Internet Dating Video News Summaries

Internet Dating Video News Summary #34

Hello, and welcome to Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup. I’m Mark Brooks and here are the latest headlines from around the industry.

This edition of the weekly news roundup is kindly sponsored by messmo Media.

According to ComScore Online Personals sites grew in popularity during the month of February, with a 5-percent increase to 24.2 million visitors. eHarmony ranked as the #1 personals site during the month, and attracted 5.0 million Americans alone. Match.com sites ranked second with 3.4 million visitors. PlentyOfFish.com attracted 2.8 million visitors, followed closely by SinglesNet with 2.6 million.

eHarmony recently invested in German dating site eDarling. eDarling was founded in the summer of 2009 and carries an estimated value of around 15-20 million EURO. eHarmony supposedly acquired 30% of the company as a result of the investment .

Match.com has officially launched an app for Android. The app gives users the opportunity to find their soul mates right from their Android handset. The best part is the app is free to download.

Australian dating site RSVP recently launched a new campaign focusing on RSVP’s dating success stories. The campaign known as ‘Everyday Moments’ features real life couples sharing their relationship experiences and success stories. The new campaign will see 15-second vignettes online and televised nationally.

According to studies by comscore, Canadians are the world’s most active online daters. Canadians supposedly spend more days a month and minutes per day on dating sites than users in the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany. PlentyofFish is one of the most popular dating sites benefiting from Canadian daters. The site recently surpassed 105M logins in one month with as many as 1.5M people visiting daily, and as many as 380,000 messages being sent between members hourly according to Markus Frind.

UK based dating site BeNaughty.com has been growing rapidly over the past couple of years. The website has officially reached 3M member profiles.

Online dating for single seniors has also seen a substantial increase lately. According to the latest DatingData poll from SeniorPeopleMeet.com. 43% of single seniors named the internet as the best transformation in regards to dating and communication.

Dating service GameCrush has launched a new service to help connect male Xbox fanatics with game-playing females. Featured dates cost 400 GameCrush credits which can only be bought in batches of 500 for $8.25 USD. The service currently boasts ~1,200 profiles and hopes to expand to other game consoles in the future.

Cinema chain company Cineworld is partnering up with Easydate to form a new online dating service called Back Row Dating. The service will offer an innovative feature to help single movie lovers meet their perfect partner through similar taste in movies.

The official iDate Awards video is now live at iDateAwards.com. You can see all the award winners there, along with some video of the event itself.

Last but not least, the International Marriage Brokers Bill could seemingly prevent online dating sites from running gender specific pricing schemes.

According to Legislative staff member, Lisa Baugher, "the term “international marriage broker” does not apply to an organization that does not charge a fee based on gender or country of origin to any party for the services provided. This would apply to temporary promotions offering different pricing schemes based on gender or country of origin as well." It wasn’t specified whether or not the regulations will have an impact on a “ladies night” event in real time.

This edition of Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup has been sponsored by messmo Media.

Make real money with mobile dating. Talk to Brendan O’Kane of messmo Media.

That’s all for this week’s 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. I’m Mark Brooks . Thank you.

Internet Dating Video News Summary #30

Hello, and welcome to Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup. I’m Mark Brooks, and here are the latest headlines from around the industry.

This edition of the weekly news roundup is sponsored by the Internet Dating Executive Alliance.

Online dating giant PlentyofFish.com is continuing to grow rapidly. The site reported that they have passed 105 million monthly logins just this month, with an average of up to 380,000 emails an hour sent between users. The latest Comscore numbers show that PlentyofFish is bigger than all of Match.com and Meetic properties combined worldwide.

Speaking of Match.com, the website recently signed an agreement to acquire Singlesnet. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. However, Greg Blatt, CEO of Match.com said "while Singlesnet’s traffic is currently in decline, we believe we can reverse that trend, increase the site’s profitability, and improve the overall user experience. Adrian Ong, who joined Match.com from Soulmates Technology, after the company was acquired, will be assuming the responsibility for Singlesnet.

