Month: April 2009

British Men Rate Brains Over Beauty

Posted on April 9, 2009

Parshiplogo PRESS RELEASE — Apr 9 — A new European survey from Parship found out
that when it comes to love women are 27% more choosy than men, with
Irish women being the fussiest in Europe. However, British men are the
least fussy. When compared to 13 other European countries, Brits are
the second least fussy in Europe, joint 11th with the French.  Whilst
French men place the highest importance on looks (71%), British men
value brains over beauty 71%. Other findings: 

– 40% of women wouldn’t date a man who was unemployed
- 20% of women now expect their partner to earn more money than they do, with 83% preferring equality over financial dependency

See all posts on Parship

High-Speed Speed Dating

Posted on April 9, 2009

Speeddate logo JENN RUBIN — March '09 – SpeedDate.com sets up members on three-minute chat sessions. Daters can converse via webcam or IM. If both vote “yes” after the introductory conversation, the site allows them to continue communicating. The company claims to have hosted more than 30m online speed dates since its launch in 2007. Mark Brooks of Online Personals Watch, calls online and real-world speed dating services “complementary.” “I think real-world speed dating will tend to grow as a consequence of the online speed dating companies, creating more awareness on the concept of speed dating, Match and eHarmony should be learning from SpeedDate.com’s platform. I think they need to add similar functionality to their sites” he says. Dating expert Renee Piane agrees that Match and eHarmony will eventually have to rethink their site strategies in order to stay relevant in the communication age. FULL ARTICLE @ JENRUBIN.COM

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Trojan Attacks On Match.com Detected

Posted on April 9, 2009

Trojanhorse picture 1 MX LOGIG — Apr 8 — Match.com is being used to spread a trojan called Papras over the web, according to a security alert from a major network security company. The attack involves messages claiming to be from someone on the dating website who wants to show the user pictures and videos, to lure the user into visiting a malicious website.

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

See all posts on Match.com

The Key To Finding Romance?

Posted on April 8, 2009

Lock and key party 1 JENN RUBIN — Apr 8 — At Lock and Key events, women are given necklaces bearing tiny locks. Men receive ones with small keys attached. The singles mix and mingle as they attempt to find their match. Lock and Key Events were started about five years ago. Today, it has local branches in more than 60 cities across the country. Ticket prices range from $20 to around $35. Similar organizations include Lock and Key Match. General event planners, like Party Scammers, are also among the companies in L.A. putting on lock and key parties. Companies hosting more traditional types of singles parties also appear to be enjoying continued success, despite turbulent financial times. Adele Testani, president of HurryDate, said that attendance at her organization’s speed date events has spiked in recent months. “Basically, people are adjusting their priorities, and finding dates and a mate are a higher priority in this economy,” says Mark Brooks, a consultant for Internet dating and social networking companies. FULL ARTICLE @ JENNRUBIN.COM

See all posts on HurryDate

Online Matchmaking A Paying Proposition

Posted on April 8, 2009

Keyboard with love letters REDNET.CN — Apr 8 – According to a recent poll taken by the Matchmaking Committee of the China Association of Social Workers, almost one third of 154k respondents said they met their current mates online. "Introduced by a friend" was a distant second at 13%. The number of people using online dating services has more than doubled in three years – from 46m in 2005 to 100m last year – and is expected to reach 185m in 2010, according to the iResearch. Revenue in 2008 was $95.6m, and is expected to reach $176m next year.

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

Balancing Love & Money

Posted on April 7, 2009

Perfectmatch-Logo pouzivat PR NEWSWIRE — Apr 7 – Perfectmatch.com has released its Love & Money Assessment. The seven-question assessment is designed to evaluate financial compatibility and determines the ideal economic profile of a future mate by providing an accurate diagnostic about financial habits and values. Perfectmatch integrated the Love & Money Assessment into its Duet Compatibility System.

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

See all posts on PerfectMatch

Magazines Vs. TV Vs. The Web

Posted on April 7, 2009

CfmrBRIEFlogo RESEARCH BRIEF — Apr 7 – To find the relative effectiveness of ads on TV, in magazines, and on the Internet, McPheters & Company used 30-second TV ads, full-page 4-color magazine ads, and Internet banner ads in standard sizes, and employed eye-tracking software to determine if (and how) Internet ads were actually seen by respondents.

    - Though TV doesn't deliver as many ads per half hour as magazines, net recall of TV ads was almost twice that of magazine ads
    -  Magazines had ad recall almost three times that of Internet banner ads
    - Among web users, 63% of banner ads were not seen. Respondents' eyes passed over 37% of the Internet ads and stopped on slightly less than a third
   -  A full-page, 4-color magazine ad, was determined to have 83% of the value of a 30-second television commercial
   –  A typical Internet banner ad had 16% of the value of a 30-second television commercial

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

This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch and FrequentFlirters.

Love On The Go

Posted on April 7, 2009

Matchcom iphone app picture DM NEWS — Apr 6 – Finding a date on the go has just gotten a little bit easier, thanks to new iPhone apps from Match.com and SNAP Interactive. According to Jupiter Research, the mobile dating and chatroom market is projected to grow to as much as $1.4 billion by 2013. SNAP's Facebook Platform dating app, “Are You Interested?” has more than 13m users.

The full article was originally published at DM News, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Zoosk, Are You Interested, Hotornot and the Match app are the apps to watch.  Also keep your eye on virtual currencies. The Cyworld effect is starting to kick-in in the USA now.

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Three Japanese, Korean Virtual Worlds Generated Over $510M

Posted on April 7, 2009
Plus8star logo VIRTUALGOODSNEWS — Mar 31 – Plus Eight Star Ltd's "From Virtual Worlds to the 3D Web: Online Communities In China, Asia, and the World", an EU-China Information Project, sponsored overview of virtual worlds. It contains 2008 revenue for two major Japanese and one Korean virtual goods businesses that are not online games. Together, they generated $510m through virtual goods sales in 2008.

    * Cyworld, Korea: $200m in 2008 revenues, 22m registered users, valuation unknown.
    * Mobile Game Town, Japan: $250m in 2008 revenues, 12.6m registered users, valuation $1.4 billion.
    * Gree, Japan: $60m in 2008 revenues, 8m registered users, valuation $1.2 billion.

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

Mark Brooks: How is your dating site using virtual currency?  How do you think you could make more money by using virtual currencies?

See all posts on Cyworld

The Boom In Websites Offering Illicit Encounters

Posted on April 7, 2009

Infidelity picture DAILYMAIL.CO.UK — Apr 6 — David Rees is founder and director of marriedandlooking.co.uk, one such site aimed at facilitating affairs among married people. 'In the past 6 months, we've seen a 25% increase in members versus the previous 6 months, and it's certainly being driven by the recession,' says Rees. Howard James is marketing director of one of the newest sex-driven matchmaking websites, forgetdinner.co.uk, aimed at those who want to bypass dating and get straight to the bedroom. 'Although we are aimed at singles, there are almost certainly married people using Forget Dinner to facilitate affairs right now,' he says. Andy Felton is cashing in on infidelity. He developed Your-Spy.co.uk, a computer software programme that monitors your spouse's email and internet activity once downloaded discreetly onto their computer or laptop. 'Research we've conducted with almost 600 office workers across the UK reveals that, with concerns over money and job security, people are more likely to engage in illicit affairs right now than ever before,' says Felton. FULL ARTICLE @ DAILYMAIL.CO.UK