MARKET WIRE — Sep 14 — FriendFinder was founded in 1996 by Andrew Conru. Passion.com is for those interested in "spicy" romantic liaisons. AdultFriendFinder.com, the most popular site of all with more than 1 million new registrations a month, caters to people interested in finding a more intimate but not necessarily romantic partner. Other communitires include OutPersonals, Senior FriendFinder, Bigchurch, Amigos and AsiaFriendFinder. "On some of our sites, more than 40% of all those who have registered remain on our active file," said Dr. Conru. "We are rapidly moving into the mobile phone arena, upgrading payment systems to make it easier for people to purchase our premium products directly through their mobile phone carriers, and we are launching more sites that meet the needs of specific groups."
Mark Brooks: Sexsearch (7 million registrants since 2003) is FriendFinder's top competitor and is biting at AdultFriendFinder, Passion.com's and Outpersonals heels. It's newer, glossier, and more straight to the point. It's amazing how large this adult dating 'niche' is, and how rarely it gets covered in the press…because it's still viewed as porn by most of the press and analysts. Yes, it's risque, but it's still internet dating: the antithesis of eHarmony. I noticed that Hitwise is now including AdultFriendFinder in their Australian rankings.
You’re right on the money, Mark, when you point out that sites such as AdultFriendFinder are legitimate dating websites, and should be ranked hitwise with other more tame dating websites. Not everyone who posts a profile on dating websites is looking for marriage or a committed relationship. I’m sure that millions of members of the less risque websites are looking for superficial relationships.
Rich Gosse
Executive Director
International Association of Dating Websites
>>I’m sure that millions of members of the less risque websites are looking for superficial relationships.
You’re “sure” about this, are you? That’s a pretty broad statement.
LOL.
Right.
I’m sure the shallow people of the world know exactly how to find the shallow and pornographic websites. You can hardly visit any website anymore without ads of some huge breasts being thrown in your face. Try any of the online games websites and those catering to teens and college age.