Month: January 2010

Markus Frind: Selling Your Site’s Data Will Reduce Your Site’s CPMs

Posted on January 11, 2010
Plentyoffish markus frind ADEXCHANGER – Jan 8 - Plenty of Fish is a free dating site that
has taken off with huge traffic and interest and all built and serviced
by one guy – Markus Frind. 

Q: Have things changed? Hire anyone?
A: We've hired a few people for customer service and to build out our advertising efforts.

Q: What are your thoughts about display advertising these days? Does it work?

A: Everyone is using the wrong metrics these days. I think a far better
metric that we use is monetization per pixel. The future of online
advertising is not with bigger ad formats, or even existing ones.

Q: A month ago, you launched a new self serve ad platform on Plentyoffish. Why?
A: We
have over 100 variables on each user such as age, gender, income,
profession, etc.but no platform could make use of this data. Our new
system lets advertisers target their audience down to a zip code level.
Q: How much creative flexibility is there for the advertiser?
A:
The image as well as text can be customized. On our site the creative
flexibility lies in being able to hyper target certain demographics and
change your creative accordingly. 

Q: Do you ever buy advertising? Any recommendations you would make
to online marketers given your extensive experience on the sell-side?
A:
I buy a lot of ads and I sell a lot of ads. Clicks mean absolutely
nothing, if you are doing a major buy in 2 weeks take one week to get a
baseline for your traffic, the moment you turn on those ads measure
what delta from the baseline you have and measure what happens after
you stop advertising. Yes view throughs are useful but measuring
viralness of an ad spend is far more powerful.

Q: What do you think of data exchanges?

A: If you give
out data, others will use that data to target ads. The end result is
CPM's on your site go down because the users have previously been
exposed to these highly targeted ads on other sites. 

Q: If you had to pick one or two key trends you see coming in the next 12-24 months in online advertising, what would they be?
A: Accountability and real measurement.

FULL ARTICLE @ ADEXCHANGER

See all posts on PlentyofFish

Looking For A Job?

Posted on January 10, 2010

Jobs offered OPW – Jan 10 – We've updated the iDating industry job listings again. Here are some sample job listings that we thought were interesting:

Be2
   Legal Counsel – Focus Internet Law
   Group General Counsel – Focus Corporate Law   

Dating Direct (descriptions in French)
   Account Executive – Search Enginge Marketing – Marché UK / France, Boulogne – Billancourt

eHarmony
   Director, Executive Office / USA – CA, Pasadena  
   Project Manager / USA – CA, Pasadena
   International Product Manager / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Director, Digital Marketing / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Director, Marketing Intelligence & Insights / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Director, Business Intelligence / USA – CA, Pasadena
   PR Associate / UK – London
   Sr. Director, Finance / USA – CA, Pasadena

FriendScout24 (description in German)
   Marketing Performance Manager / Germany – Munchen
   Product Manager Online / Germany – Munchen  

Lavalife
   Product Manager (Mobile) / Canada – Toronto  

Match.com, Chemistry.com, People Media
   Sr. Marketing Director / USA – TX, Dallas
   VP Marketing & Acquisition / USA – TX, Dallas
   Public Relations Coordinator / USA – TX, Dallas

Online-Buddies
   Director of VP, Program Management  

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

PlentyofFish
   Senior Web Developer / CA – Vancouver

Shaadi
   Product Manager / India – Mumbai 

Spark Networks
    Affiliate Marketing Manager / USA – CA,  Beverly Hills

World Singles
   Chief Technology Officer / USA – CA, Aliso Viejo

Yahoo! Personals
   Product Manager
   Project Manager (Yahoo! Personals Japan)
   Director, Business Development and Strategy  

Zoosk
   Director of Engineering – Mobile / USA – CA, San Francisco

For the full listing, go here.