Singlesnet’s traffic is down from over 7 million uniques a month in January of 2009 to 4.5 million a month in January of 2010. Singlesnet has also been rogue-ish in its marketing tactics in the past, so it’s good that Match.com is taking the website under its wing. Perhaps they can polish the site up and make it less of an embarrassment to the internet dating theme.

Moving on, online dating is booming in Germany. According to Nielsen, 7.5 Million German Internet users visited at least one dating site in January of 2010. Parship, Elitepartner, and Friendscout24 accounted for 16.4% of the overall active Internet users in Germany. Friendscout24 spent 39.8M Eur in advertising last year, and acquired 1.1m unique users in January of this year, followed by ElitePartner with 893,000 uniques, and FlirtCafe with 809,000 uniques.

Hot off the press, Smartdate.com has just raised 2.2 million Euros which is the largest seed round we’ve heard of in a while. The sites uses Facebook connect to connect with user profiles, and is headed by industry veteran Fabrice le Parc who previously worked with be2. He launched be2 in France, and Benelux, and worked on a French and a US reality dating show in the past.

While business is booming in Germany, dating site scams are on the rise in Australia. Australians reported losses of ~$70M to fraud and swindling to the consumer watchdog last year. However, real losses could in fact be much higher. Scams linked to dating sites were up by 30%. More than 12,000 people lost between 1 to $10,000. Two Australians actually lost more than $10M.

A new virtual dating service known as Weopia.com just recently launched. The service is intended to over shadow the bad rap of the awkward first date. Singles won’t have to click on Weopia to find a date, they just have to send in their avatars to Weopia to partake in a virtual date, which should help determine their compatibility levels.

Now for hookups and breakups!

LavaLife is being shopped by its owner, online marketer, Vertrue. Vertrue paid $113.9M initially to acquire Lavalife in 2004. Vertrue itself was actually bought out by private equity firms, One Equity Partners, Brencourt Investors, and Rho Ventures for $855M in 2007. Lavalife’s web properties have supposedlly been on the block for about four months.

HerWay.com partnered up with Honesty Online to allow members to share authenticated identity info with other members. The partnership should make it safer for singles on HerWay.com to meet each other in person.

Herway.com isn’t alone in its attempts to protect women. Maryland’s Legislation is trying to pass a Bill that might require men of Maryland who date, or otherwise communicate with foreign women to visit their local police department. If the bill is passed, it would require online dating sites to obtain a copy of police records and fingerprints for men who are citizens of Maryland, and disclose the records to female clients. Violation of the Bill could lead to a misdemeanor. Conviction could result in a fine not exceeding $12,000, or imprisonment not exceeding 1 year, if not both.

Last but not least, Harvard Professor, Michael Norton will be speaking at the Los Angeles Internet Dating conference in June. Norton is known for works such as The Counterfeit Self and The IKEA Effect. His work has been published in a number of leading academic journals, and several media outlets including the New York Times, the Wall street Journal, and the Washington Post. Norton’s presentation at the conference will discuss the advantages of virtual dating in the world of online dating.

This edition of Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup has been sponsored by the Internet Dating Executive Alliance who are helping the internet dating industry grow and prosper.

That’s all for this week’s news roundup. To check out our interview with Alex Mehr, CEO of Zoosk, head over to OPW1.com. Next up, an interview with the CEO of Weopia.com. 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. I’m Mark Brooks. Thank you.

Internet Dating Video News Summary #29

Hello, and welcome to Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup. I’m Mark Brooks, and here are the latest headlines from around the industry.

This edition of the weekly news roundup is kindly sponsored by iovation.

PlentyofFish, Match.com, and eHarmony are starting to focus their efforts in the UK. Comscore recently reported a 1% drop in the global dating market, but the UK is showing a strong 16% growth rate. Match.com and eHarmony already dominate an estimated £1 billion a year matchmaking business in the paid site space.

