Month: November 2009

Steve Odom, Founder Of Gelato

Posted on November 9, 2009

Odom-headshot OPW INTERVIEW – Nov 9 – Gelato combines online dating and real-time search. Profiles are created by pulling information from members’ accounts across Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and other commercial sites. I spoke with founder Steve Odom about Gelato’s revenue model, the site’s API usage and how his own dating life has influenced his work. – Jenn Rubin

Why did you decide to start Gelato?
I got divorced a couple of years ago and found myself on dating sites that I felt could be so much better. About the same time, I started using Twitter. I found that if I followed somebody on Twitter for a couple of weeks that I really got to know them. I knew their schedule, what they complained about and what they liked.

I wanted that type of experience on a dating site, so I started building Gelato about a year ago.

What would I do first upon arriving at the site?
We don’t ask for email addresses or passwords. You sign in with either your Facebook or Twitter login. Next, you have an option to import what you want from, say, your Facebook profile, whether it’s your relationship status, your profile picture, the books that you like, etc. This forms the basis of your Gelato profile. You can also sync your Gelato profile with accounts on Twitter, Netflix, Flickr and more.

Are you partnering with Facebook, Twitter and these other sites directly?
All of these sites have application interfaces, or APIs, which allow you to integrate this user information.

Why did you decide to merge Gelato with content from various social networking sites?
The problem that I found on other dating sites was that it took a long time to create a profile. Despite having to write a lot of information, many of the profiles still sounded the same. We all like long walks on the beach and to have a good time. I wanted to make it easy to create a profile on Gelato.

For instance, instead of just writing about my favorite movies, I can also show you what I’ve rented at Netflix. That tells you more, and it gives you a richer view of what kind of movies I like.

Second, I wanted Gelato’s profiles to be more authentic. We’ve all heard of people fibbing on their profile. Gelato pulls information from the stuff you’re doing on Twitter or Flickr, so it’s more authentic. You get a better idea of who I really am.

How do you plan to grow Gelato’s membership base in the months to come?
We launched this fall at the Demo Conference in San Diego. We have less than 5,000 users. We’re not focused on growth right now. I still need to understand the metrics of the site, what users are doing, how long they’re staying and how long until they’re coming back.

How will Gelato make money down the road?
I don’t think that we’re going to have advertisements. The way Gelato will make money is a premium option. So for some amount, say $10 a month, you’ll get additional features like analytics — who has viewed your account, how long they stayed, real-time alerts and more.

Tell me more about the real-time alerts feature.
With a premium account, I can create an online alert to ping me on my phone or email if someone signs on who is, for example, a woman 30 to 40, non-smoker in Austin, Texas who mentions World of Warcraft in her profile.

Who are some of Gelato’s backers?
I’ve been the sole backer. The great thing is you can build a site for less than $100,000 these days. We’re not at the point yet where we’re ready to take on additional capital.

There are hundreds of online dating sites. Why should singles pick Gelato?
Gelato helps you find others who share your specific interests and present yourself in a more authentic manner. If two people are authentic, you have the basis for a good connection.

What is your goal for the site over the next year?
The next big feature we will be releasing is recommendations and compatibility. We have a lot of interesting data about who you are. We plan to leverage that and be able to show you other people that are compatible with you.

See all posts on Gelato 

Older Singles Click Online

Posted on November 9, 2009

Senior dating2 FREE PRESS – Nov 9 - eHarmony.com, Match.com and Lavalife.com have seen significant growth in the number of users age 50+ in recent years. Joe Tracy, publisher of Online Dating Magazine, says that "the 50-plus segment in the online dating world is the fastest growing." eHarmony saw a 20% growth in users ages 60+ during Q1 2009, compared with the same period in 2008.

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

See all posts on eHarmony 
See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on Lavalife