Do you have an idating job offer which is not included?  Please, send the details (company, job title, location, link to details) to petra@courtlandbrooks.com and we will add your offer to the list.

eLove Accepts Fat Rejects From BeautifulPeople.com

Posted on January 9, 2010

Elove logo MIAMI NEW TIMES – Jan 8 – After posting their holiday pictures on BeautifulPeople.com, 5,000 so-called fatties were shuffled once more into the ratings system for re-approval. Only a few hundred were allowed back. Mark Brooks, an analyst and consultant for the online dating industry, says it's normal for online networks to exclude people, but only as a matter of certain obvious preferences, like sexual orientation. "I think the BeautifulPeople tactic is rather amusing," he remarked. "We've been accustomed to magazine cover culture for over 50 years now," he said. "We need to break away from that. People have been aspiring to unnatural extremes of physical beauty." Paul A. Falzone, CEO of International Dating Ventures, which owns eLove, also believes that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but clearly he shines a different light. "We think everyone is beautiful, and frankly, were disturbed to hear about the way that these people were treated," said Falzone in a statement. eLove is coming to the rescue, opening its doors to all the rejects from BeautifulPeople. FULL ARTICLE @ MIAMI NEW TIMES

See all posts on BeautifulPeople
See all posts on eLove

iDating Industry Job Offers (January 2010)

Posted on January 8, 2010

Be2
   Legal Counsel – Focus Internet Law
   Group General Counsel – Focus Corporate Law
   Email Marketing Assistant / Armenia
   Senior Software Engineer / Armenia
   Senior QA Engineer / Armenia
   International SEA Manager 

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

Bharat Matrimony
   TeleMarketing Executives / Chennai  

Blackbox Republic
   Marketing Operations Manager
   Marketing Campaign Manager

More info: http://www.blackboxrepublic.com/about, contact: jobs@blackboxrepublic.com

Catholic Match
   Editor/Public Relations Coordinator
   Web Applications Programmer

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

Dating Direct (descriptions in French)
   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. Java Engineer / US – CA, Pasadena
   Research Interviewer / US – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. Linux System Administrator / US – CA, Pasadena
   Director, Executive Office / USA – CA, Pasadena  
   Sr. Software Engineer / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Project Manager / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Offline Marketing Manager / USA – CA, Pasadena
   International Product Manager / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. Front-End Developer / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Contract Web Development Engineer / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Director, Digital Marketing / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Release Engineer / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Social Media Specialist / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Director, Marketing Intelligence & Insights / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Director, Business Intelligence / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. Web Designer / USA – CA, Pasadena
   PR Associate / UK – London
   Marketing Specialist / UK – London
   Email Marketing Specialist / USA – CA, Pasadena
   Sr. Director, Finance / USA – CA, Pasadena

FriendScout24 (description in German)
   Marketing Performance Manager / Germany – Munchen
   Quality Software Tester / Germany – Munchen
   Product Manager Online / Germany – Munchen
   Web Analyst / Service Controller / Germany – Munchen
   Junior Software Developer / Germany – Munchen
   Various Internships, student jobs

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
   Product Manager (Mobile) / Canada – Toronto  

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


Match.com, Chemistry.com, People Media
   Sr. Consumer Insights Analyst / USA – TX, Dallas
   Finance Intern (MBA) / USA – TX, Dallas
   Member Services Phone Representative (People Media) / USA – AZ, Chandler
   Sr. Finance Manager / USA – TX, Dallas 
   Sales and Marketing Coordinator / USA – CA, Los Angeles
   Sr. Marketing Director / USA – TX, Dallas
   Sr. Online Marketing Manager (People Media) / USA – CA, Los Angeles
   Sr. Search Marketing Manager / USA – TX, Dallas
   VP Marketing & Acquisition / USA – TX, Dallas
   Public Relations Coordinator / USA – TX, Dallas
   Sr. Application Engineer – Cold Fusion Developer / USA – AZ, Chandler
  
More info: http://www.match.com/cp/careers/CurrentOpenings.html  

MyPartner
   Senior Ad Sales Manager

Online-Buddies
   Director of VP, Program Management
   National Sales Executive
   Bilingual Customer Service Representative
   Bilingual Customer Service Supervisor
   Senior Web Designer
   Product Development Engineer
   Senior Systems Engineer
   Senior Web Engineer

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

PlentyofFish
   Senior Web Developer / CA – Vancouver

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
    Affiliate Marketing Manager / USA – CA,  Beverly Hills
    Affiliate Marketing Manager / USA – UT, Provo

SpeedDate
   Senior development and architecture positions
   QA/Testing
   User-interface/Web Design
   Front-end Develoment
   Project Management
   Marketing
   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 / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Marketing Manager – Facebook Media Buying Specialist / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Marketing Manager – SEM Specialist with Google Content Network Expertise / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Business Inteligence Architect / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Director of Engineering – Mobile / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Release Engineer – Tools Developer / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Software Engineer – Backend / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Software Engineer – Flex / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Software Engineer – Business Intelligence / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Sr. Software Engineer – Data / USA – CA, San Francisco
   User Interface Developer / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Product Manager – Desktop / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Product Manager – Mobile / USA – CA, San Francisco
   Product Manager – Partnerships / USA – CA, San Francisco

