Month: June 2005

PR WEB — June 29, 2005 — A war is being waged on the Internet for dominance of the online dating world and surfers are caught in between. Some smaller dating sites have come to fight and have prepared very well. Said Jeff Mayhew, owner of LoveMatch.com, "competing in the online dating market used to be really easy. But in the last two years it has gotten a lot harder."  The return on advertising revenue is slim so he's been forced to take a cautious approach. LoveMatch spends about $30 a month on advertising, relying heavily on top lists and smaller sources of traffic to populate the site. Jordan Ravka, owner of CasualKiss.com, said he spends about $50 a month on marketing. Then there are companies like True.com, which advertised it's need for an ad sales company to manage a multi-million dollar advertising budget. "In all honesty, I have no idea how people find out about CasualKiss," said Ravka. "We charge about five times less than our competitors, therefore we will never be able to spend as much to acquire new customers." Charging less and providing more for consumers seems like a decent way for smaller companies to compete, but not all practice this approach. FULL RELEASE @ PR WEB

Mark Brooks: When users sign up for online dating sites they expect to be able to search from as large a pool of people as possible, for the best possible matches.  Small sites that pretend to be large sites, offering extremely limited pools of users, are a huge disservice to the industry. The smaller the pool of users, the less the utility.  $20 a month fees are 'throw-away.'  Everyone can afford $20.  Monthly fees simply demonstrate user commitment.  We're seeing companies such as True and eharmony up the ante on fees for two reasons.  1. Marketing costs are indeed rising.  2. Higher fees filter for those who are committed to the process.  Users put more time into searching, responding and dating when they are paying $50 a month; higher response rates, overall activity rates and a better user experience overall.  This is good.  I urge users to conisder the value of their time and the importance of finding a good match, rather than the paltry fees the online dating services charge.   

MARKET WATCH — June 29 — Yahoo on Tuesday quietly introduced a beta site of what it calls a "social search engine." It's in very early stages, according to Yahoo, and can be accessed at My Web 2.0 for a limited number of users.  The social search engine is designed to enable searchers to scour the knowledge and expertise of their friends in their social networks, in addition to the Web. For example, if someone is looking for a new computer, a person could search for recommendations amongst friends.  Idealab is incubating Insider Pages, which is an online Yellow Pages written by friends; a resource for local information made up of recommendations.

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

HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL — June 28 — DateScreen.com is taking the fuss out of online dating with a new software tool designed to work with existing dating homepages to aid in conducting background checks.  "Members have the ability to join multiple sites, manage profiles and check prospective dates for honesty and criminal records before meeting," says Richard Cobb, CEO of DateScreen. FULL ARTICLE @ HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL

THE REGISTER — June 24 –All pornography in the US is now effectively classified as child pornography, unless providers can prove the ages of everyone taking part. The law, which requires porn producers to hold copies of all actors' photo ID for seven years, has been in place for some time, but as of 23 June, the rule was extended to cover online pornography as well. This includes online forums, adult personals sites and any other place where adult material may be published.  The law gives authorities an awful lot of power to close down site they don't approve of.  The Free Speech Coalition is already preparing a legal challenge to the law.  Others warn the law could leave performers open to stalking and harassment because the law requires that they publish their physical addresses online. FULL ARTICLE @ THE REGISTER

Mark Brooks: It remains to be seen if adult personals will get clouted by this law.  They are on the fringe of what this law is targeting.  The enforcement of this law could close their businesses down.  It's unlikely, so I'm told, to effect them.

NEWS TRIBUNE — June 24 — MySpace is addictive, and the rock gods are flocking to MySpace in increasing numbers.  Queens of the Stone Age have a MySpace page. So do Nine Inch Nails.  The shift from cyber-fraternizing to music marketing began early on. Small-time rock bands quickly learned that MySpace could be a valuable marketing tool. The site allows bands to post music and send bulletins that reach hundreds, sometimes thousands, of fans on their friend lists with the click of a "send" button.  1.7 million listeners surfed on over to hear "Around the Sun" before it was available for sale. More than 500,000 fans tuned in to MySpace to hear Nine Inch Nails' "With Teeth."  But it doesn't stop with the music. NBC-TV saw the potential to generate a little buzz when it partnered with MySpace to webcast the debut of the American version of "The Office" before it was broadcast on television. Around 150,000 viewers watched the webcast. 

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

PR WEB — June 23 — DatingDr.com offers new personalized internet dating profile makeover services aimed towards 'hip' internet daters. RELEASE @ PR WEB