Month: March 2005

‘The Office’ Remake Set to Debut on MySpace

Posted on March 17, 2005

CNET — Mar 16 — NBC's remake of the cult hit British TV show "The Office" is getting an unusual advance airing Wednesday night online, courtesy of MySpace.com.  The early look at the show is a plum for the young social networking site, which has captured much of the initial buzz around Friendster and other rivals with its focus on music and other entertainment communities. 

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

Mark Brooks: MySpace is great territory for seeding viral campaigns.  Friendster should have had owned this territory.  Now they are playing second fiddle to MySpace.

True.com Targeted Advertising; Signs Oxygen Media as Advertiser

Posted on March 17, 2005

PRNEWSWIRE — Mar 16 — Broadening its services to enable advertisers to more effectively tap into the lucrative online dating market, True.com(TM) today launched a multi-faceted online advertising program with Oxygen Media as its first partner advertiser.  Through TRUE's new service, Oxygen Media can target potential consumers by demographic and geographic preferences along with income, location and hobbies. 

Mark Brooks: WebDate and Date.com offer similar.

Yahoo 360 Connects Friends Blogs and Photos

Posted on March 16, 2005

WEBPRONEWS — Mar 16 — A new consumer-focused social networking offering from Yahoo will soon be launched in beta, according to information on the Yahoo website.  Called Yahoo 360°, the new service will include a wide range of offerings including blogs and photo sharing. The most interesting aspect of the offering looks to be the way in which all the elements are tightly integrated into a broad social network service where you will be able to easily share and exchange information, chats, files, etc, with family and friends. 

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

Mark Brooks: I heard Yahoo were working on a social networking type service under the name Mingle last year.  Their brain child is coming to life at the end of this month…by invitation only. 

Golfmates.com Celebrates First Marriage

Posted on March 16, 2005

PRWEB — Mar 16 — Golfmates.com has had their first marriage.  Golfmates.com has more than 3,000 members.  The US National Golf Foundation estimates there are  26 million golfers in the US. 90% use computers at work. 58% use the Internet.

Technology No Longer a Handicap for Seniors Looking for Love

Posted on March 15, 2005

GAINESVILLE — Mar 13 — Seniors are the fastest growing group of online users, according to Kaizad Gotla, an analyst with Nielsen/NetRatings.  Of the 26 million persons visiting online dating sites in Jan. 2005, more than 18%, or 4.8 million, were over 55. Up from 16.75% a year earlier.  In January 2005, eHarmony 55+ users jumped 86% to 350,000 from 196,000 a year earlier, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Match.com attracted 704,000 in January 2005, up 16% from 606,000 in January 2004.  "It boils down to the fact that people over the age of 50 are more discriminating," said Dr Neil Clark Warren of eHarmony.

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

US Paid Online Content Market Hits $1.8 Billion; Online Personals Lead

Posted on March 15, 2005

E-COMMERCE TIMES — Mar 10 — Online personals and dating remained the leading paid content category in 2004, with spending at an all-time high of $469.5 million for the year, up 4 percent over 2003, according to the study.

Beyond the Dating Database

Posted on March 14, 2005

WIRED — Mar 11 — These days, if you're single and have internet access, you're about as likely to have an online personal as not.  Not long ago I read a series of articles about how membership in online dating sites was leveling off.  Of course it is!  If a matchmaking site is any good, it stands to reason that people would pair off and cancel their memberships.  The lines between meeting online and meeting offline grow fuzzy. Ask me where I met my boyfriend and I'll tell you online, on a motorcycle listserv. Ask him, and he'll say offline, at a party thrown by another member of the list.  The internet has become as ordinary as any church group, running club or singles hangout when it comes to meeting a special someone or two. 

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

Mark Brooks: So now we've hit mainstream, what's next?  Social networking?  Mobile dating?

Spark Networks Q4 & 2004 Annual Report; Files for IPO

Posted on March 10, 2005

Logo_spark OPW — Mar 10 — Q4 revenue $17.1 million (+46%).  2004 revenue $65.1 million (+76%) with net loss of $11.6 million.  2003 net loss was $10.9 million.  JDate revenue in 2004 was $23.8 million (+48%).  AmericanSingles revenue was $35.2 million (+83%). Spark filed with the SEC for a $75 million IPO.

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

Mark Brooks: Spark is battling for market share.  It owns the Jewish market with JDate.  Still, how will investors view these numbers at IPO time? 

weAttract Releases Controversial Report on Online Dating Industry

Posted on March 10, 2005

PRWEB — Mar 9 — weAttract released a report today identifying seven opportunities and seven threats facing online dating sites. Advice…FOR THE INDUSTRY 1. Open member feedback forum   2. Join in June meeting for agreement of guidelines   3. Share critical mass info. FOR CONSUMERS 1. Ask tough questions   2. Give feedback   3. Do other things besides online dating

Mark Brooks: weAttract is the company behind Yahoo Personals personality profiling.  A number of serious issues are brought up in this report.  A little controversial.  Your comments please…

UK; Dating Site Promises Relationships

Posted on March 8, 2005

Pepper_1NETIMPERATIVE — Mar 7 — US-based relationship service PerfectMatch recently launched in the UK, claiming to offer its users “soul mates, not bad dates.”  After launching in the US 20 months ago, PerfectMatch has more than one million members, with a further 5,000 joining every day. It is now the second largest US “relationship” site behind eHarmony.  Central to the site’s appeal is the Duet Compatabillity System, developed by relationship expert Dr Pepper Schwartz, a regular on US talk shows such as Oprah and Good Morning America.  Interestingly, PerfectMatch attracts more women than men, with average age of members being between 33 and 34.