Month: April 2009

Love In The Time Of Recession

Posted on April 21, 2009

YoungHappyCouple YAHOO! NEWS — April 20 — The $60 billion-a-year wedding industry is hurting as much as the rest of the economy, according to a recent Bloomberg article. And with couples spending an average of 24% less on tying the knot than in '07, they are scaling back on everything from the number of guests to meal selections to flowers. According to a recent article in Yahoo! Finance, 37% of matrimonial lawyers report seeing a decrease in divorcing couples during economic downturns. The reason, the article posits, is because getting a divorce is the "worst thing you can do financially." So maybe the frugal thing to do these days is just stay single? Not so fast. The Economist and CNN are both reporting that matchmakers and online dating websites like eHarmony.com and OKCupid.com are prospering during the recession. eHarmony reports a 20% increase in monthly registrations from September 2008 to January 2009, and even Harlequin Enterprises, the world's leading publisher of romance fiction, reported that fourth-quarter earnings were up 32% over the same period the year before. Love is in the air, in one form or another.

The full article was originally published at Yahoo! News, but is no longer available.

See all posts on eHarmony
See all posts on OKCupid

Internet Dating Industry Weekly News – 5 Mins, Venice

Posted on April 21, 2009

Spark Networks acquires Engage.com. Sugar Daddy sites criticized. New Facebook apps from GenePartner and DateRaters.com. eHarmony lawsuit and Compatible Partners criticism. Matchmakers doing ok according to CNN. Virtual singles marry online, and Courtland Brooks blog launches. 

This weeks news from Venice, Italy. 

Iovation Hopes Increase In Users Bottom Line

Posted on April 21, 2009

Iovationlogo PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL — Apr 17 — Following a difficult 2008, things at iovation
are looking up again. iovations’ software allows companies dealing with
Web traffic to ferret out computers previously associated with fraud or
abuse. During times of economic recession, you see more fraud attempts
than usual and it is now more important than ever for companies to
protect their bottom line. Despite the setbacks, iovation did have some
solid financials last year with number of customers up 160% and
transaction volume up 150%. Along with retailers, iovation’s customer
base includes social networking sites that use the company’s software
to catch child predators, among other miscreants. The company is still
doing well and March saw a flurry of activity with an increased
interest in what iovation has to offer. FULL ARTICLE @ PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL

See all posts on iovation

This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch.

Love And Money

Posted on April 20, 2009

Online dating SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY — Apr 20 — During this time of economic hardship, people are finding that online dating is a relatively inexpensive way to meet people. Where one night out at the bar can cost the better part of £25, membership to a dating site is only about £20 a month. It also allows matches to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time and get things in the open before they meet, instead of waiting until the third or fourth date to find out she never wants kids, or he wants them within a year. PerfectMatch.com has seen a membership increase of 51% compared to the same quarter last year, and Match.com, billed as the world’s largest online agency, has reported its strongest fourth quarter in the last seven years. Plentyoffish.com visits have increased 77% from December 2007 to December 2008, and 32% over the last three months. FULL ARTICLE @ SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

See all posts on PerfectMatch
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See all posts on PlentyofFish

New Sites Offer Ultimate In Online Exclusivity

Posted on April 20, 2009

Diamondlounge ceolounge loga PR WEB — Apr 20 — Two sites by Diamond Lounge Ltd offer the ultimate in online dating and social networking exclusivity: Diamond Lounge and CEO Lounge. Less than 1 in 4 applicants are accepted for membership, which includes A-list celebrities, actors, models, CEOs, doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs from across the globe. Founder Arya Marafie says “it’s all about matching successful professional men with successful professional women.” Where Diamond Lounge caters more to online dating, CEO Lounge is primarily for high-end business networking, if you meet the strict eligibility requirements. FULL ARTICLE @ PR WEB

See all posts on Diamond Lounge

Open Season For Man-Hunting

Posted on April 18, 2009

Spring WITTY BITCH — Apr 18 — Ah, spring. The newly bloomed flowers, the trees, the lawns of green – and when the fire awakens in all of us after a long winter and begin the annual tradition of man-hunting. With rising hemlines and chirping birds, mating season launches into full swing for both men and women. Witty Bitch has composed a simple list of ways to catch a mate during this season of love, as well as how not to mess it up. From things like shaving your legs after winter hibernation to simply smiling when you see someone who catches your interest, and minding your manners on a first date. She even references words of wisdom from Paul A. Falzone, author of ‘A Singles Guide to Finding the Right One’ and CEO of The Right One and Together Dating, says, “It’s not 100% necessary to stay off the Big Three. After all, a first date is where you do find out a little more about your date.”

