Month: April 2005

Man Accused of Bilking Cash From Women

Posted on April 25, 2005

MACOMB DAILY — Apr 21 — A 62-year-old man is accused of cheating two women he met online out of thousands of dollars. Investigators say Pugh befriended two women through an Internet dating service while he was free on a $500,000 bond awaiting trial for extortion. 

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

Mark Brooks: I fear the press are going to start jumping on every connection they can make between online dating and 'bad apples.'  I think background checks are a good idea in some ways.  But do they fall short?  I'll be researching the major background check providers over the coming weeks.

American Pie Star on Friendster

Posted on April 25, 2005

Tara_reid_on_friendsterINDEPENDENT — Apr 20 — Fans were stunned when they saw Tara Reid (American Pie) listed on Friendster.  Hundreds of male admirers bombarded the site with dating requests.  The 29-year-old beauty listed ‘St Tropez, Sardinia and Aspen’ as her ideal holiday destinations and ‘acting, shopping and spending money’ as her interests.  A source said: "You’d think she’d have men queuing up, but it’s obviously not the case."  FULL ARTICLE @ INDEPENDENT ONLINE

Mark Brooks: I looked her up on Friendster.  This is the actual profile picture.  Alas, when I clicked on her profile, "Suspended User…Sorry, but the user you are trying to view has been suspended."  Probably a fakester.

Channel 4 (UK) Extends DatingDirect Deal

Posted on April 25, 2005

DatingdirectNETIMPERATIVE — Apr 20 — Broadcaster Channel 4 has extended its deal with DatingDirect.com, to provide a white label dating site on Channel4.com for a further 12 months. DatingDirect has two million profiles.  CEO and Co-Founder, Darren Richards said,"The existing partnership with Channel4.com will ensure that we continue to expand."  The online dating market is getting increasingly competitive in the UK, with many sites looking to expand their services through partnerships with major web publishers.  Earlier this month, DatingDirect secured a deal with Associated New Media (ANM) to provide a dating service on Dailymail.co.uk and ThisIsLondon.co.uk, snatching the contract from their rival uDate.  Founded in January 1999, DatingDirect.com also provides exclusive dating services to gm.tv, ITV.com, Handbag.com, iVillage.co.uk and NewWoman.co.uk.

Mark Brooks: Channel 4 is a major TV channel in the UK.  I've added a lookup category for UK Dating Sites fyi.  There are subtle differences in the home page photos of Brit online dating sites…I can spot them (as a Brit), it's amusing.  The British prefer to use (and probably do business with) British focused online dating sites.  The British subtleties are there, but tough to spot.  DatingDirect

Yahoo Revenue Tops $1 Billion

Posted on April 25, 2005

Yahoo_1SF CHRONICLE — Apr 20 — Yahoo’s growth streak continued in Q1 with revenue above $1 billion for the first time. Yahoo’s profit was $204.6 million, double a year ago. Q1 revenue climbed to $1.17 billion, up 55%. Fees/memberships accounted for $148.9 million in revenue. The category includes subscriptions for fantasy sports leagues, online dating and broadband Internet access. In all, Yahoo had 8.9 million paid subscriptions as of March 31. FULL ARTICLE @ SFGATE

Online Dating Research – Age Old Personals

Posted on April 25, 2005

WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL — Apr 20 — Laura Schaefer, 25, writes a column about sex for online dating service Match.com and expanded her sources to personal ads dating as far back as 1737. She'll be talking about her book next Tuesday live on "Good Morning, America." It's also been written up in the May issue of Playboy.  Some of her favorites…"A lady, young, pretty, bright and poor, desires to make the acquaintance of a man with the opposite qualities with a view to a happy marriage." (1894)…"Bachelor with 40 acres of excellent land would like to make acquaintance of lady with tractor; matrimony in mind. Please send picture of tractor." (1957)…Schaefer is a bartender at Middleton's Imperial Garden, and is finishing her second book, "HappilyEverAfter.com," a novel about online dating. 

The full article was originally published at Wisconsin State Journal, but is no longer available.

Celebrities Turn Tables on Tabloids

Posted on April 24, 2005

Bruce_willis_blogJAM SHOWBIZ — Apr 19 — Stars from A-list to C are blogging like crazy to connect with their fans, often tossing aside grammar, punctuation, capital letters and concern for their image in the process. Their blogs are sometimes fascinating, often banal and frequently embarrassing.  Blogs: Rosie O'Donnell, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Zach Braff (Scrubs)   

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

Mark Brooks: Rosie's funny.  Bruce's support of foster children touched me.  Melanie Griffith's site is just beautiful.  I can't believe I actually saw Pamela Andersons blog on Friendster advertised on an Alexa ad bar…'Start your own Friendster Blog.'  I guess social networks are now having to resort to additional 'seeding' to keep ahead of the competition. Shame really. Part of the magic of social networks is that they haven't really needed to advertise.  Craigslist still doesn't advertise.  Although they have done a little PR in the past.

The Revenge Guy Joins aLoveLinksPlus

Posted on April 24, 2005

AlovelinksplusPRWEB — Apr 19 — aLoveLinksPlus.com dating directory announces the addition of columnist the Revenge Guy who will provide weekly revenge advice for the readers of the Advice Central section of aLoveLinksPlus.com. ‘Revenge is an art that needs to be cultivated.’ RELEASE @ PRWEB

Mark Brooks: Novel but alas, not that funny.

Live Your Life, Let Love Follow Says Lifeknot.com

Posted on April 24, 2005

Lifeknot_picPRWEB — Apr 19 — “Focusing on shared activities provides advantages over traditional online dating sites,” states Matt Muro, founder of lifeknot.com, a free service attracting new members. “The emphasis with our approach isn’t on personality traits and dating so much as it is helping people meet new friends to share activities they enjoy.”  RELEASE @ PRWEB

Mark Brooks: I'd love to see one of the social networks integrate events more tightly.  I've been toying with http://www.ace-club.com since 1998; a social network of professionals in Silicon Valley.

SpeedDater Goes Mobile

Posted on April 24, 2005

Speeddater_speed_dating_events NETIMPERATIVE — Apr 18 — UK dating brand SpeedDater has launched a new mobile dating service, in partnership with mobile media firm Enpocket.  SpeedDater Mobile enables singles to search for dates on their mobiles by inputting their own profile and picture, then viewing other user profiles via their phone. Users can also send and receive chat requests to have conversations with other members. 

Mark Brooks: Speeddater has a funky 'design your fream date' feature.  Unique, but I couldn't find the design for a lady I liked.

Userplane Webchat Award Winner

Posted on April 24, 2005

Userplane_internet_dating_social_softwar_1BUSINESS WIRE — Apr 18 — Userplane, a pioneer in developing innovative social software, today announced that its Webchat application http://www.userplane.com/webchat/ has been named a winner in The Horizon Interactive Awards http://www.horizoninteractiveawards.com