More info: http://www.zoosk.com/jobs.php?from=footer

New Casual Dating Site Launched

Posted on January 8, 2010

Sensualitydating logoPRESS RELEASE – Jan 7 - CityDate has launched a dating site, SensualityDating.com, which caters to women seeking romantic experiences without commitment. SensualityDating features a virtual dating app which allows people to get to know each other in a virtual coffee shop or a restaurant, flirt and explore their chemistry. SensualityDating is “100% Free for Life” for every member that signs up before March, 31st 2010.

New Book: Kissing Frogs In Cyberspace

Posted on January 8, 2010

Kissingfrogsincyberspace picture OPW – Jan 8 – Jan 5 – Dianne Sweeney wrote a book about online dating Kissing Frogs in Cyberspace. Her memoir takes the readers on a hilarious, often poignant journey of 83 online dates, dumps, and disasters. You can order your autographed copy here.

Meetic’s Profitable Growth Strategy For 2010

Posted on January 8, 2010
Meetic logo PRESS RELEASE – Jan 8 - After 8 years in existence, in 2009 Meetic’s sites recorded 6.5M unique visitors in Feb and Mar, and 800M page views (Comscore). Meetic will build its 2010' growth strategy around two objectives:
– use of the strong reputation of the Group's brands acquired in each of the countries in Europe in which it operates
– segmentation of its services between Dating (Meetic), Matchmaking (Meetic Affinity), Flirting (Peexme) and premium introductions (Meetic VIP)
Peexme, the social networking and dating site targeted at users aged 18-25, has been available since July 2009. The website will benefit from a strong viral growth thanks to Facebook. The full Peexme app on Facebook will be available in early 2010, and will be followed by a version for the iPhone. Meetic VIP is an invitation-only premium dating site developed and tested during 2009. Its commercial launch will take place in France in early 2010.
Read the full press release HERE.

See all posts on Meetic 

Gaming Alerts Launches Two New Dating Sites

Posted on January 8, 2010

Gamealerts logoPRESS RELEASE – Jan 8 - Gaming Alerts an online e-gaming portals in the UK, has launched two brand new dating sites targeting players within the UK e-gaming market – One To Go Dating for players of the online bingo & games and Spin Bet Date for players of the online casino, poker and betting market. Both sides are powered by White Label Dating.

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

See all posts on WhiteLabelDating.com

Online Dating Soars As Temperatures Plunge

Posted on January 8, 2010

Online-dating BBC NEWS – Jan 7 - Mysinglefriend.com says visitors to its website soared by 55% on Tuesday alone, with its busiest time coming at 3pm rather than the traditional 10pm. Meanwhile rival site Singles365.com says its visitor numbers grew 27% across Tuesday and Wednesday compared with a year ago. "We can only put this down to the bad weather meaning more people are staying at home", says Singles365.com spokeswoman Katie Mowe. IllicitEncounters.com, a website which provides a platform for married people to conduct affairs, has gained 2,567 new members in the last six days, suggesting that January will be its busiest month ever. FULL ARTICLE @ BBC NEWS

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See all posts on IllicitEncounters

Vote Now! Thursday 7th Jan. Final Day To Vote For iDate Awards

Posted on January 7, 2010

Idate2010 logo OPW – Jan 7 – Voting was made open to the public at www.iDateAwards.com since November 23 and is scheduled to end after January 7, 2010. Over 1200 people have already voted. Both industry professionals and the general public are encouraged to vote for the best candidates in each of the award categories.  The iDate Awards will highlight the people and companies who exemplify the best and most innovative aspects of the Online Dating and Matchmaking Industry. The ceremony is scheduled during the annual Internet Dating Conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center from January 27 – 29, 2010.

There are eleven categories for the first annual awards:

  • Best Dating Site
  • Best Dating Site Design
  • Best Software Provider
  • Best Mobile Dating Site
  • Best Matchmaker
  • Most Innovative Company
  • Best New Technology
  • Best Payment System
  • Best Affiliate Program
  • Best Marketing Campaign
  • Best Up and Coming Dating Site