PlentyofFish, of course holds the crown in the free dating space, having attracted 933,000 visitors over a one month period in Britain alone. eHarmony added 130,000 new UK members in January, bringing their subscriber base up to 800,000. Match.com boasts roughly 6.5 million members from its early establishment in the UK.

eHarmony recently announced their revenue for 2009 in a CNBC interview with Julia Boorstin and here are the details! eHarmony brought in close to $250m in revenue with about 13 percent market share, and a double digit registration growth in 2009. Although eHarmony didn’t disclose its user numbers, the website has been profitable since 2004 and is currently focused on building itself as an independent business.

Now for hookups and breakups!

Match.com has a reputation for buying up potential competitors. The dating giant scooped up People Media last year for $80m. There is a rumor that Match might be acquiring Singlesnet. IAC, specifically Barry Diller, has also expressed interest in Yahoo Personals in the past.

MeetMoi has partnered up with Time Out New York to introduce its white label service with the launch of TONY singles. The mobile and web-based dating service is powered by MeetMoi and went live in conjunction with Time Out New York’s Singles issue.

Is Social Media an important part of marketing? Hubspot’s recent survey leads to a yes! After surveying a wide range of companies to see how their marketing budgets have changed from 2009 to 2010, Hubspot found that blogging frequently, should drive more customers. It was also reported that 45% of businesses who use specific social media, also acquire customers from those channels.

OkCupid is a prime example of success where blogging is concerned. The website’s number of active members has grown by 10%, to 1.1m since the launch of their blog. One post in particular, about debunking the conventional wisdom about profile pictures, brought more than 750,000 visitors to the site and garnered 10,000 new member sign ups according to the company.

Finally, to check out the official highlight video from the 2010 Internet Dating Conference in Miami, head over to OPW1.com and look for the post on Feb 18th. From there, you can also follow a link to view conference photos, and pictures from the first ever iDate Awards Ceremony.

This edition of Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup has been sponsored by iovation. iovation, fight fraud with device reputation and expose cybercriminals.

That’s all for this week’s 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. I’m Mark Brooks . Thank you.

Internet Dating Video News Summary #28

Hello, and welcome to Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup, Valentine's Day Edition. I’m Mark Brooks, and here are the latest headlines from around the industry.

This edition of the weekly news roundup is kindly sponsored by iTelebill.

Hitwise has reported that after years of holding steady, visitors to dating sites in general have started to drop. However, PlentyofFish seems to be one step ahead. The free dating website’s traffic has actually increased.

Mashable.com’s weekly face-off recently pitted PlentyofFish and Match.com against one another. PlentyofFish is the world’s largest free dating web service, and Match.com is a paid site with over 20 million users. The big question was: Who has the better model? Match’s subscription service might be more effective for helping singles find true love. However, PlentyofFish took home the win by providing the best chance of finding romance! The face-off was based on a visitor poll. The final results were PlentyofFish at 45% with 430 votes, and Match.com at 35% with 334 votes.

The battle between PlentyofFish and Match.com isn’t solely on Mashable.com. According to Hitwise’s rankings of U.S. dating site visits, PlentyofFish was on top, followed by Match, Singlesnet, Yahoo Personals, Datehookup, and eHarmony. However, Match has been established as an Industry leader for quite some time now with a leg up on mobile dating.

Experts at the 2010 Internet Dating Conference in Miami pegged mobile online dating as a $550M-annual-revenue ringer industry wide, with potential to double in the near future. Mobile dating isn’t the only feature raking in the cash though. Virtual gifts have also become a $1 billion industry in the U.S. alone, and $5 billion worldwide.

Moving on, Nicole Ellison and her colleagues measured the difference between dating profile facts and reality. They compared posted information with what was on the test subject’s drivers license. Here are a few of the stats: 53% of men lied about their height, as did 39% of women. 64% of women lied about their weight. 24% of men and 13% of women were also untruthful about their age.

