Month: April 2010

Zoosk Hosts Speed Dating For Start-Ups And VCs

Posted on April 28, 2010

Zoosk logo new MARKETWIRE – Apr 28 – Zoosk, the social dating network, will be hosting the first VC & start-up speed dating session at Web 2.0 Expo on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 in San Francisco. Each start-up will get the chance to 'flirt' with up to four VCs during the matchmaking program and will be given three minutes of undivided attention each. To qualify, the company must be a start-up or entrepreneur looking for seed or additional funding. To participate in this event, RSVP by Friday, April 30, 2010 at: http://zooskdate.eventbrite.com/.

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

See all posts on Zoosk

IAC Posts Earnings

Posted on April 28, 2010

Iac logo BUSINESS INSIDER – Apr 28 – IAC/InterActiveCorp reported a net loss of $18.7M, or 16 cents per
share, for the Q1 2010. That's compared with a net loss of $28.4M, or
19 cents per share, during the same period last year. Match.com revenue
declined slightly reflecting the sale of Match Europe to Meetic on June
5, 2009, partially offset by the contribution from the People Media and
Singlesnet acquisitions and solid growth from the Match domestic
business. Revenue and subscribers grew 8% and 2%, respectively. FULL ARTICLE @ BUSINESS INSIDER

See all posts on Match.com             See all posts on People Media
See all posts on Meetic                   See all posts on Singlesnet

Match.com No Longer Top Dating Site, Sends In The Lawyers

Posted on April 28, 2010

PARADIGM SHIFT – Apr 27 – According to Comscore latest rankings, PlentyofFish.com is #1 dating site.

Comscore worldwide rankings

In a legal notice Match.com says its not possible that PlentyofFish.com has as many signups as we do every day and demands that POF enter into a confidential agreement where they show how they are able to generate more relationships and dates than they do. Match.com claims 472 marriages per day or 994 people getting married per day. Match also claims 20,000 signups a day. If we assume they get no signups outside of the US, and they have a sky high conversion ratio of 15% and male and female signups are equal, that means 3000 people pay so they can communicate with other users. So does anyone actually believe that every day 944 out of 3000 new paying users of match.com will get married?

The full article was originally published at Plenty of Fish blog, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: The numbers that really matter are how many members login every day and how many have 'successful relationships' after meeting because of a particular online dating site. The first number is relatively easy for sites to monitor internally. The second number is tougher. Everything else is far less interesting. Many sites offer up 'currently online' numbers. Unfortunately many small sites offer up bogus numbers. Users should check out Compete.com (for USA) or Alexa (beyond USA) numbers before investing time and money in a particular dating site. (Full Disclosure: PlentyofFish was a client of Courtland Brooks from 2006-2010).

See all posts on Plentyoffish
See all posts on Match.com

Who Do You Use To Deliver Your iDating Site Emails?

Posted on April 28, 2010

Email2 OPW – Apr 28 – I'll build this post based on your comments. Who do you use to deliver emails to your internet dating site users effectively and at a reasonable cost? Who sucks, who's been great to work with? 

I'm hearing good things about Acceleration.biz, Datrans Stormpost, and ReturnPath are worth a look-in. But, who do you use, and why, and who did you stop using for your dating site?  Please add your comment, and I'll review them and build this post out into a permanent guide for OPW readers, based on your feedback. Thanks. – Mark Brooks

Zoosk Deepens Global Footprint

Posted on April 27, 2010

Zoosk messenger logo MARKETWIRE – Apr 27 - Zoosk, the social dating network today announced the Zoosk iPhone application and Zoosk Messenger for desktop chat, localized in multiple languages. Zoosk currently monetizes in 52 countries. Users can enjoy Zoosk across all major social networks — Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5 — as well as mobile devices and the iPhone platform. Today Zoosk adds Zoosk Messenger, developed on the Adobe Air platform for a rich interactive experience on the desktop, and the Zoosk iPhone app.

