BUSINESS WIRE — Apr 7 — eHarmony partners with the Tampa Bay Rays for
the 2008 Major League Baseball season. eHarmony becomes the exclusive
sponsor of the eHarmony Cam, formerly known as the Rays Kiss Cam. "The Tampa Bay area is an important market for eHarmony,
and the fact that we have more than 80 eHarmony couples living in this
area who are Rays fans makes this a win-win partnership," said Greg
Waldorf, CEO of eHarmony. FULL ARTICLE @ SYS CON
Month: April 2008
Legislator Wants Background Checks In Florida
TAMPA BAY — Apr 7 — Rep. Kevin Ambler wants to pass a bill (HB 411) requiring dating sites to do a criminal background checks — or disclose that they don't — when dealing with paying Florida customers. The sites also would have to describe how the checks were done, that the checks are incomplete, and provide safety tips. However, industry lobbyists and critical lawmakers say that imperfections in searching criminal records still will give hopeful singles false confidence. The bill could raise costs for companies and customers. New Jersey made itself the first state to require the disclosure this year. Match.com says promising the background checks and disclosure is misleading. Lobbyists said the bill totally ignores a greater risk, the wide array of free social networking sites. Jennifer Green, a Match.com lobbyist, told a House committee on March 19 that the company has 1-million users, but only 60,000 paid members who would fall under the law. Green said Match.com would be fine with legislation that requires safety warnings but that the company finds the criminal check requirement off-point.
The full article was originally published at Tampa Bay News, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Criminal checks are a differentiator for next generation dating sites. This legislation calls for dating sites to post a prominent warning on their site if they don't do background checks. I think the average dating site user wouldn't expect a dating site to offer background checks by default. I doubt they would all pay an additional $20 for a check, either. Your comments please.
The Perfect Site For Blind Dates
MIAMI HERALD — Apr 4 — CrazyBlindDate.com is just what it sounds like. Crazy. But in a fun way. The site doesn't make users fill out a profile or post a picture or select the type of partner they are searching for. It's targeted to people who feel like going out, are adventurous enough to be set up on a blind date, and want to do so immediately. Members can also go on a blind double-date.
The full article was originally published at Miami Herald, but is no longer available.
Speed Dating 2.0 Now Available On Facebook
PRWEB — Apr 4 — Randomate.com announces an application called Speed Dating 2.0 built on the Facebook Platform that allows members to spend five minutes with five suitable partners during each speed dating session. Randomate.com allows members to join and create speed dating rooms, IM other members on the site, create and design custom profiles, post blogs and more. FULL ARTICLE @ PRWEB
Secrets Of Choosing An Online Dating Name
TIMES ONLINE — Apr 4 — New research has found those looking for love
online should take care what screen name they use to maximise their
digital appeal. Playful and flirtatious names such as "fun2bwith" or
"i’msweet" were ranked top by both men and women. Physical descriptors
such as "cutie" or "blueeyes" were close behind. Males daters would be
less likely to contact screen names such as "wellread" or
"welleducated". Straightforward or plain names such as "smith24" or
"justme" were also considered less appealing. FULL ARTICLE @ TIMES ONLINE
PlanetOut Partners With Expedia
SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES — Apr 3 — PlanetOut, a media company running web sites and magazines aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender customers, has put Expedia in charge of travel booking on its web sites. In the past, a good chunk of PlanetOut's revenue came from travel bookings, although former CEO Lowell Selvin said in late 2004 that two-thirds of the company's money came from matchmaking and dating services and advertising. But the company's online segment has been contributing less to its revenue for each of the last three years. In 2005 it accounted for 87%, in 2006 54%, and in 2007 51%. In February, PlanetOut reported a $51.2m loss for 2007. FULL ARTICLE @ SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES
Losses Rise In Online Scams
ASSOCIATED PRESS — Apr 3 — Money lost in Internet-related crimes hit
a new high last year, topping about $240m, according to a government
report showing increases in scams involving pets, check-cashing schemes
and online dating. The report, based on data from the Internet Crime
Complaint Center, shows men lost more than women on average — $765
compared to $552 for women. The amounts lost increased with age.
Victims in their 20s lost $385 on average while people over 60 reported
lost an average $760 per scam.
Most Eligible Gay Bachelor Search Begins In SF
CBS5 — Apr 2 — For the first time ever a state-by-state search is being launched for the 1st ever” “America’s Gay Bachelor. Organizers say it's not about sex or a hook up. This contest is about legitimately finding the ideal mate. The nominations start in the Bay Area. Then it spreads to all 50 States and ultimately one man will walk away with the title of America's first ever gay bachelor. The winner will be determined in July at the Gay Pride Festival in San Diego and gets $25,000 Private Matchmaking Package with MyPartner.com.
The full article was originally published at CBS, but is no longer available.
Keep Your Dictionaries Open
JEWISH EXPONENT — Apr 3 — Just a few weeks ago, the American Dialect Society named "subprime" the word of the year for 2007. Each year, scholars, linguists and lexicographers decide which new words should be formally entered into our dictionaries. Every now and then, euphemisms and slang from the world of singles yield some new words, too.
– Re-vite – This is when someone attempts to invite someone out on another date, usually after already being rejected.
– JDate-Live – JDate singles event.
– De-Harmonized – The process of being rejected by an online dating service.
– Shotgun Message – The practice of sending the same e-mail to every member of the opposite sex.
– E-jected – The process of breaking up with a partner or otherwise rejecting someone via e-mail, IM or SMS.
The full article was originally published at Jewish Exponent, but is no longer available.
Manhunt.net Is Playing It Safe
BAY WINDOWS — Apr 3 — Since its launch 7 years ago Manhunt became one of the largest gay websites in the US. In the last few years it has gone international. Manhunt currently operates in more than 100 countries, and there are 1.3 million subscribers worldwide. Manhunt has been targeted by those claiming that Internet cruising puts gay men at higher risk of HIV transmission. Massachusetts Department of Public Health's (DPH) may be the first health department to partner with Manhunt. "Manhunt really shows leadership in the industry from recognizing that they had a role in supporting the public health and individual health of their members," said Kevin Cranston, who heads the (DPH) HIV/AIDS Bureau. "People are going to do what they're going to do. I'm not encouraging them to be unsafe. In fact I'm doing what I can do to help them be safe", said Jonathan Crutchley, Manhunt co-founder. This June Manhunt will also launch a new venture, OnTheHunt.com, the company's first porn site.
The full article was originally published at Bay Windows, but is no longer available.