Month: July 2006

Irish Firm Cleans up Social Networking

Posted on July 13, 2006

SILICON REPUBLIC — July 12 — Profileapproval, a company developed by the owners of dating site AnotherFriend.com, has come up with a technology called Profile Approval to keep inappropriate material from appearing on websites such as Bebo and MySpace. The service will help to eradicate inappropriate or misleading photographs or profiles. The service is capable of processing 1,500 photographs an hour.

The full article was originally published at Silicon Republic, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: I’ve asked Barry or Kevin to add a comment to explain a little more about the service and leave contact info.

Luvoo in Poland

Posted on July 11, 2006

Luvoo_1MARKET WIRE — July 11 — Luvoo signed an exclusive distribution agreement with AAA Investment SP.ZOO to provide Poland (38 million) residents its online dating website as part of Luvoo.com’s global expansion. The terms: Luvoo.com maintain servers and infrastructure and provide web-content in Polish. AAA Investment SP.ZOO will pay Luvoo.com $375,000 for the rights of distribution in Poland as well as a percentage of monthly residual revenue generated from online subscribers. AAA Investment SP.ZOO will market Luvoo.com in Poland.

Plentyoffish Attempts Speed Dating World Record

Posted on July 10, 2006

Logo_plentyoffish_1PR NEWSWIRE — July 10 — Free dating site, Plentyoffish.com, stirs Burlington, Ontario singles into action for Guinness world record attempt at the largest speed dating event under one roof. Markus Frind started Plentyoffish.com out of his Vancouver apartment after being frustrated at high priced internet dating alternatives. Markus commented, "I think the top paid dating sites are a little surprised at how my site has grown recently." Markus still runs Plentyoffish as a one man operation and refuses to sell the site, despite several offers in the tens of millions of dollars.

Mark Brooks: Cupid recently attempted and achieved a speed dating record for having 150 parties in 92 cities and nearly 3000 attendees. OPW Post Link. This record is different in that it is under one roof. 

Userplane Anonymous Calling

Posted on July 10, 2006

Userplane_2BUSINESS WIRE –July 10 — Expanding the capabilities of its Flash voice and video communication platform, Userplane, a pioneer in community software, announced that its unique Anonymous Calling feature has triggered more than 20,000 calls worldwide during the past 60 days. Userplane Anonymous Calling is now seamlessly enabled for every instant messaging conversation within the Userplane Webmessenger and Webchat client. "The new anonymous calling feature in the Userplane IM has been a great help in building user retention," said Markus Frind, CEO of Plentyoffish. Said Michael Jones, cofounder and CEO of Userplane. "This service enables two users to connect via phone completely anonymously – without giving away any personal information." Userplane will be exhibiting at the 9th Internet Dating Conference in San Francisco on July 13-14th, 2006.

The full article was originally published at Business Wire, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: Phone Matrix Privatecall is the leading alternative option and can be integrated into instant messaging clients. 'Throw away numbers' are another option. A throw away number should look the same as a regular number i.e. 415-762-8869, not 415-762-8869 ext. 3565.  Also, if I'm dialing from 212-444-1636 then it should be possible for me to call out from this number and have the service mask the number so it looks like I'm calling from 415-762-8869. Watch this space 😉

TagWorld Launches Video Chat

Posted on July 10, 2006

Tagworld_1BUSINESS WIRE — July 10 — TagWorld Video Chat enables TagWorld members to see and chat live with their friends and other members of the community in real time whether logged on to TagWorld or not. The two versions of TagWorld Video Chat — downloadable desktop client and web-based interface — work with all webcams.

MatchActivity Launches

Posted on July 10, 2006
JAVA SCRIPT SEARCH — July 10 — MatchActivity lets singles plan activites together. First, setting the time and place of an event, and then finding people with similar interests. Post an Activity, Respond, Meet.  MatchActivity team defines their mission: "Our vision is to change how people meet online and date offline. We believe that an activity date provides the best structure and context for a first time meeting." FULL ARTICLE @ JAVA SCRIPT SEARCH

Mark Brooks: Observe the real world, bottle it, improve on it slightly. That's what I observe Jonathan Abrams do masterfully in 2003 with the creation of Friendster. You can't change people's behaviors, just give them a means to improve on what they are already doing. I've been working on ace-club since 1998. Singles, real world events…very tough. I hitched Cupid.com up with Predating.com in 2004. The marriage is working nicely. We weren't trying to change people. There's a need for more singles events.  Singles, online daters, need to occasionally pry themselves away from the computer and go and meet 20 new people in one night. Even if they don't meet a new partner, they're having a good time and doing something that's good for the soul. Meeting, partying. 

Friendster Awarded Social Networking Patent

Posted on July 9, 2006

Friendster_logo_4CNET NEWS — July 7 — Troubled Friendster has been awarded a broad patent covering social networking that could cover activities of rival sites. The U.S. patent, which was awarded June 27, is extremely general, and would seem to cover the activities of many other sites, especially those like LinkedIn that allow people to connect within a certain number of degrees of separation. Asked whether Friendster would sue, President Kent Lindstrom said "It’s way too early to say…We’ll do what we can to protect our intellectual property." FULL ARTICLE @ CNET NEWS

Mark Brooks: Founder Jonathan Abrams applied for this patent early on. 

MateCheck Date Check

Posted on July 9, 2006

MatecheckCLICK PRESS — July 7 — Since its launch in 2005, MateCheck.com, has collected comprehensive reviews and character ratings for over one million men registered with such sites as Match, eHarmony, Yahoo Personals and JDate.com. DateScoreâ„¢ determines a man's authenticity based on objective information provided by women with first-hand knowledge—the women who have already dated him! FULL ARTICLE @ CLICK PRESS.COM

Mark Brooks: Nice concept. I've had paid membership on several dating sites for over 6 months. I checked five sites on Matecheck. Matecheck only found me on one of the five sites.

Women Fall for Voice, Men for Looks

Posted on July 9, 2006

Men_and_woman ASIAN NEWS INT. — July 8 — Researchers at the University of Bath have revealed that men and women judge the opposite sex differently when it comes to finding a perfect partner. While men are attracted to a woman’s looks and physical appearance, women tend to be are turned on by a man’s voice. Almost half the women quizzed in the study said the way a man speaks is crucial. The research was commissioned by internet dating service Match.com.

Mark Brooks: Dating sites need to enable users to connect earlier by voice. Voice and video are the way of the future. Mobile voice and video dating are the next step beyond that. Location based services…the next step beyond that. 

Safety Tips for Social Networks

Posted on July 4, 2006

Ceop2BBC NEWS — July 4 — The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) will run a series of workshops in UK for parents, children and teachers. Ceop said it was concerned that children were posting personal details and said one in 12 children met up with someone encountered first online. 54% of Bebo UK users are under 18, 31% of MySpace UK users are under 18. FULL ARTICLE @ BBC NEWS