Mark Brooks: Small world. I studied at University of Hertfordshire in UK. I'll connect with Professor Wiseman.
Month: February 2006
Spark Networks Lists on the American Stock Exchange
PR NEWSWIRE — Feb 14 — Spark Networks American Depository Shares (ADSs) have been approved to trade on the American Stock Exchange under the "LOV." This creates a dual listing for Spark Networks, on AMEX and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, where it has been listed since 2000.
Mark Brooks: I’ll be reviewing Q4 10-k’s shortly on OPW.
E-vil Stalks Dating Sites
NEW YORK POST — Feb 12 — Abstract (Document Summary) Evin Nieradka, a 31-year-old West Point graduate convicted in 2001 of simultaneously assaulting two girls ages 12 and 16, was on Match.com under the name "evin363." He's on the New Jersey Corrections Department sex-offender search. A user reported the finding to Match.com and Nieradka was removed from the site. His bio included a shirtless photo of himself – a photo that caught the eye of an acquaintance from his New Jersey town. Dr. Robert Wells of California, a convicted sex offender, 66, was convicted of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old was thrown off True.com, the only online dating site that does background checks, in November for lying about his status as a convicted felon when he signed up. True.com also took the doctor to court for the lie. True CEO Herb Vest said Wells got through the background check because the county in which he was arrested refuses to give criminal records to commercial businesses. "I am very, very concerned that Internet dating sites in general do not take this criminal situation seriously," said Vest, who is advocating legislationrequiring dating sites to disclose on their home pages whether they do background checks. "It's imperative to our industry that we keep criminals off our sites."
London Social Networking
Mark Brooks: I started http://www.ace-club.com in 1998 in similar fashion.
Must Love Wing Tips
BUSINESS WEEK — Feb 20 — A third of all online daters are over 45, and 19% make more than $100,000 a year, says Web tracking firm Hitwise. Match reports 7% of its 8 million members call themselves executives (the government classifies 4% of the workforce as managers). They’re more likely to be divorced (36%), have dogs (30%), and enjoy wine tastings (20%) than other singles. In Washington D.C., the women have high financial expectations: 44% of female execs want a match who makes more than $150,000. In Raleigh N.C., 37% of the male execs want a woman who rakes in that much. Execs are sexually adventurous. TRUE offers a sexual compatibility quiz that puts people into one of eight categories, from “traditionalists” to “mavericks.” 16% of executive members are mavericks, vs. 12% overall. “They’re willing to do just about anything,” says TRUE founder Herb Vest, “within the normal parameters.” And yes, older men want younger women. Match says male execs in L.A. typically seek women 13 years younger. 25% of eHarmony’s men 55+ are interested in women 40 or younger.
The full article was originally published at Business Week, but is no longer available.
Lucrative in Love
The full article was originally published at Washington Examiner, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: The number of monthly uniques visiting dating sites is down because social networks are sucking many of of them up. They add their profiles, hang out, and then realise that social networks are for friendship, internet dating is for dating, and they convert over to dating sites. Social networking sites are good for online dating. They've sucked up many uniques but dating sites are reporting improved conversions and higher revenues. How could this be? Social networks are a great precursor to online dating. Manu users who might not have considered online personals in the past will start with a social network and then 'upgrade' to a paid site to get more focused attention.
Overweightdate.com
FOX NEWS — Jan 31 — Overweightdate is featured in this Fox News report…
The full article was originally published at Fox News, but is no longer available.
European Online Dating Industry Soaring
IRISH DEVELOPERS NETWORK — Feb 14 — European online dating revenues continue to soar and will grow 43% from EUR160 million in 2005 to EUR228 million in 2006 according to a report entitled "Online Dating in Europe, 2006: Strong Growth Continues Across the Region" by JupiterResearch. The UK is the largest online dating market in Europe, with total revenues expected to reach EUR63 million in 2006, representing 28% of the European market. European revenues are growing seven times faster than US. Currently just 4% of European net users say they use online dating sites, compared to 20% in the US. The JupiterResearch report also finds that mobile dating is poised to make an increased impact on the industry in 2006, as leading online dating sites step up their efforts to attract consumers while theyre on the go. "We believe dating sites should use the mobile platform primarily as an opportunity to drive consumers back to their online properties," added Elliott.
The full article was originally published at Irish Developers Network, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Webdate is the mobile dating leader and describes itself as 'channel agnostic.'
Online Dating Gets Tough
EMARKETER — Feb 14 — Online dating was one of the few paid-content success stories of the dotcom boom. As recently as 2003, total revenue for companies in the online dating market was growing at more than 70% annually. Today online dating is a hectic market, competition is coming from all direction. As a result, online dating's growth has slowed significantly.
The full article was originally published at eMarketer, but is no longer available.
Britons Won’t Admit to Online Dating
The full article was originally published at Web User, but is no longer available.