Internet Dating Twitters

Posted on November 8, 2009

– 6rounds Official Twitter
– adam4adam Official Twitter
– Amolatina Official Twitter
– Amor.com Official Twitter
– AOL Personals Official Twitter
– Ashleymadison Official Twitter
– Badoo Official Twitter
– BBWCupid Official Twitter
– Benaughty Official Twitter
– BlackPeopleMeet Official Twitter
– BrainiacDating Official Twitter
– Catholicmatch Official Twitter
– ChristianCafe Fred’s Twitter
– Christianmingle Official Twitter
– Collarme Official Twitter
– DateHookup Official Twitter
– Dating Factory CEO Twitter
– DownToEarth Official Twitter
– EasyDate Founder Twitter
– Easyflirt Official Twitter
– EcoDater Official Twitter
– Elitepartner.de Official Twitter
– Gay.com Official Twitter
– Gaydar Official Twitter
– How About We Official Twitter
– ignighter Official Twitter
– Internet Dating Conference Official Twitter
– Iovation Official Twitter
– It’s Just Lunch Official Twitter
– Jazzed Official Twitter
– Jdate.co.uk Official Twitter
– JWed Official Twitter
– Lavalife Official Twitter
– Lovestruck MD Twitter
– Manhunt Official Twitter
– Match.com Official Twitter
– Mate 1 Director of Customer Loyalty and Retentions Twitter
– MeetMarket Adventures Official Twitter
– MSN Relationships Official Twitter
– Nerve.com Twitter
– OKCUPID Official Twitter
– OmniDate Official Twitter
– OnlineBootyCall Official Twitter
– PlentyofFish Official Twitter
– Pondigo Official Twitter
– SeniorPeopleMeet Official Twitter
– Singlesnet.com Official Twitter
– Skout VP of Business Development Twitter
– SpeedDate Official Twitter
– Start2Date Official Twitter
– ToyBoyWarehouse Official Twitter
– WhiteLabelDating Official Twitter
– WhiteLabelDating Ross Williams Twitter
– WhiteLabelDating Status Twitter
– WooMe Product Manager Twitter
– Yangutu Official Twitter
– Zoosk Official Twitter

iDating Industry Job Offers (November 2009)

Posted on November 8, 2009

AdultFriendFinder
   HTML Developer
   Project Manager
   Senior Perl Developer
   Senior Windows System Administrator

Be2
   Executive assistant to the Founder/CEO
   Scrum Master / Munich
   Senior QA Engineer / Armenia
   Customer Service Agents / Luxembourg
   Email Marketing Assistant / Armenia
   Senior Software Engineer / Armenia
   Junior Customer Service Manager
   French Customer Service Agents  

More info: http://corporate.be2.com/jobs, contact: jobs@be2.com

Bharat Matrimony
   Customer Relation Executive / India – Chennai
   Telemarketing Executive / India – Chennai
   Asst Manager – Telemarketing / India – Chennai, Bangalore
   Telemarketing / India – Kolkata
   Telecallers Marathi / India – Pune
   Telesales Executive / India – Chennai
   Executive-Accounts / India – Chennai
   Counsellor – Cochin / India – Ernakulam
   Webtrends Analyze / India – Chennai
   Software Engineer, Sr. Software Engineer / India – Chennai
   Product Executive / India – Chennai
   Project Manager – Technical / India – Chennai
   PHP Programmer / India – Chennai
   Developers / India – Chennai
   Territory Executive / India – Chennai
   Sales Executive, Branch Managers / India – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad
   Key Account Manager / India – Bangalore
   Sales Manager / India – Bangalore
   Asst Manager – Space Selling / India – Chennai
   Asst Territory Manager / India – Raipur
   Territory Manager / India – Lucknow, Delhi, Ahmedab
   Branch Manager / India – Mumbai
   Relationships Managers
   Sales Executives, Senior Sales Executive / India – Bangalore
   Copywriter / India – Chennai
   Telecallers / India – Chennai
   Jr. Content Writer / India – Chennai
   Accounts Executive
   Sales cum Collection Exe. – Lucknow
   Territory Executive- Cochin (Kerala)
   Assistant Manager – Sales 
   Sales Executives , Senior Sales Executive 
   Counsellor-Cochin / Ernakulam 
   Executive HR / India – Chennai
   Front Office Executive – Ahmedabad

More info: http://www.clickjobs.com/MicroSite/BharatMatrimony/customer.html

Black People Meet
   Sr. Database Engineer / USA – AZ, Chandler
   Sr. Application Engineer / USA – AZ, Chandler
   Member Service Representative / USA – AZ, Chandler
   Member Services Phone Representative / USA – AZ, Chandler

More info: http://www.peoplemedia.com/careers.cfm

Catholic Match
   Editor/Public Relations Coordinator
   Web Applications Programmer

More info: http://www.goacolyte.com/company/jobs.shtml

Dating Direct
   Dévelopeurs PHP/SQL confirmés
   Webmaster XHTML/CCS 2 / France, Boulogne – Billancourt
   Intégrateur HTML
   Chargé(e) de partnariats Internet/Account Executive – Online Partnerships / France, Boulogne – Billancourt
   Chargé(e) Référencement Naturel / France, Boulogne – Billancourt
   Account Executive – Search Enginge Marketing – Marché UK / France, Boulogne – Billancourt
   Conseillers clientele/modérateurs    France, Boulogne – Billancourt

