Month: January 2006

Jan 10 — The Wyndham hotel is sold out of hotel rooms for the internet dating convention on Feb 2-3.  The second official hotel is the Sovereign Hotel at a rate of $139 per night (plus 13% tax). They are 5 blocks (1 minute drive or 10 minute walk) from the Wyndham. You can contact the hotel at: Sovereign Hotel, 4833 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach FL 33140, 305-531-3232.  Mention "Internet Dating Conference Group Rate" of $139. 

Mark Brooks: The focus of this years conference is on improving retention, conversion and new products for online personals companies.  I’ll be presenting the news highlights for the year, as the keynote.  Dr John Gray (Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus) will be speaking about educating and retaining users.  Check out this years top notch line up of speakers

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Jan 9 –  The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in a dispute between the University of Texas and a LonghornSingles.com after it upset that the school blocked thousands of unsolicited e-mails.  The high court let stand a federal appeals court's ruling that UT did not violate the constitutional rights of White Buffalo Ventures when it blocked 59,000 e-mails in 2003 despite LonghornSingles.com complying with CAN-SPAM after it legally obtained the addresses from the university.

PR WEB — Jan 9 — UK based company Liquid11 offers “Stay Safe” which enables online dating users to obtain their own temporary telephone numbers which connect directly to their mobile phones.  Users can hand out their new temporary number to people they meet, whilst remaining in control as to whether they take any future calls.  The system works by routing a temporary number to users existing mobile phone, which they do by sending “SAFE” to 80876 at a charge of just £1.50. 

Mark Brooks: Throwaway numbers and anonymous phone calling are solutions to the same problem.  People want to talk on the phone sooner, before they go on the first date.  Email me at mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com if you’d like a copy of the white paper ‘Overview of Anonymous Phone Calling Services Providers.’

PR WEB — Jan 9 — Cell phones are a convenient way for busy singles to find and contact other singles. Mobilook posts an updated list of dating/personals services that provide mobile services to help their members find companionship.  RELEASE @ PR WEB

Mark Brooks: Webdate, Lavalife and Match are offer the leading online mobile dating products.

RELISH NOW — Jan 5 — Sniffin’ for love: We’ve seen speed dating, online dating and something even called gazing dating, where singles silently stare into each other’s eyes. In 2006, the courtship process will morph into smell dating. "Sniffin’ for Love" parties will involve blindfolded lonely hearts who take turns sniffing each others’ hair, neck, shoulders, and, for the adventurous, armpits. Singles have to keep sniffing strangers until olfactory desires match up.

TIMES ONLINE UK — Jan 5 — The dramatic rise of online dating over the past decade is a perfect example of technological Darwinism. Ever lengthening working days are reducing opportunities for socialising.  Growing geographical mobility is cutting people off from family and social networks.  Chance encounters with friends of friends that might one day lead to romance are becoming less likely. Online dating offers the advantages of speed, anonymity, an enormous pool of "candidates" to choose from and the chance to turn someone down without having to look him in the eye.  FULL ARTICLE @ TIMES ONLINE

PR WEB — Jan 5 — Multiply integrates social network-based communication with tools for photo sharing, video sharing and blogging in real-time. Multiply’s new Live Replies allow these discussions to happen in real-time. If multiple users are viewing a photo album or blog entry at the same time, replies added to the thread instantly appear on the screen, turning the content into a real-time chat room on the fly.