Month: August 2009

Online Stalking Helps Stoke 16% Rise In Reported Rapes

Posted on August 11, 2009

Online stalking CHARLOTTE OBSERVER — Aug 11 – Reported rape is up 16% in Mecklenburg County this year, fueled by the popularity of Internet dating and online classifieds offering sexual services. Officials also say a higher percentage of victims each year are coming forward to report rape. Nationally, the number of rapes reported to police has increased by 30% since 1993. Craigslist has drawn fire in recent months for its adult services ads. S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster threatened to file criminal charges earlier this year against Craigslist executives. Craigslist and its CEO Jim Buckmaster fired back with a lawsuit, which is pending. N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper has also focused attention on MySpace and Facebook over sexual predators trying to contact children.

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

Mark Brooks: "Reported rape is up…fueled by the popularity of Internet dating and online classifieds offering sexual services."  Executives of idating and adult dating sites, your comments please. Is this a fair and true statement?

What Happens When The Guy Stops Responding?

Posted on August 11, 2009

Smiley face OPW — Aug 11 – This is funny, and an example of the kinds of communications that may
be happening on your dating site after idaters go on a few real dates
and then one stops responding.   

"I had the opportunity to backpack around
Europe for 2 weeks. I talked about it often before I left. My
girlfriend however, although great in many respects, was not the
world’s greatest listener. Despite even
calling her to say goodbye the night before, she never realized I left.
When I arrived home 2 weeks later, I had several emails from her,
waiting in my inbox…"

Economy Fizzles, Sparks Fly

Posted on August 10, 2009

Togetherdating logo EXPRESS NEWS — Aug 10 – Wayne Greene had joined It's Just Lunch before he was laid off from his job. At first, he stopped going on dates because of the expense. Then he figured: "What the heck. If somebody's willing to go out with me when I'm unemployed, maybe I did find the right person." It's Just Lunch ($1,800 for a year-long membership) has experienced more than 16% growth in membership over the past 6 months. Tanis Carpenter paid up front for 60 dates at Together Dating, a national matchmaking service. She declined to specify the cost, but said it was in the thousands of dollars. She met Adam Carpenter on her 2nd date. They married June 28. Together Dating was a bit pricey for Adam but he signed up because he saw the money as an investment.

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

See all posts on It'sJustLunch
See all posts on TogetherDating

Digital Toys And Tools Generating Real Bucks

Posted on August 10, 2009

Virtual shop BUSINESS TIMES — Aug 10 – Virtual goods are fast becoming big business for real. Zynga, the online social gaming company founded in 2007, gets two-thirds of its projected $100M annual revenue selling virtual goods ranging from digital farm buildings to poker chips. In 2009, an estimated $400M to $600M will be spent on virtual goods in the U.S., and $5.5 billion globally, according to Brian Balfour, founder of Viximo. His firm provides virtual goods services to social networking, online dating and casual gaming sites. Zynga CEO Mark Pincus believes North American virtual goods activity could exceed $15 billion by 2014. FULL ARTICLE @ SF BUSINESS JOURNAL

See all posts on Viximo

Radio Date™ Is Coming To Dallas

Posted on August 10, 2009

Radiodate loga PR WEB — Aug 10 — BlackPeopleMeet.com and The Steve Harvey Morning
Show are now seeking black singles from Dallas to participate as
contestants in Radio Date™, a creative and interactive take on dating
game shows of the past. One woman and three men, all from Dallas, will
be selected to appear on the show on August 19. The lucky couple's date
will take place Saturday, August 22nd. Winners of the Radio Date
receive an elegant, all-expenses-paid night on the town. FULL ARTICLE @ PR WEB

See all posts on BlackPeopleMeet

New Dating Site With Video Profiles Only

Posted on August 10, 2009

Videosinglesnet logo NEWS4JAX — Aug 7 — VideoSingles.net is a new service that lets members create a video profile. The clients come to the Southpoint studios in Jacksonville and make a video.  That way they know what they’re getting into before they go on a date. The service launched last week and already has ~50 people with profiles online.

