OPW Scoop — Apr 30 — Oops! Click on the image for a look at the cover of electronic retailer magazine. eHarmony's Dr Clark is featured in an article entitled 'The Perfect Match.' Perfect Match has got to love that. eHarmony is the powerhouse of the relationships/personality profiling niche of the online dating world…only it's hardly a niche now. They've carved out the niche and turned it into the fastest growing sector of the online personals market with it's high (perceived) value premium memberships. Perfect Match and Dr Pepper Schwartz are giving them a run for their money. If only Perfect Match could eke out some VC smart money as well. eHarmony raised $110 million recently. Still, Perfect Match landed exposure on Dr Phil.
Month: April 2005
House of Wax Promoted on MySpace
The full article was originally published at KESQ, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: I handled 'promoter/agent' offers whilst at Friendster. Definitely no shortage of opportunity in that department.
Spitzer Goes After Spyware
Mark Brooks: Did Intermix do this knowingly. Was the code slipped in with a banner ad run and overlooked?
Online Dating Meets Cybersex
WIRED — Apr 29 — Would you have cybersex with someone you met through an online dating site? Would you go on a date with someone you met through a cybersex chat room? HighJoy is betting that you will. Lynn Borne, the director of marketing, asked me to hold the Doc Johnson iVibe Rabbit while he walked me through the chat client and the online control panel for the toy. Amir Vatan, the CEO, retreated to his office so he could be on the other end of my virgin HighJoy chat. Amir describes the company as something between AdultFriendFinder and Match.com. "Just online dating? Or online dating and these tools?" he says, gesturing to the array of vibrators on the conference table. He sees HighJoy as the logical next step for those who enjoy making connections online. I suspect the first wave of members will sign on for the promise of virtual sex and the hope of hooking up in person. I don't see the eHarmony crowd migrating to HighJoy, but fans of SuicideGirls, Nerve and PalTalk's adult communities will probably feel right at home.
The full article was originally published at Wired, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: The next logical step? Your comments please :-) ?
Dallas Man Behind Computer Dating Bill
DALLAS NEWS — Apr 27 — Herb Vest, the Dallas entrepreneur who led the fight to reshape the accounting industry, is taking on a new set of opponents: massive technology companies. His rivals oppose his nationwide effort to require that users of online dating services undergo criminal background checks. His last crusade roiled the accounting establishment, resulting in changes to state rules that broadened the profession's emphasis from independent audits to selling financial advice. When opponents say that he is redeeming political chits to advance his bill for criminal-background checks, Mr. Vest notes that his opponents spend more on lobbyists, and donate more to politicians, than he does. Mr. Vest founded True.com in 2003, after selling his share of the accounting business he founded, H.D. Vest Inc., to Wells Fargo in 2001 for ~$84 million. Mr. Vest said he started the site because he was concerned about the country's "prodigious divorce rate." True.com features a compatibility test that Mr. Vest says was developed by a psychological research firm. "A 50% divorce rate leaves in its wake devastation among children," he said.
Events – Fresh Ways to Find Your Mate
REDNOVA — Apr 27 — Lock and Key Events turn an evening at a bar into an icebreaker. All of the men get keys, the women locks, on a chain to be worn around the wrist or neck. People search for the key and lock that fit together – and when they find a match, they get a raffle ticket for a drawing as well as a new lock or key to continue the game. Christan Marashio, owner of LockandKeyParties.com, got involved after working for a speed dating company. With "Click at a Flick" for the price of a movie ticket, singles get to mingle and enjoy free martinis from Svedka for an hour and a half before the movie begins. Presented by Loews Cineplex and Lavalife. Chris Gonsalves knew he had found a need in the Boston area when 42 people showed up to his first planning meeting for a singles club. Known as funfunfun.org, the club has grown in seven years to reach 80 towns and has about 500 members, from the 20s on up. Members plan activities, from game nights to ski weekends to hikes. You don't have to be single to join the Boston Young Professionals Association, but it does provide some singles events along with its other activities. The association boasts more than 9,000 members, all ages 21-40, who choose from three to five events per week.