The full article was originally published at Witty Bitch blog, but is no longer available.

See all posts on TheRightOne
See all posts on TogetherDating

 

Master Matchmaker Recommends The Best Way To Find Love

Posted on April 18, 2009

Therightone togetherdating loga PRESS RELEASE — Apr 18 — According to Paul A. Falzone, CEO of The Right One and Together Dating, there is no best way to find love. It’s all a matter of personal preference for the person doing the looking. Falzone states, “Comfort level really is the deciding factor for most people when it comes to choosing online dating or traditional matchmaking services.” Where some people prefer the ability to browse through hundreds of profiles at their leisure, others are more comfortable having someone else find the right person for them. It’s up to each person to decide which is right for them.

See all posts on TheRightOne
See all posts on TogetherDating

SNAP Interactive Revenue Up 600% In 2008

Posted on April 18, 2009

Snapinteractive logo OPW — Apr 18 — Just two weeks after announcing the launch of their application “Are You Interested” on the iPhone, SNAP released their 2008 operating results showing a YOY 25% increase from Q3 2008, and 609% from Q4 2007.

Despite the tough times some companies are facing right now, SNAP seems to have their act together. Not only did the company close the year with $3 million in revenues (as opposed to their 2007 close of $425k), they have begun making great strides towards increasing their available product. President and CEO Clifford Lerner stated, “As evidenced by our recent iPhone™ application launch, we are making significant progress in enhancing our market footprint and product offering.” And though their main focus was not getting their new product ready, steadily increasing revenues throughout 2008 gave them one less thing to worry about.

SNAP ended Q1 with revenue of $520,000 and net income just short of $200,000. Their Facebook applications “Are You Interested”, “Meet New People” and “Flirt With Me” had installations in excess of 12 million by that time. Q2 revenue was fairly consistent with Q1 at $533,000 and net income of $144,000. Lerner expressed the company’s excitement at their being able to “demonstrate a level of financial consistency” during this time. Q1 and Q2 reports did not provide comparative number for the same time in 2007. Q3 revenue was $871k, a 63% increase from 2007, with net income showing a 183% increase at $410k.

Efforts to keep costs down during 2008 were made, though it was noted that “expansion and hiring of new programmers became necessary as we continued to grow.” Cost of Revenue was $770k, up 1053% from $67k in 2007. Total operating costs were only up 2.5% from $1.27 million to $1.30 million, and included research and development, compensation and advertising expenses. Net income was noted to be approximately $0.08 per share, compared to a loss of ($0.09) per share in 2007.

When all was said and done, SNAP had a good 2008 with gross profits up 526% from 2007, at $2.24 million compared to $425,000. Lerner stated, “our recent focus has shifted toward new product development as we keep our eyes firmly planted on our long-term vision for SNAP to be a leader in the social dating and mobile dating spaces.” They are already well on their way, and looking forward to a bright 2009!

See all posts on Snap Interactive

In China, White Man Loses Mojo

Posted on April 17, 2009
Hongniang logo ATIMES — Apr 18 – According to two recent nationwide surveys by the matchmaking website hongniang.com, mainland women keen on finding a foreign partner plunged from 42% to 16% over the past year. Mixed marriages, which reached 400,000 last year, had been on a steady rise in China until the US subprime mortgage crisis started a global financial meltdown that has turned a Western partner into a poor prospect in the eyes of many Chinese women. China's one-child policy, coupled with a traditional preference for male children, has created a gender imbalance that will leave already choosy Chinese women even choosier.  32m Chinese men face a future without any hope of marriage, according to a study by the British Medical Journal.

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

Mark Brooks: Baihe, Zhenai and Marry5 are the three top dating services in China.