The full article was originally published at News4Jax, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: 50 profiles!  Smorgasbord.  This is a great extension service for speed dating services.  (Hi Vince, Tom, Ken/Adele)  

Genetic Sexual Attraction?

Posted on August 10, 2009

Abc_2020_siblings_070423_mn OPW — Aug 10 — Personality profiling sites eHarmony and TRUE match in two different ways. eHarmony matches on similarities, and TRUE attempts to match based on complimentary factors. I'd imagine it would be more reliable to match people based on similar factors, wouldn't you? The Unfrozen Caveman dug up some cases of sibling love in the extreme and gives some examples of siblings marrying, which made me ponder. Here they are…

Brother and Sister, and Lovers – ABC News

The Brother and Sister Who Fell in Love – buzzle.com – a sibling couple with 4 children together, determined to stay together

Forbidden Love Between Siblings – ABC News again – another couple determined to stay together

Parted-at-Birth twins ‘married’ – BBC News – These two didn’t know they were siblings when they got married.

Perhaps this is some form of proof for eHarmony's matching on similar traits, and for genetic matchmaking in general.  Your comments please..

Looking For A Job?

Posted on August 7, 2009

Jobs offered OPW — Aug 7 — Are you looking for a new job in the iDating industry? We've pulled a list of current job offers for you.  If you have a job offer in the industry? Please, send the details (company, job title, location, link to details) to petra@courtlandbrooks.com and we will add your offer to the list.

Here are a few sample job listings…

Be2
   Executive assistant to the Founder/CEO
   Project Manager (Payment Systems)
   Online Marketing – Display Adv. Team Lead
   Online Marketing – SEM Team Lead

Dating Direct
   Chargé(e) de partnariats Internet/Account Executive – Online Partnerships / France, Boulogne – Billancourt

eHarmony
   Sr. WordPress Developer / US – CA, Pasadena
   Email/Content Marketing Coordinator / US – CA, Pasadena
   Research Interviewer / US – CA, Pasadena
   Online Marketing Manager / UK – London

Lavalife
   Sales Manager / Canada – Toronto
   Project/Product Manager (Mobile) / Canada – Toronto

Match.com, Chemistry.com   
   Manager, Consumer Insight / USA – TX, Dallas
   Manager, Search Marketing, Chemistry / USA – TX, Dallas

Spark Networks
    Email Operations Coordinator / USA – UT, Provo
    Sr. Manager, Email Marketing / USA – UT, Provo
    Affiliate Marketing Manager / USA – UT, Provo

For the full listing, go here.

Guardian Soulmates Goes Mobile

Posted on August 7, 2009

Guardian soulmates logo GUARDIAN.CO.UK — Aug 7 – The Guardian's online dating site, Guardian Soulmates, has celebrated its fifth birthday by launching a beta version mobile site. Guardian Soulmates was launched in July 2004. Since then, over 275,000 people have signed up as members. FULL ARTICLE @ GUARDIAN.CO.UK

Manhunt: Reloaded

Posted on August 7, 2009

Manhunt logo PULP MAGAZINE — Aug 7 – “New Manhunt" is the site’s biggest overhaul in seven years. The CEO, Adam Segel says:

Q: They say don’t fix something that ain’t broken. So why fix Manhunt? 
A: The new Manhunt can handle millions more profiles and hundreds of thousands of simultaneous men online. 

Q: How are members responding to the new version?
A: Members have reported they are getting used to the new Manhunt and are really enjoying it.

Q: Do men outside of America ‘get’ Manhunt?
A: We’re already the top site in Australia as well as many South American countries, including Brazil, Columbia and Argentina. You will also find thousands of guys online in London, Madrid and several other major European cities. Manhunt is a site that can be and is enjoyed all over the world.

Q: Do you see mobile as the next frontier in online hook-ups?
A: Absolutely

Q: How has the economy impacted Manhunt? 
A: I wouldn’t say we are recession-proof, but our site traffic is higher than ever.

FULL ARTICLE @ PULP MAGAZINE

See all posts on Manhunt