On a positive note, the stigma of online dating as a whole has been completely breached, it would seem. It has become so normal that internet dating is really no different than meeting a partner at a bar, or party. PlentyofFish’s Kate Bilenki revealed that the free dating site gets 1.8M hits each month from New Jersey alone. In a 2007 study, eHarmony found that 19% of respondents met their spouse through the internet, which was a 5% increase from 2005. Internet dating in general is considerably more comfortable and arguably cheaper than hitting the bars.

Meetic has announced its revenue for 2009! The group’s total consolidated annual revenue came out to 164.5 million Euros. The revenue is up 23% from the previous financial year. Of course, the Match.com Europe acquisition played a major part in Meetic’s revenue increase with a contribution of 32.4 million Euros. The Meetic group had 920,286 subscribers at the end of Dec 2009, compared to 696,472 at the end of Dec 2008.

Now for our hooks ups and breakups!

Match.com and Meetic recently formed a new joint venture in Latin America. Match and Meetic will each own 50% of the economic interest in the entity, and Match will control the new entity’s operations. Match will pay Meetic $3 million in cash at the closing. The partnership is expected to be in play by March 15, 2010. The situation could provide Match.com with an opportunity to purchase Meetic’s stake at fair market value at the time, triggering an additional payment of $1.5 million.

Meanwhile German dating site Neu.de and Match.com joined forces to power Match.com’s European Brand. Match’s European member base will merge with Neu.de. We’re looking for more clarification on this deal.

Match.com recently rebranded with an animated TV Ad. The campaign was created by US Sydney. US Sydney scrapped the old tagline “Make Love Happen” in exchange for “Where you found me”. The goal of the ad is to appeal to different types of consumers. Check out OPW to see the Youtube video of the ad. It’s very pretty, and very evidently targeted at women. And of course we know, attract the women, and guys will flock.

Easydate Ltd and Dating Factory recently partnered up. Easydate owns one of the top ten UK dating brands www.BeNaughty.com. The partnership will allow Easydate to address the German, French, Spanish, and Italian speaking markets using Dating Factory’s white label dating platform. This is an unexpected move by EasyDate. DatingFactory is a new kid on the block, headed by Tanya Fathers who was one of the brains behind the now, on the ropes, World Dating Partners. DatingFactory has a solid white label offering with some great reporting functionality. The company is focused solely on the continental European market at this stage.

IMVU has teamed up with Zoosk. The partnership will provide IMVU with Zoosk’s dating service. To join the service within IMVU, members 18 and older simply click the dating link under the community tab, and follow the step by step instructions to create an account. Nice move Zoosk.

Sex sells, but perhaps not on the open market. The internet offers niche dating sites for just about every preference. A poll by Online Dating Magazine shows eHarmony as the currently preferred site with Match close behind. However, Avid Life Media and FriendFinder are bringing in revenues through a plethora of niche dating sites that lean toward the risqué.

Both companies recently decided to shelve their IPO due to due to concerns over the current market. Avid Life Media had been planning a $57 million IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange in an effort to raise money to buy Moxy Media. FriendFinder meanwhile was planning a $220 million IPO with the intent to use some of the money to pay down debt. FriendFinder intended to sell 20 million shares for between $10 and $20 each. Watch this space, as soon as we know, you’ll know on OPW.

The online dating market is expected to reach $1.6 billion by 2013, up from $957M in 2008, according to Forrester Research. With online services reporting an increase in subscriptions, sites could raise their ARPU by adding more premium services and add-ons without losing customers.

Online dating isn’t the only industry doing well. Matchmaking is alive and well! But shouldn’t this industry be dead? Actually, matchmakers are being aided and legitimized by the Internet. People are more willing than ever to pay, for help, in the love department. Matchmakers are charging anywhere from $1,000 to $100,000, depending on the exclusiveness of the service, with $5k to $20k being the sweet spot.

Patti Stanger, star of the TV series The Millionaire Matchmaker charges men $25k+ a year and female millionaires $55k for 28 months of unlimited introductions.