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

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Craigslist Adult Services Listings To Generate $36 Million In 2010

Posted on April 27, 2010

Craigslist picture MASHABLE – Apr 27 - The Advanced Interactive Media (AIM) Group is out
with their annual report on Craigslist and estimates that the
classified listing site will generate $122M in revenue in 2010. More
than half of that revenue comes from recruitment advertising, but 30%
of it comes from Craigslist’s adult services ads. The listings, which
have been thenceforth referred to as adult services, include moderation
and charge clients $10 per post, with proceeds no longer going directly
to charity. FULL ARTICLE @ MASHABLE

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IllicitEncounters.com Seeks Agency

Posted on April 27, 2010

Illicit encounters logo PR WEB – Apr 27 - IllicitEncounters.com, the UK extra-marital dating
site, is looking for an agency for creative and media buying. As CEO
Adam Scott explains, the site finds it difficult to secure commercial
spots in mainstream media; "Today, our brand is more widely accepted
than ever, but we're looking to go further. As long as the execution is
delicate and the message is consistent, we think television advertising
in particular could be a hugely beneficial avenue for us", Scott
explains. FULL ARTICLE @ PR WEB

See all posts on IllicitEncounters

Date Site Operator To Play The Field

Posted on April 26, 2010

Sparknetworks LA BUSINESS JOURNAL – Apr 26 – Spark Networks turned down a March 2 offer from Great Hill Equity Partners III, a Boston-based private equity fund that owns 44% of Spark, to buy the rest of the company for $3.10 per share. The bid represented a 5% premium to Spark’s March 1 closing price of $2.95 and valued the company at $64M. The offer was widely denounced as low ball for Spark, which owns 29 niche dating sites, including JDate.com. Osmium Partners, another fund that owns 6.1% of Spark, called the deal “grossly inadequate” and vowed to fight any offer less than $6 a share. Shares have since risen, closing at $3.59 on April 22. Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com and a dating service consultant, believes the Great Hill valuation was probably about right – for now. “I think the valuation is pretty solid at $3.10,” Brooks said. However, he believes that Spark can do better. “I know the management at Spark Networks and they are smart people. Someone is going to acquire them,” he said. “They have a hallmark brand and they think they can do better once the market picks up.” The decline in Spark’s business corresponds to a slump in the entire online dating sector, as paid providers face new competition from free dating sites and social networks such as Facebook, Brooks said. FULL ARTICLE @ LA BUSINESS JOURNAL

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Cougar’s Feel Good Factor

Posted on April 26, 2010

Toyboycom logo THESUN.CO.UK – Apr 26 – Women who pair off with men the same age or older don't enjoy as many outdoor activities and don't mix with a younger crowd. Those who do feel happier and younger, according to ToyBoy.com. Researchers asked 1,000 women aged between 18 and 65 how young their man made them feel. The average was four years but one in ten said their toyboy had made them feel ten years younger. Older men were lambasted for being too grumpy by 27% of women, 36% said they were set in their ways and 20% said they were boring.

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

See all posts on ToyBoy.com

Chatroulette: The Most Disturbing Internet Craze?

Posted on April 26, 2010

Chatroulette picture DAILY MAIL – Apr 26 - When writer Olivia Lichtenstein's daughter told her about a 'cool' new teen website, she decided to investigate. What she found was the most worrying internet craze to date. Chatroulette is the fast-growing, latest fad among teenagers – a quick and easy way to communicate online with people from all over the world. It works like roulette. Users log on, press a big button labelled 'Next' and it then randomly connects you to any one of a number of people across the world currently logged on. What may have started as the innocent game of a Moscow schoolboy has quickly become a potential tailor-made portal for perverts and paedophiles. It doesn't require you to log in or register (despite the fact that the site states it is for over-16s only) and all you need is a computer with a webcam. It's entirely free and once you've clicked a button to allow the site to access your webcam, your face appears in one of two boxes. Many of the people on this site are exhibitionists, some of them showed their faces – others angled the computer in such a way as to mask their identities and, all too often, to reveal their genitals. FULL ARTICLE @ DAILY MAIL

Mark Brooks: Many dating sites are inundated with profiles of genitalia pictures. Adult dating sites such as Fling and AdultFriendFinder allow them. Most don't. But the abundance of people willing to show their private bits and bobs is quite amazing. Andrew Conru started AdultFriendFinder circa 1996 when he saw so many risque pics coming in for FriendFinder. Then numerous risque-photos-are-ok internet dating competitors started up once they saw how lucrative and in-demand the sexy internet dating services were becoming. (Full Disclosure: I worked with Andrew in 2003-2004, and Courtland Brooks has been working with Webdate and Fling since 2005).