million from Q1, 2008. This increase was driven by gains in the US, the UK and Japan. Revenue declined slightly, showing a 15% decrease in revenue per subscriber in international markets, due primarily to the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange rates. Excluding that impact, international revenue grew. Overall revenue was down 1% and operating income was also down 2% at $9.9 million. The merger between Match Europe and Meetic is currently valued at approximately $140 million, including the promissory note and the 27% stake that IAC will hold in Meetic.

Love is certainly in the air this time of year, and dating sites are reaping the benefits! The UK dating industry is estimated to be worth about £600 million a year, and there are more than 1,300 dating sites in operation. The recent merger of Meetic and IAC in Europe has left many in the industry believing that it is just the first in a number of unions in a sector that has hundreds of competitors. Others see the merge as a strategic move on the part of IAC, who reportedly has a little known option to purchase all of Meetic in 3 years’ time.

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.