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 iTelebill.
Plentyoffish.com recently made a surprise appearance in Lady Gaga’s music video for “Telephone,” Which premiered on a Thursday of this month. The appearance was the result of ongoing talks with Gaga’s marketing team at Universal Music to find the right project. Plentyoffish supposedly saw a 15% increase in search by the close of the following business Friday. It has not yet been determined if the product placement has increased traffic of the website.
eHarmony has posted a job opening for an app writer. The job will require a Mobile Engineer to create a mobile-consumer application platform from the ground-up. The app will cater to the iPhone and other devices alike.
eHarmony also recently closed the doors on its marriage counseling feature. The marriage feature now reroutes to eHarmony Advice. eHarmony Advice is an innovative feature that offers dating advice for real people seeking love and better relationships, and it’s free to join!
Match.com has inked yet another deal with Australian web publishers. Match has added Yahoo!7 to its existing partnerships with eBay Australia and NineMSN. Match.com will be the exclusive dating partner of Yahoo!7 in Australia. The two companies will team up to launch a new dating service on Yahoo!Xtra in the New Zealand market.
Moving on, iovation was named a finalist by TechAmerica Oregon for the 2010 Oregon Technology Awards. iovation was nominated in the technology-service company of the year category. This year’s winners will be announced at the Oregon Technology Awards event on May 6, 2010 at the Portland Art Museum in Portland.
Online Matrimonial site, SetForMarriage.com, is looking for funding if you have $500k to $1M handy. The website started about 6 months ago and has seen positive signs for growth. SetForMarriage takes a niche approach but unlike eHarmony, does no match making. Marriage minded users can create free profiles and browse for matches.
Buyer’s interested in Sex.com will have to wait for their chance to bid on the coveted Internet Property. The initial auction was postponed after the previous owner, Escom, was forced into bankruptcy court by a group of creditors.
Law offices of Howard G. Smith is investigating potential claims against the board of directors at Spark Networks. The investigation is related to a proposal by Great Hill Partners,to acquire Spark Networks. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Great Hill Partners would acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of the company that they do not currently own, at a cash price of $3.10 per share.
If the transaction takes place, Spark Networks would no longer be a public reporting or trading company. The investigation concerns possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law, related to approval of the transaction by the Spark Networks Board of Directors.
Gays are “grinding” with the latest verb in the gay lexicon. The term “grinding” refers to the newest gay dating app for the iPhone called Grindr. The app uses GPS technology to download hundreds of pictures of available men within walking distance. As of this month, Grindr has 500,000 users worldwide, with 2,000 more joining daily. The free version of the app is supported by ads, and the $2.99 monthly ad-free version allows users to view twice the number of men.
Last but not least, a hearing on Senate Bill 129 is scheduled to be heard by the Economic Matters Committee, on Wednesday, March 24th. The hearing is in regards to the ongoing fight against the International Marriages Brokers Bill.
The Bill’s passing would prevent Maryland Men from associating with foreign women without legal preparations, which could render problems for the online dating industry. If you’re interested in fighting the Bill, Maryland local, Michael Parrotte, will be compiling and delivering letters for the cause. You can reach Parrotte with your letter of opposition at [email protected].
This edition of Online Personals Watch’s Weekly News Roundup has been sponsored by iTelebill.
iTelebill – The mobile and voice payment specialists for all your online & micro billing payment 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.