Cupid’s Coach, Julie Ferman, believes that women are very attracted to the concept matchmaking because it’s private. Ferman charges $2,500 to $25,000 annually for an average of 2.2 introductions per month. Ferman accepts both men and women as clients.

I personally think that it’s worth dropping $5k to $10k on a matchmaker if you’ve got the cash and are looking for a serious relationship, but online sites that charge or have personality or compatibility questionnaires can also be a great option. That’s where I’d be, if I were single.

Finally, If you’re looking for a job in the industry, we’ve updated the idating job listings again. Head over to opw1.com and look for the post on the 12th of February.

This edition of Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup has been sponsored by iTelebill. iTelebill, the mobile payment specialists for all your online & micro billing requirements.

That’s all for this week’s 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. I’m Mark Brooks. Thank you.

Internet Dating Video News Summary #17

OPW Weekly News Summary November 12th, 2009 from Mark Brooks on Vimeo.

Hello, and welcome to Online Personal Watch’s Weekly News Roundup. I’m Mark Brooks, and here are the latest headlines from around the industry.

Hitwise has released their online dating rankings for October. In the United States, there was no change in the order of the top 10. PlentyofFish remained #1 in total site visits. Match came in second, followed by Singlesnet, Yahoo Personals, DateHookup, eHarmony, Adam4Adam, TRUE, SeniorPeopleMeet and BlackPeopleMeet.

Yet abroad, the big mover and shaker was Indian dating site Shaadi. In just a month, Shaadi leapt from #21 to #11 in the U.K. and #16 to #9 in Canada.

Also on the rise: Canadian versions of mainstream U.S. dating sites. While Match.com stayed steady at #4, Match Canada jumped up from #14 to #8 and Yahoo Personals Canada rose from #13 to #10. 

October in Canada was not as kind to Christian Mingle and Singlesnet. Both sites plummeted five spots over the course of the month. Christian Mingle dropped from #7 to #12 and Singlesnet fell from #10 to #15.

There was more bad news for Christian Mingle. The site’s parent company, Spark Networks, reported revenue in the third quarter dropped by 21% to $11.1 million. That’s down from $14 million from the same period last year.

Paid subscriptions are also down by 12% from the third quarter of last year. Spark’s number of paying members now stands at around 187,000.

In terms of net income, Spark raised $1 million in the third quarter of 2009. That’s 5 cents a share. In comparison, Spark in the third quarter of 2008 brought in $1.7 million in net income, or 8 cents a share.

In addition to Christian Mingle, Spark also operates several other targeted sites, like BlackSingles and most significantly, their hallmark Jewish dating site, JDate. For more information on Spark’s third quarter results, visit opw1.com.

European dating network Meetic also published an earnings report this week. During the first nine months of 2009, the company was able to consolidate activity at Match International. In turn, Meetic’s revenue grew approximately 21% to 117.2 million Euros. In the third quarter alone, Meetic earned 47.1 million Euro in revenue and acquired 25,000 subscribers. For a more detailed look at Meetic’s recent earnings report, also head over to opw1.com.

Perhaps Spark and Meetic could increase their revenue by focusing on senior singles, a group now totaling 16 million, according to Senior-Dating.org. The site predicts that number will likely double within the next 30 years.

eHarmony’s membership statistics certainly support this prediction. The Detriot Free Press reports that eHarmony saw a 20% increase in users over 60 during the first quarter of 2009, compared with the same time last year. Another interesting statistic -- 40% of seniors now have a computer at home, according to Senior-Dating.org.

Let’s move on from senior singles and talk about Gelato. No, not the dessert. The new site that combines online dating and real-time search. Gelato users create profiles by importing information from their accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Netflix and more. In an interview with Online Personals Watch, Gelato founder Steve Odom explained why he thought his dating site was unique:

“We’ve all heard problems of people fibbing on their profile. Um, and Gelato it’s what you’re actually doing. Its stuff you’re doing at Twitter or Flicker, so it’s more authentic. You get a better idea of, um, who I really am. Instead of thinking about my favorite movies, ah, I can also write about them but also show you what I’ve rented at Netflix. And that tells you more; it gives you a much more richer view of what kind of movies I like.”

