Month: March 2007

OPW Wants Your Comments!

Posted on March 5, 2007
OPW — Online Personals Watch, Social Networking Watch and Mobile Dating Watch are getting pummeled with spam comments these days so I’ve had to put comments on an approval loop. We love your feedback so please keep the comments coming. We really appreciate your feedback and contributions to the communities. – Mark Brooks

Here’s the blog stats for your interest. The communities have grown largely by word-of-mouth referrals. OPW is strong, SNW and MDW are weak.

Stats as at 3/4/07 Started PV’s
Last 7 Days		 Posts Comments Feed Subscribers Total Email Subscribers
Online Personals Watch June ’04    6465 1844    2108 1193 6149
Social Networking Watch Nov ’06    394 166 12 107 45
Mobile Dating Watch Mar ’06    224 165 13 108 57

OPW Wants Your Comments!

Posted on March 5, 2007
OPW — Online Personals Watch, Social Networking Watch and Mobile Dating Watch are getting pummeled with spam comments these days so I’ve had to put comments on an approval loop. We love your feedback so please keep the comments coming. We really appreciate your feedback and contributions to the communities. – Mark Brooks

Here’s the blog stats for your interest. The communities have grown largely by word-of-mouth referrals. OPW is strong, SNW and MDW are weak.

Stats as at 3/4/07 Started PV’s
Last 7 Days		 Posts Comments Feed Subscribers Total Email Subscribers
Online Personals Watch June ’04    6465 1844    2108 1193 6149
Social Networking Watch Nov ’06    394 166 12 107 45
Mobile Dating Watch Mar ’06    224 165 13 108 57

Dating Service Ad Spends Summary

Posted on March 5, 2007
PR WEB — Feb 27 — Advertising spending for dating services, especially online services, are growing at an unprecedented rate, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. 

2004 (Jan-Nov) – $149 million
2005 (Jan-Nov) – $310 million

2006 (Jan-Nov) -  $430 million. 
 
In 2006
Cable TV – $130.6 million
Internet -  $127.3 million
Spot TV -   $75.1 million

Online Ad Spending, 2006 (Jan – Nov)
 
TRUE $52,169,100  
Mate1.com $20,410,000  
IAC (match.com) $16,083,600  
Flingweb.com $9,869,300  
MarketRange $7,275,800  
eHarmony.com $5,801,400  
Yahoo! Inc $5,491,500  
Chemistry.com $2,845,800  
SinglesNet $2,481,800  
Spark Networks $1,526,500  
Total $127,308,000  
*Source: Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance

 
 
Spending for the top 10 dating services represents 96% of total spending for the online dating industry.
 
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Top 10 Advertiser Jan – Nov '06 ($ mil)

% Change
vs. Jan – Nov '05
eHarmony $110.14      39%
Match.com $66.40       39%
Teligence $42.68      20%
First Media Group Inc. $24.68    149%
Its Just Lunch Inc. $18.45     75%
Vertrue Inc. (Lavalife) $16.33      15%
Marketrange Inc. (PerfectMatch.com) $4.19     -8%
Valenti Intl LLC $2.89      3%
Cupid.Com Inc. $2.52    96%
Adventures Northwest $1.64   124%
Top 10 Total $289.92    40%
All Other Total $12.99    17%
Grand Total $302.90    36%

Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus

  

Dating Service Ad Spends Summary

Posted on March 5, 2007
PR WEB — Feb 27 — Advertising spending for dating services, especially online services, are growing at an unprecedented rate, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. 

2004 (Jan-Nov) – $149 million
2005 (Jan-Nov) – $310 million

2006 (Jan-Nov) -  $430 million. 
 
In 2006
Cable TV – $130.6 million
Internet -  $127.3 million
Spot TV -   $75.1 million

Online Ad Spending, 2006 (Jan – Nov)
 
TRUE $52,169,100  
Mate1.com $20,410,000  
IAC (match.com) $16,083,600  
Flingweb.com $9,869,300  
MarketRange $7,275,800  
eHarmony.com $5,801,400  
Yahoo! Inc $5,491,500  
Chemistry.com $2,845,800  
SinglesNet $2,481,800  
Spark Networks $1,526,500  
Total $127,308,000  
*Source: Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance

 
 
Spending for the top 10 dating services represents 96% of total spending for the online dating industry.
 
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Top 10 Advertiser Jan – Nov '06 ($ mil)

% Change
vs. Jan – Nov '05
eHarmony $110.14      39%
Match.com $66.40       39%
Teligence $42.68      20%
First Media Group Inc. $24.68    149%
Its Just Lunch Inc. $18.45     75%
Vertrue Inc. (Lavalife) $16.33      15%
Marketrange Inc. (PerfectMatch.com) $4.19     -8%
Valenti Intl LLC $2.89      3%
Cupid.Com Inc. $2.52    96%
Adventures Northwest $1.64   124%
Top 10 Total $289.92    40%
All Other Total $12.99    17%
Grand Total $302.90    36%

Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus

  

Chemistry.com: Chemical Romance

Posted on March 4, 2007

HelenfisherOPW — I just got the following promo email through from Chemistry.com.  It's quite edgy… "Chemical Romance – An interview with Dr Helen Fisher, Playboy Magazine, Feb 2007 – Mark Brooks

Q: Biochemically speaking, how does seduction work?
A: Sex drive is associated with testosterone in both men and women. Romantic love is associated with elevated activity of the dopamine system, which is like natural cocaine.
Q: What happens when she climaxes – other than the obvious?
A: Orgasm drives up oxytocin levels in the brain: again, that increases her feelings of attachment toward you. When a man has an orgasm, he deposits testosterone, estrogen, dopamine, norepinephrine and oxytocin into the woman. All of that is in his seminal fluid, so when he ejaculates he's really injecting her with extremely powerful chemicals."

