Month: January 2006

Microsoft Blogger Condemns Company for Censorship

Posted on January 5, 2006

MsnspacesINFORMATION WEEK — Jan 3 — Microsoft employee Robert Scoble publicly excoriated his own company for allegedly taking down the MSN Spaces blog of a controversial Chinese journalist. "It's one thing to pull a list of words out of blogs using an algorithm. It's another thing to become an agent of a government and censor an entire blogger's work," Scoble wrote on his blog. Scoble based his post on one by former CNN reporter Rebecca MacKinnon, which noted that the Chinese blogger, Zhao Jing, has had his site taken down–apparently by MSN Spaces itself. 

The full article was originally published at Information Week, but is no longer available.

Looking for a Match? Try E-Snag

Posted on January 5, 2006

EsnagNATIVE TIMES — Jan 3 — A California entrepreneur and his wife have set up a dating website for Native Americans.  E-Snag.com will help bring these people together regardless of where they live. 

The full article was originally published at Native Times, but is no longer available.

Use Your Cell to Find Someone Special

Posted on January 5, 2006

Sprint_pcs_1NEWS 14 CAROLINA — Jan 3 — Many of the big online dating sites have gone mobile. Match.com, Lavalife and sms.ac, for example, have all linked with Sprint PCS to offer matchmaking on the go.  Said Michael Galluccio of Sprint PCS, "you can set up your profile (on a cellphone) and go through profiles, find somebody who peaks your interest and start to communicate back and forth with them. Really, the only difference is that it's smaller. And what you're giving up in size you make up for with mobility."  In the future, the service might use a cell phone's GPS. Sprint is enabling all of their phones with GPS services, and they need to find a way to make that a very strong selling point. Having the GPS tell you if there are cute singles in your vicinity is a fun selling point. 

Lesson for Murdoch: Keep the Bloggers Happy

Posted on January 5, 2006

Myspace_8THE NEW YORK TIMES — Jan 2 — MySpace noticed that any references to YouTube, a video-sharing site and competitor, were erased or blocked from appearing on MySpace. Ever-sensitive to corporate meddling, many MySpace users got angry. "My friends and I are trying to make the blogging community aware of a stealth censorship campaign that is being conducted by MySpace," one MySpace user, Ellis Yu, wrote to the Blog Herald, a Web site about blogs. "They are not admitting to it, and are trying to do this in secret." The incident underlines the peril corporations face as they buy blogs and networking sites like MySpace, which depend on the good will of their users.

The full article was originally published at CD Net, but is no longer available.

Date and Switch?

Posted on January 3, 2006

Match_87 NEWS BOSTON — Dec 12 — New claims say some of the tempting profiles you see may really be cyber fakes. David Lemay put his profile on the web and got a response from an Elle McPherson look alike.  David emailed back, but nothing.  New lawsuits claim Match.com and Yahoo's sites have posted fake profiles on purpose to lure people into paying for membership renewals.  The complaint lists different potential daters using the exact same phrases in their profiles–too unique to be a coincidence. Match.com calls the suit extortion.  Mark Brooks runs "Online Personals Watch." He admits date baiting can happen but can't believe larger sites do it.  "To have a product manager put the hand up in a meeting and say, 'hey, why don't we put up bogus emails so we can improve our conversion rates'…they'd get fired." Brooks says some companies filter out obscene photos and obvious fakes but they don't make sure postings are real people.  Experts think online daters are targeted when their memberships are expiring. 

The full article was originally published at 7 News Boston, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: Sites will typically bubble up expiring profiles in searches. Nothing new there.  However, product managers, employees, please make sure to delete test profiles.  The profile used in this video looks to me like a test profile.  Not date bait, but a profile that an employee might put up to test the site.  I can see 3rd tier, one-man-band sites succumbing to the temptation of using date bait to raise their conversion rates out of the ashes.  Match, Yahoo, nah!  I have great respect for these companies and their integrity.  As an industry, I think we need to freeze profiles from search results that are completely unresponsive after 20 contacts/2 weeks. 

Computer Courting: Online Dating Discovers a New Age

Posted on January 3, 2006

Computer_courtingPITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE — Jan 3 — Nielsen says computer users 55 and older account for 16.7% of all traffic to online personal sites — the equivalent of 4.2 million unique visitors. At Yahoo Personals, those over 50 account for 21% of their visitors.  Anita Miller, author of the Online Dating Journal, which helps people record their online dating contacts and experiences, said more than 40 million people are using internet dating services. Sites designed exclusively mature adults; SeniorFriendFinder.com, 50yearsplus.com and SeniorsCircle.com.

The full article was originally published at Pitsburgh Post Gazette, but is no longer available.

Dating Singles Start Off New Year with Hi-Tech Interactive Mixer

Posted on January 3, 2006

OnekeyawayPR WEB — Jan 1 — OneKeyAway.com and Sofitel San Francisco Bay hotel are teaming up to host a series of upscale, interactive singles mixers.  Part psychology, part technology, OneKeyAway.com mixer events incorporate a hi-tech device, which measures one's personality compatibility with another person's. The device serves as both an icebreaker as well as a matchmaking tool. OneKeyAway participants get to meet face-to-face and unlike the various speed dating service events, there is no obligation to speak to a certain person.  RELEASE @ PR WEB

Mark Brooks: Some people prefer more freedom than speed dating events offer. Others prefer the more rigid format.  Cupid.com/Predating will host the worlds largest simultaneous speed dating events in the world on Feb 8th. 

Dating Re-Launch After 2 Years of Massive Investment

Posted on January 3, 2006

I-NEWSWIRE — Dec 31 — Singles Limited will launch its new dating software system in late January 2006.  As the Gold sponsor of the Miami dating conference iDate in 2006, Singles Ltd are perceived by the few that have previewed their new system, "as creating a seismic move forward in the industry of online dating" and a vision of what the future may look like for us all. 

The full article was originally published at i-Newswire, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: aewebdating (software), Spring Street Networks (network) and Vintacom (network) are the main choices for those wanting to start their own dating site.  Plenty of room for another player. 

Single. 40. Now what?

Posted on January 3, 2006

Yahoopersonals_5THE COURIER JOURNAL — Dec — Joan Hardin, a 60-ish widow confesses, "I'm not interested in the sex. I'd rather have more companionship."  About a fifth of visitors to the online dating site Yahoo Personals, for example, are over 50.  More than 40 million Americans over 40 are single — divorced, widowed or never married. One research paper, "Dating in Later Life," explores the courtship experiences of women over 60 (by Kandi L. Walker, Fran C. Dickson and Patrick Hughes). 

Muslim Women in Europe Claim Rights and Keep Faith

Posted on January 3, 2006

Muslim_european_womenNY TIMES — Dec 28 — Hanife Karakus, the soft-spoken daughter of Turkish immigrants, is a thoroughly European Muslim. She covers her hair with a scarf, but she also has a law degree and married the man of her choice. Matchmakers exerted no pressure. The couple met on the Internet. These Muslim women use the Internet and spend hours in Islamic chat rooms interacting with men in a way that violates no social or religious codes.  FULL ARTICLE @ NY TIMES