Month: July 2007

Mate1 Offers HonestyOnline Background Checks

Posted on July 20, 2007

Mate1_logo WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL — June 22 — Local entrepreneurs Mark Ezra and Ric Fleisher hand their Honesty Online struck a deal with dating site Mate1.com Inc. to certify truth in profiles. Mate1.com will promote the service to its 15.5 million members and receive a fee for each sign up. For $10, Honesty Online certifies the person doesn't show up on any federal or state sex offender or criminal lists. FULL ARTICLE @ WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL

Mark Brooks: It only took three years for another major dating site to offer background checks. Who's next?

SeekingArrangement Sugar Daddy Dating

Posted on July 20, 2007

Seeking_arrangement_logo GLOBE AND MAIL — July 19 — SeekingArrangement.com caters to people who want to be a sugar daddy or to have one. The site launched last July and claims 100,000 registered members, with a wealthy-man-to-attractive-female ratio of 1:10. Sugar daddies pay $35 a month, while “sugar babies” join free. The site owner cites historic arrangements and denies he is a virtual pimp. Even his sister gets $4,000 per month for weekly dinners.

The full article was originally published at Globe And Mail, but is no longer available.

Telegraph.co.uk’s Dating Pages ‘Lack Insight’

Posted on July 20, 2007

Telegraph_logo JOURNALISM.CO.UK — July 19 — The former editor of Telegraph.co.uk has launched an attack on the dating section run by the news website. At issue is the way in which photos from the personals ads service, which is powered by software from DatingBuzz, are juxtaposed with stories as a sidebar puff box. Telegraph.co.uk has, in the meantime, seen new developments designed to increase participation, including the appointment of Shane Richmond as communities editor. FULL ARTICLE @ JOURNALISM.CO.UK

Mark Brooks: I expect the white label cobrand services will be calling them shortly.  Email me at mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com for the latest version of my initial roundup of white label cobrand services.

Manhunt.net Sets Its Sights On Europe

Posted on July 20, 2007

Manhunt_logo GAY VN — July 5 — Now the official launch of Manhunt.net, "the largest gay hook-up/personal site in this country," in Europe is being celebrated (and promoted) by a tour of gay parties and events in at least 10 U.K. and continental cities with a traveling show entitled "Manhunt Invades Europe." The sponsor is mega-movie site Maleflixxx.tv, which will soon add a VOD theater to the Manhunt.net page.

Service Help Daters To Spice Up Their Profiles

Posted on July 20, 2007

Image3069172gCBS NEWS — July — Dating coach Evan Marc Katz, left, gives online profile advice during phone sessions to Tom Pandolfo, on CBS/The Early Show. With Evan’s help, Tom became "a man you can look up to." In spite of his height challenge, Tom says his profile is getting 50 to 60 views and 10 to 12 e-mails daily. FULL ARTICLE @ CBS NEWS

Mark Brooks: Also check out LookBetterOnline.com and ProfileHelper.com.

Only The Hottest Survive

Posted on July 20, 2007

Darwin_dating_logo_2SEATTLE PI — July 18 — Darwin Dating is one of several new online sites devoted exclusively to beautiful people or hotties. Darwin Dating promises "online dating minus the ugly people." With Darwin Dating you can't officially join the fray until you're voted in by all the other beautiful people, a process they call (predictably enough), natural selection. And you can't be over 35. Yes, they were pretty, but they were also pretty full of themselves. FULL ARTICLE @ SEATTLE PI

Mark Brooks: There are a few 'elite-ist' dating sites popping up. See Hotenough.org, and WealthyMen.com.

San Diego Singles Adventure Club

Posted on July 20, 2007

Funquestadventures_logo CALIFORNIA NEWSWIRE — July 18 — FunQuest Adventures provides an alternative by bring back face to face meetings. There are two ways to join: Sponsorship by a current member; or an initial meeting with a FunQuest membership counselor. Potential members also agree to a thorough background check through www.SafeDate.com. Over 20 events are held each month, led by professional event leaders. Membership fees range from $20-$40 per month; no long-term commitments are required and group discounts are offered.

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

Mark Brooks: I started a similar club in Silicon Valley in 1998 – ace-club.com. It's a singles club that won't admit to being a singles club. I found it was better for retention rates to not bill it as a singles club. UrbanDiversion.com and SFOAC.com also operate in the Bay Area and came to the same conclusion.

Mobestar And Bone Fish Join Forces

Posted on July 20, 2007

Bonefish_logo BUSINESS WIRE — July 19 — Mobestar, provider of mobile community applications today announced a partnership with Bone Fish Ltd. The partnership provides Bone Fish with the means to deliver a mobile phone interface to its customers' dating web sites worldwide. Launched in 2001, Bone Fish delivers bespoke, co-branded and 'white label' online dating solutions to 12,000 client sites. mDate incorporates LBS functionality as a standard feature. FULL ARTICLE @ BUSINESS WIRE

Dating Web Sites For Those With Serious Medical Conditions

Posted on July 19, 2007

Prescription4love_logo CHICAGO TRIBUNE — July 18 — The second date is going well, so maybe now is a good time to bring up your colostomy bag. Herpes. Third-degree burns. Dating can be challenging for singles with medical conditions. Ricky Durham was inspired to start an Internet dating company where people with medical conditions could meet a love interest. The site, Prescription4Love.com, is less than 2 years old and has 1,000 members. The site offers search options for more than a dozen medical conditions, including arthritis, cancer, deafness, diabetes, epilepsy, herpes, HIV, HPV and obesity.

Seeking Mr. Right Gets Tougher

Posted on July 19, 2007

ActorsCANADIAN PRESS — July 17 — May to December romances, such as the one between Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, could be the answer to the growing sex ratio imbalance in Canada. According to the latest census data released Tuesday by Statistics Canada, the national sex ratio is 95.9 men for every 100 women, down from 96.1 men to 100 Canadian women in 2001. The male-female ratio hasn’t been even in Canada for 35 years. Immigration could account for some of the imbalance. FULL ARTICLE @ THE STAR