Chemistry.com: Chemical Romance

Posted on March 4, 2007

HelenfisherOPW — I just got the following promo email through from Chemistry.com.  It's quite edgy… "Chemical Romance – An interview with Dr Helen Fisher, Playboy Magazine, Feb 2007 – Mark Brooks

Q: Biochemically speaking, how does seduction work?
A: Sex drive is associated with testosterone in both men and women. Romantic love is associated with elevated activity of the dopamine system, which is like natural cocaine.
Q: What happens when she climaxes – other than the obvious?
A: Orgasm drives up oxytocin levels in the brain: again, that increases her feelings of attachment toward you. When a man has an orgasm, he deposits testosterone, estrogen, dopamine, norepinephrine and oxytocin into the woman. All of that is in his seminal fluid, so when he ejaculates he's really injecting her with extremely powerful chemicals."

WorldFriends Networks Gets $2.5 Million Funding

Posted on March 2, 2007

WfnPRESS RELEASE — Mar 2 — Shanghai-based Meta4 Group Ltd., which operates WorldFriends Networks, (private label multi-lingual personals sites, 200 sites, 1 million members, offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong), raised US$2.5 million in venture capital funding from industry veterans including the co-founders of Lavalife.com, Nicholas Paine and Bruce Croxon.  ~17 years ago, together with two other partners, they invented telephone personals, and grew Lavalife to US$90 million revenues.  Nicholas Paine is Meta4 Group's Executive Chairman.  Partner sites include: So-net (Japan), Eigotown (Japan), Japan Zone (Japan), Japan Guide (Japan) and China Times (Taiwan).

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

Mark Brooks: The Asian internet dating conference will be in Shanghai in May. Last year CEO's of Bharat Matrimony, YeeYoo, Baihe and other leading Asian sites were present. Small crowd, very high quality. I recommend attending it this year…and spending the ensuing weekend enjoying Shanghai. It's at the Four Points Sheraton in Shanghai, which is reasonably priced. Check out sidestep.com for the best pricing. 

WorldFriends Networks Gets $2.5 Million Funding

Posted on March 2, 2007

WfnPRESS RELEASE — Mar 2 — Shanghai-based Meta4 Group Ltd., which operates WorldFriends Networks, (private label multi-lingual personals sites, 200 sites, 1 million members, offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, and Hong Kong), raised US$2.5 million in venture capital funding from industry veterans including the co-founders of Lavalife.com, Nicholas Paine and Bruce Croxon.  ~17 years ago, together with two other partners, they invented telephone personals, and grew Lavalife to US$90 million revenues.  Nicholas Paine is Meta4 Group's Executive Chairman.  Partner sites include: So-net (Japan), Eigotown (Japan), Japan Zone (Japan), Japan Guide (Japan) and China Times (Taiwan).

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

Mark Brooks: The Asian internet dating conference will be in Shanghai in May. Last year CEO's of Bharat Matrimony, YeeYoo, Baihe and other leading Asian sites were present. Small crowd, very high quality. I recommend attending it this year…and spending the ensuing weekend enjoying Shanghai. It's at the Four Points Sheraton in Shanghai, which is reasonably priced. Check out sidestep.com for the best pricing. 

SeekingArrangement.com – Seeking Sugar Honeys

Posted on March 1, 2007
SugardaddyTELEGRAM — Feb 23 — Mark, a 48-year-old investment manager, has been married for two decades and has three children. What his wife doesn’t know is that Mark also has three "sugar babies" in their early 20s whom he meets for trysts, and upon whom he lavishes expensive gifts and hard cash; $600 to $1,500 a date.  Mark met his paramours on seekingarrangement.com (Founded June ’06, 75k members). Founder, Brandon Wade, an M.I.T. graduate says the site pulls in $50k a month. Sugar daddies shell out $15 a month to meet their babies. Sugar babies don’t pay a penny. Lawyers argue that these relationships are borderline criminal. "You are not granted legal immunity just because you prostitute yourself on a Web site instead of a street corner," said Robert Post, a professor at Yale Law School. FULL ARTICLE @ TELEGRAM

Mark Brooks: Should ‘sugar daddy sites’ really be classed as online dating services?

SeekingArrangement.com – Seeking Sugar Honeys

Posted on March 1, 2007
SugardaddyTELEGRAM — Feb 23 — Mark, a 48-year-old investment manager, has been married for two decades and has three children. What his wife doesn’t know is that Mark also has three "sugar babies" in their early 20s whom he meets for trysts, and upon whom he lavishes expensive gifts and hard cash; $600 to $1,500 a date.  Mark met his paramours on seekingarrangement.com (Founded June ’06, 75k members). Founder, Brandon Wade, an M.I.T. graduate says the site pulls in $50k a month. Sugar daddies shell out $15 a month to meet their babies. Sugar babies don’t pay a penny. Lawyers argue that these relationships are borderline criminal. "You are not granted legal immunity just because you prostitute yourself on a Web site instead of a street corner," said Robert Post, a professor at Yale Law School. FULL ARTICLE @ TELEGRAM

Mark Brooks: Should ‘sugar daddy sites’ really be classed as online dating services?