OPW — Aug 20 — Users who have been scammed should report the crime to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, here. Statistics on internet scamming are available here. Of those individuals who reported a dollar loss, the highest median losses were found among Nigerian letter fraud ($5,100), check fraud ($3,744), and other investment fraud ($2,695) complainants. – Mark Brooks
Month: August 2007
Social Networking Conference Video Summary
SNW — Aug 19 — This last conference was the best conference I've seen Marc Lesnick host, in terms of speaker quality, the selection of subject area, and networking. Here's the video summary of the occasion. The next conference is in Barcelona. – Mark Brooks
Avid Life Media Acquires AshleyMadison.com
OPW EXCLUSIVE — Aug 17 — Avid Life Media Inc., a social networking parent company that provides consumers access to diverse interactive niche lifestyle offerings, has acquired Toronto-based AshleyMadison.com (founded 2002, profitable since 2002, 1.4 million registered users in North America and the UK). AshleyMadison's founder, Darren Morgenstern, will remain with AshleyMadison as the company Spokesperson. "AshleyMadison is just one of the acquisitions we hope to execute on in the coming months," said Noel Biderman, President of Avid Life Media Inc.
Mark Brooks: Ashley Madison's tagline is 'when monogomy becomes monotony' and focuses on helping people get a 'bit on the side.'
Dating Statistics
THE SACRAMENTO BEE — Aug 17 — 42% of American adults (92 million) are unmarried. Today, women are getting married at the median age of 26 (up from 20 in 1960) and men at 27 (up from 23). Most couples meet through traditional channels – 38% at work or school, 34% through friends or family, and 13% at a bar or other social scene. But 3% are meeting through the Internet and 1% through a blind date or dating service. The dating industry as a whole benefits by $1 billion each year.
The full article was originally published at SacBee, but is no longer available.
DontDateHimGirl: A Site To Air Your Dating Laundry
THE POST CHRONICLE — Aug 15 — DontDateHimGirl, a social networking site where women can share their dating experiences, advises women to check men out before dating them. The site not only allows users to post predominantly bad dating stories, but also provides links and articles for improving and empowering one's self.
The full article was originally published at Post Chronicle, but is no longer available.
Faithmate Targets Urban Christians
CHRISTIAN NEWSWIRE — Aug 15 — Faithmate, an online dating site that targets single, urban Christians, launched recently. The site's goal is to help Christians who are looking for something more than a good time find not just their soulmates, but their faithmates. FULL ARTICLE @ CHRISTIAN NEWSWIRE
Student Speed Dating In The U.K.
IC SURREY ONLINE — Aug 15 — Student Click, a new U.K. social website, hopes to fill the student speed dating gap. The site, which was created by two Oxford Brookes University students, will be launching fully in September in several U.K. cities, including London, Manchester, and Oxford. FULL ARTICLE @ IC SURREY ONLINE
Embrace Your Inner Geek
7ONLINE.COM — Aug 14 — Sweetongeeks, a new online dating site, encourages members to embrace the geek in all of us. In the year since its debut, the bully-free site has registered 4,000 self-proclaimed geeks from over 60 countries. FULL ARTICLE @ 7ONLINE.COM
The Profitable World Of Love
REDDING — Aug 14 — More than 10 million people reportedly use the Internet to find love, and it clearly pays. In 2005, the online dating industry made $502.4 million ($33.9 million more than 2004) and was second only to the $573.8 million entertainment and lifestyle spending category, according to the Online Publishers Association.
The full article was originally published at Redding, but is no longer available.
Scammers Flock To Online Dating Sites
THE BALTIMORE SUN — Aug 14 — With the success of online dating sites, it’s not surprising scammers have followed the action. The FBI does not keep statistics on such schemes, but Romance-scam has 10,600 members who claim to be victims, 760 of which reported losing more than $6 million. Common schemes involve check fraud and requests to reship goods purchased with stolen credit cards.