Gelato plans to eventually charge for premium memberships, which will include special features like match alerts and profile analytics.

Finally, you have until November 15th to get your nominations in for the 1st ever Internet Dating Industry Awards. Let your voice be heard. Submit your picks for the best dating site, best matchmaker, best dating software provider, most innovative company and more. Awards will be handed out in a special ceremony on Jan. 28 during the 7th Annual Internet Dating Conference in Miami.

This edition of Online Personal Watch’s Weekly News Roundup has been sponsored by Talkster. Talkster, your best option for robust anonymous calling solutions.

That’s all for this week’s 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. I’m Mark Brooks.  Thank you.

Internet Dating Video News Summary #13

OPW Weekly News Summary October 16th, 2009 from Mark Brooks on Vimeo.

Hello, and welcome to Online Personal Watch’s Weekly News Roundup. I’m Mark Brooks, and here are the latest headlines from around the industry.

Let’s begin by clearing up some confusion. Match.com was NOT hacked this week. What set off this false alarm? It started on Tuesday, when Match.com was down, and at the same time corp.match.com was forwarding to the homepage of GPS site Globe Track Wireless. It kinda looked like they had been hacked. The next day, Match set the record straight. The company had been in the middle of an upgrade, and a human error on their end caused the accidental redirect. The CEO of Hausertech commented on OPW and helped provide additional clarification and assurance. So, Match.com was not hacked.

We have an update on the U.S. online dating rankings from September. According to Hitwise, the top five most-trafficked sites remained, in order, PlentyofFish, Match.com, Singlesnet, Yahoo! Personals and DateHookup.com. eHarmony moved into the #6 position, bumping gay dating site Adam4Adam down a spot.

In the top 25, the biggest jumps were Mate1 and Zoosk. Mate1 moved from #15 to #12, and Zoosk rose from #20 to #17.

Mingle2 had one of the biggest falls, dropping from #16 to #19. Also falling three spots was Dream-Marriage.com, from #19 to #22.

Show me the money. That’s probably what some of FriendFinder’s investors are saying. The company had around 81 million dollars in debt at the parent level as of June 30. It also had approximately 442.1 million dollars in debt in connection with its acquisition of Various.

However, FriendFinder Networks announced this week that it intends to finish its IPO process by year’s end. In a press release, the company said “The primary purpose of this offering is to repay some of our outstanding debt, including certain debt held by our affiliates.”

FriendFinder operates the AdultFriendFinder network, as well as about two dozen other dating and networking sites.

While FriendFinder needs money, virtual goods companies could soon be raking it in. A new study shows total U.S. market size for virtual goods will hit 1 billion dollars this year. That’s nearly double the amount from 2008. The report by Justin Smith, editor of InsideFacebook.com and Charles Hudson of Serious Business, also projects that virtual goods sales will reach 1.6 billion dollars in 2010.

Now for our weekly hook-ups and break-ups segment. No break-ups to report this week, only new couples. One is Match.com and Mother advertising agency. Being the good “Mother” that it is, the agency will be reviewing Match’s entire U.K. advertising plan. Match spent 6 million pounds on TV, outdoor and radio ads last year, according to Nielsen.

High-end publisher Conde Nast also had a high-profile hook-up this week. Conde Nast just launched its new dating site, TrulyMadlyDating.com. The site is now teaming up with Glamour.com and GQ.com. The goal is to bring together Glamour’s fashionistas with the clothing-conscious male readers of GQ.

Last, but not least, White Label Dating has a new feature that addresses concerns over outdated profile photos. Users can now upload a photo directly to a partner’s site using their Webcam. The photo is then stamped with a date.

That’s all for this week’s news roundup. For more headlines and to check out the latest iDate job postings, head over to OnlinePersonalsWatch.com. Then 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. I’m Mark Brooks. Thank you.