GANNETT NEWS — October 25 — The tabloids tell us that since Ashton Kutcher, 27, and Demi Moore, 42, have married, older women are the hottest new thing. A dating site called http://www.maydecember.net is even capitalizing off the phenomenon by bringing together those "seeking age gap relationships.
Mark Brooks: There's something inordinately attractive about an older woman who has looked after herself, knows what she wants and knows how to get it. We'll see more of this trend.
TIMES RECORD — Oct 25 — "It was so dark she couldn’t even see the ring," he said. It sparkles on her hand now. Tim’s holding that hand, and describing the wedding band that will join it soon. They both shake their heads over their courtship. "It’s been a little over six months," Tim said, "but with eHarmony and all those questionnaires and profiles, we learned so much so quickly." "We would recommend eHarmony to anyone, but be cautious," they advised. "Ask direct questions, and never give out personal information until you build up trust."
OH MY NEWS — Oct 26 — Netscape released its code as open source, and Firefox was born to become a distant No. 2 in the browser space. A new group has created "Flock" based on Firefox. Del.icio.us is wildly popular utility site for "social bookmarking," that lets users store and share their favorite site links. Digg, a tech news Web site, allows members instead of editors decide which stories get on the homepage. Flock adds a social networking dimension; integrating blogging, Flickr support, synchronization with Del.icio.us, and other goodies. Its blogging tools let users write and publish blog posts from within the browser. Its current version is still under heavy development and buggy (not ideal for downloading just yet). FULL ARTICLE @ OH MY NEWS
Mark Brooks: Is there an opportunity for convergence with an online dating site or social networking site here?
The full article was originally published at Union Leader, but is no longer available.
THE CRIMSON — Oct 25 — Facebook.com unveiled its long-awaited expanded photo feature last week. Facebook.com is the 10th most trafficked site on the internet, with over 8.5 million unique visitors in September. Although other networking sites such as Friendster and MySpace have long allowed users to upload multiple photos, Hughes promised in September that the site would offer "more photos than any other comparable site." Facebook.com is now the first of its kind to offer unlimited capacity. Murtaza M. Hussain, a spokesman for online social networking newcomer XuQa.com, said that unlimited photo uploading is more a catchphrase than a reality since most people would upload few photos.
The full article was originally published at Crimson, but is no longer available.
UNION LEADER — Oct 25 — For all the heartaches and horror stories – and there are a few, to be sure – Deborah still gets a buzz from meeting men on the Internet. "It's a real crazy soup," she said. "But it's so interesting." Many online dating sites are swarming with married men, she said. Deborah knows how to spot these guys. They're the ones who ask to meet at lunchtime, or some other strange hour. A few weeks ago, after posting an ad on Craigslist.org, a free and totally uncensored catch-all, Deborah started talking with a pleasant-sounding suitor from Derry. They met for coffee, and she agreed to go back to his place, where he suggested they watch a movie… From now on, she said, she'll be staying away from the free sites. Those are the sketchiest of all, she said.
The full article was originally published at Union Leader, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Some social networks will morph into or be created as Personal Information Management systems to complement the likes of Outlook (or CRM, in the case of LinkedIn) to allow people to orgnise their networks of friends more easily. Many social networks spur on the 'connectors' to connect with as many people as possible, turning their networks into popularity contests. This creates a low focus, low integrity network. Facebook is the best example of a high integrity, high utility social network; they masterfully limited connections to a core group of students/alumni. This will ensure their success well into the future…and give classmates a run for their money. Social networking is indeed still in it's infancy.
THE SENTINEL — Oct 19 — For an annual fee of $99, PersonaCheck members receive a complete criminal background check, a personal credit report, Social Security number verification, an address check and unlimited use for a year. Hard copies of the information are sent directly to the member via snail-mail and added to their profile upon verification.
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED — Oct 18 — Speed dating has taken root in India, mixing traditional and modern ideas about love. Some of the clientele — mostly young professionals who can afford the fee — are sent by their families to find a partner, while others lie to their families about what they're doing. LISTEN TO STORY @ NPR
Mark Brooks: Keep your eyes on Cupid.com/Predating.
NETWORKING PIPELINE — Oct 19 — Yahoo has bought the UK location-based Internet services firm Whereonearth, to improve its local search and mobile phone services, and to better compete against Google. Whereonearth's services include a database of geographical locations that covers more than 90% of Europe, Asia and the Americas, and allow users to search for local goods and services. Whereonearth is privately held, headquartered in London, has approximately 25 employees, and has had a licensing deal with Yahoo since 2000.
The full article was originally published at Networking Pipeline, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Location based services will eventually meet mobile services and the online personals world to significantly change the paradigm for 'online personals.' I see a plugged in world with WiMax networks and wearable computers informing us we have compatible matches waiting for us at the next coffee shop ahead.
