OPW — Nov 2 — Salon.com sex columnist, Virginia Vitzthum, has written a book, available February. "I Love You, Let's Meet: Adventures in Online Dating." She asks, "My sense is that online dating goes up in the cold months, even more so before Valentines Day. Do you know if that's true and where I could get a hold of solid figures?" Your comments please. – Mark BrooksOnline Dating Book – Salon.com Sex Columnist
OPW — Nov 2 — Salon.com sex columnist, Virginia Vitzthum, has written a book, available February. "I Love You, Let's Meet: Adventures in Online Dating." She asks, "My sense is that online dating goes up in the cold months, even more so before Valentines Day. Do you know if that's true and where I could get a hold of solid figures?" Your comments please. – Mark Brooks
Let me start the ball rolling. Yes, online dating is definitely somewhat seasonal. Dating sites consistently see an upward trend starting just after Xmas and rising up through Valentines. The major contributors to this trend are:
1. It’s the time of the year when singles are most aware of their singleness, and most motivated to meet someone new.
2. It’s kinda cold, what else is there to do during the winter? Singles want to snuggle up.
3. Sites generally do ramp their ad spends during this time of the year.
The trend varies by company. Industry numbers are not shared. But hey, if any site owners want to be bold and put down some trending numbers, that would be exceptionally cool of them. Traffic trending numbers are available through Comscore and Nielsen.
Mark Brooks
Editor, Online Personals Watch