Online Gated Communities: A Revolt Against Friendster
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE — Apr 27 — Catch27 encourages members, mostly 18-30, to trade their friends for 'hotter, smarter ones.' The site also is launching a "black ball" feature that some members will be able to use to kick others off. FunHi, with 150,000 users, emulates a club and 'bounces' users who lack style, like people who 'look homeless,' according to co-founder Ray Savant. The sites' founders think the Friendsters of the world went wrong by letting anyone in — and that, as a result, those pioneering services lost the feeling of a community mirroring an actual clique. Friendster, which takes in ad revenue, says it just became profitable this year. ASmallWorld plans a premium membership service where members would pay for additional features. When a site called http://www.closedsociety.net launched, it opened its first 100 registrations to the public via a Google ad: "Join now and be a VIP." Only about 40 people applied.
The full article was originally published at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: People want what they can't have. The 'perception of exclusivity' is a powerful element of the success of social networking.
Multiply Gives Social Search A Shot
WEBPRONEWS — Apr 27 — Multiply.com, a social network launched in March 2004, has introduced an embedded search engine to assist members find content distributed by others within their social network. "If you're planning a vacation to Rome, a search on Multiply may yield a photo album taken by your cousin's neighbor during his vacation, and a blog entry written by your co-worker's nephew when he was backpacking through Europe," according to Peter Pezaris, Multiply's founder and CEO. The search engine considers whether or not the person in your social network is related (wife, sibling) or merely an acquaintance when applying relevance rankings to the query results.
The full article was originally published at WebPro News, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Multiply also has a nice calendar, message board and photos area.
Concerns About Florida Online Dating Bill
PRNEWSWIRE — Apr 26 — America's leading internet and technology firms and trade associations expressed deep reservations about the Florida bill that would impose government oversight on online dating and require criminal background checks or disclosures for users of online dating services. In a letter to the Florida legislature, the group noted that the bill would impose new liabilities and responsibilities upon not only Internet dating sites, but on an almost limitless array of Internet sites and services and has the potential to create a false sense of security for users. Although there have been very few, if any, instances of online dating related crimes in Florida, the legislation would require background checks or disclosures that the services do not screen customers. "Consumers are in the best position to determine which services provide them with the most security and comfort," concluded Netcoalition spokesperson Erickson, "not the government." NetCoalition serves as the public policy voice for: AeA, Amazon, AOL, Association for Competitive Technology, CareerBuilder, eBay, eHarmony, Electronic Retailing Association, FriendFinder, Google, IdeaOasis, Information Technology Association of America, Internet Alliance, Internet Commerce Coalition, Lavalife, Match.com, Microsoft, MyEMatch.com, NetChoice, ProfileDoctor, Singles Industry Trade Association, Spark Networks, TechNet, The Right One, Trufina, Userplane, U.S. Internet Service Provider Association, VeriSign, Yahoo!
Mark Brooks: Weighty opposition to the background checks legislation.
TrueDater.com: Online Daters Most Likely to Misrepresent Weight and Physical Appearance in Profiles
BUSINESS WIRE –Apr 26 — TrueDater provides online daters with the ability to read or review the truthfulness of people's dating profiles. Users were asked what qualities online daters exaggerate or lie about most often. Choices were: height, weight, age, income, marital status, physical appearance and other. Male voters ranked…1. weight 45%, 2. physical appearance 20%, 3. Marital status 13%. Female voters…1. general physical appearance 36%, 2. weight 19%, 3. age 16%.
Mark Brooks: Truedater users can list JDate, Match and American Singles profile id's with reviews of users. Interesting concept. Alexa rank is 200k. Does anyone know if JDate, Match and American Singles link to or promote Truedater?