More info: http://www.datingdirect.com/misc/jobs_v.php, contact: recrutement@meetic-corp.com

eHarmony
   Sr. Front End Developer / US – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. Java Engineer / US – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. Financial Accountant / US – CA, Pasadena
   Research Interviewer / US – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. Linux System Administrator / US – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. QA Engineer / US – CA, Pasadena
   Director, Executive Office / USA – CA, Pasadena  
   Staff Analyst / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Social Media Consultant / USA – CA, Pasadena
   General Counsel / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. Software Engineer / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Freelance Web Designer / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. Analyst, Customer Experience / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Contract QA Engineer II / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Office of The President Specialist / USA – CA, Pasadena

FriendScout24 (description in German)
   Marketing Performance Manager / Germany – Munchen
   Junior Software Developer / Germany – Munchen
   Product Owner / Produkt Manager Online / Germany – Munchen
   Marketing Manager / Germany – Munchen
   Quality Software Tester / Germany – Munchen
   Praktikant (m/w) für den Bereich Produkt Management
   Internships in Marketing, Product Management / Germany – Munchen

Global Personals (Webdate, Fling, WealthyMen)
   MySQL Database Administrators / USA – FL, Miami
   Strongmail Engineer/Administrators / USA – FL, Miami
   PHP/LAMP Programmers
   Internet Graphic Designers
   Linux Systems Administrators
   Internet Affiliate Sales Managers/Online Media Buyers

More info: http://www.globalpersonalsmedia.com/careers.html

Lavalife
   Sales Manager / Canada – Toronto
   Customer Service Representative / Canada – Etobicoke
   Systems Analyst (12 months contract) / Canada – Toronto
   Database Administrator (DBA) / Canada – Toronto
   Technical Support Specialist / Canada – Toronto

More info: corp.lavalife.com/web/corp/careers

Match.com, Chemistry.com
   Administrative Assistant / USA – TX, Dallas
   Finance Intern (MBA) / USA – TX, Dallas
   Email Customer Care Supervisor / USA – TX, Dallas
   Sr. Database Engineer – People Media / USA – AZ, Chandler
   Finance Director – People Media / USA – CA, Los Angeles
   Associate Central Counsel / USA – TX, Dallas
   Corporate Counsel / USA – TX, Dallas
   Sr. Online Marketing Manager / USA – CA, Los Angeles
   Product Manager / USA – TX, Dallas
   Sr. Product Manager – Latin America / USA – TX, Dallas
   Public Relations Coordinator / USA – TX, Dallas
   Sr. Application Engineer – People Media / USA – AZ, Chandler
   User Interface Engineer / USA – TX, Dallas
   Sr. Consumer Insights Analyst / USA – TX, Dallas
   Email Customer Care Agent / USA – TX, Dallas
   VP, Marketing and Acquisition / USA – TX, Dallas
   Associate Product Manager / USA – TX, Dallas
  
More info: http://www.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/Careers.aspx?c=qUY9VfwG&cs=9ze9VfwB  

MyPartner
   Senior Ad Sales Manager

Online-Buddies
   Bilingual Customer Service Representative
   Bilingual Customer Service Supervisor
   Senior Web Designer
   MySQL Db Administrator
   Senior Web Engineer
   Product Development Engineer  

PerfectMatch
   Full Time Member Service Representatives / USA – WA, Bothell
   Part Time Member Service Representatives / USA – WA, Bothell

Shaadi

    Customer Relations Officer / India – Mumbai
    Web Developer / India – Mumbai
    Software Engineer / India – Mumbai
    Senior Software Engineer / India – Mumbai
    SEO Expert / India – Mumbai
    Product Manager / India – Mumbai
    Asst. Product Manager / India – Mumbai
    Telecalling Operator / India – Mumbai

Spark Networks
    Java Developer / USA – CA,  Beverly Hills
    Sr. Manager, Email Marketing / USA – CA,  Beverly Hills
    Affiliate Marketing Manager / USA – CA,  Beverly Hills
    Java Developer / USA – UT, Provo
    Sr. Manager, Email Marketing / USA – UT, Provo
    Affiliate Marketing Manager / USA – UT, Provo   

SpeedDate:
   QA/Testing
   User-interface/Web Design
   Front-end Develoment
   Project Management
   Marketing
   Senior Development and architecture positions
   Various Internships

To learn more, email: jobs@speeddate.com

WhiteLabelDating
   Front-end Developer/Designer / UK, Windsor office
   Administrative Executive
   Rail Developers / UK, Windsor office
   Cold Fusion Developer / UK, Windsor office

WooMe       
   System Admin / UK – London, USA – Los Angeles
   IM Engineer / UK – London
   Fronted Guru – HTML/CSS/javascript/AJAX / UK – London
   Site Operations Manager / USA – Los Angeles
   Community Manager
   Site Operations Analyst / USA – San Francisco
   Senior Django Developer / UK – London
   Dev Intern / UK – London
   Marketing Intern / USA – Los Angeles

More info: http://www.woome.com/woome/jobs/#sysadmin

World Singles
   Greek Speaking Customer Service person / USA – CA, Aliso Viejo
   Chief Technology Officer / USA – CA, Aliso Viejo

Yahoo! Personals
   Interaction Designer
   Design Researcher
   Web Developer
   Architect
   Senior Software Engineer (also for Yahoo! Personals Japan and International)
   Engineering Manager
   Product Manager
   Project Manager (Yahoo! Personals Japan)
   Marketing Manager
   Director, Business Development and Strategy
   Senior Finance Manager

More info: http://personals.yahoo.com/us/static/jobs#pm-pjjpn

Zoosk
   Affiliate Manager
   Marketing Manager – Facebook Specialist
   Marketing Manager – SEM Specialist with Google Content Network Enterprise
   Web / Graphic Designer – Flash Specialist
   Business Inteligence Architect
   Lead Software Engineer – Mobile
   User Interface Developer
   Frontend Software Engineer
   Senior Engineer in Test
   Senior Software Engineer
   Software Engineer

Spark Networks Q3 Results

Posted on November 6, 2009

Sparknetworks MARKETWIRE – Nov 5 – Q3/2009 revenue dropped 21% to $11.1 million, down from $14.0 million in Q3/2008. Net income for Q3/2009 was $1 million, or $0.05 per share, compared to $1.7 million, or $0.08 per share, for Q3/2008. Average paying subscribers for Spark Networks has sagged 12% to 187,682 during the same time period.

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

See all posts on Spark Networks

Redhotpie.com.au Accused Of Creating Fake Profiles

Posted on November 6, 2009

Redhotpie logo SYDNEY MORNING HERALD – Nov 6 – The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accused dating site, RedHotPie, of misleading conduct. The site operators have allegedly created fake profiles in order to increase activity by sending flirt messages to its 1.6 million register users. The hearing is set for December 10th in Perth. FULL ARTICLE @ SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

See all posts on RedHotPie

Clicck And GenePartner To Collaborate On DNA Study Of Gays And Lesbians

Posted on November 6, 2009

PR NEWSWIRE – Nov 5 – Clicck.com has signed an exclusive agreement with GenePartner to conduct a revolutionary new DNA study on gays and lesbians. The goal of the study is to determine if there is, in fact, a “gay gene” at the root of homosexuality. DNA samples will be voluntarily collected from Clicck's LGBT members and used to generate an algorithm for biological matchmaking. This new service, aptly named “In Your Genes” is scheduled to launch in Q1 2010.

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

See all posts on GenePartner

Noel Biderman Discusses AshleyMadison, Cheaters Prosper

Posted on November 6, 2009

Noel biderman globe and mail interview GLOBE AND MAIL – Nov 5 – In a
recent interview with The Globe and Mail, AshleyMadison CEO, Noel
Biderman gave his commentary on the evolution of modern marriage and
monogamy as a “failed social experiment.” The intriguing
discussion stems from Noel's book, Cheaters Prosper: How Infidelity
Will Save the Modern Marriage, and its
controversial outlook on infidelity in today's society. Follow this
link to read the full interview.

See all posts on AshleyMadison

Senior-Dating.org Is Going Strong

Posted on November 6, 2009

Senior dating logo URL WIRE – Nov 5 – There are 16 million single seniors in the U.S. and this number will likely double in the next 30 years. Senior Dating is a new website targeted for this demographic. The site aims to help seniors find companionship. 40% of seniors have a computer at home, so online dating is a welcome evolution for them. FULL ARTICLE @ URL WIRE

Internet Dating Industry Weekly News Nov 5th, 2009 – 4.5 mins

Posted on November 6, 2009

This is the news for the week of October 30th through November 5th, 2009. We hope you enjoy the new weekly news format. Here is the news we covered for this week:

  • White label dating businesses thriving in tough economy
  • Mobile dating market expected to double to $1.3 billion by 2013
  • Study shows online dating most popular with women over age 50
  • Nominations being accepted for first annual iDate Awards