HUMSURFER – Feb 9 – Fling.com is ranked #514 in the world according to Alexa traffic rankings. The estimated net worth based on its advertising revenue is ~$4.7M. Fling.com receives 2.1M pageviews per day and generates ~$6,420 every day in advertising revenue. FULL ARTICLE @ HUMSURFER
Month: February 2011
Love In The Time Of Dot-coms
BALTIMORE SUN – Feb 10 - Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist, has 35 years of experience studying why and how humans are attracted to each other. A few years ago, she developed a probing questionnaire for Chemistry.com.
Q: Internet dating sites used to be sources for jokes and even derision for people who used them. How have they evolved?
A: They represent major trends in our modern world.
Q: Is online dating drawing on any evolutionary or biological instincts?
A: In many respects, we're going back to the way we used to be introduced. With Internet dating, getting to know a little bit about somebody before you meet them is really compatible with how the brain is built.
A: In many respects, we're going back to the way we used to be introduced. With Internet dating, getting to know a little bit about somebody before you meet them is really compatible with how the brain is built.
Q: How effective is Chemistry.com and Match.com at helping people find happy partners?
A: When somebody leaves Match.com or Chemistry.com, they ask you why you left. One box you can check is, "I found somebody." Between 15 and 20% of people check that box.
Q: What are the key things you've learned from studying the biology of the brain?
A: The most important things: We put people in a brain scanner. We found activity in a little part of the brain — this area makes dopamine and sends natural stimulants to different parts of brain, creating basic traits of romantic love.
The full article was originally published at Baltimore Sun, but is no longer available.
Send Real Flowers Inside Dating Sites
FLORIST ONE – Feb 10 – The Florist One API is a free application that any dating site can use to create a fully-customizable storefront to sell flowers completely inside their dating website. Members of the dating website can visit the storefront to send real, florist-delivered flowers without having to know the recipient's address. The Florist One API is used in conjunction with the Florist One Affiliate Program which pays a 22% commission on sales.
The full article was originally published at Florist One website, but is no longer available.
Going On A First Date? Here Are The Questions To Ask
ABC NEWS – Feb 10 – OkCupid mines database to uncover most revealing first date questions. The site found that whether someone likes the taste of beer is the best predictor of if he or she will have sex on the first date. Beer-lovers are 60% are more likely to be OK with sleeping with someone they've just met. Sam Yagan, OkCupid's co-founder and CEO, said that the trick to the project was to find "the low-stress question you can ask that reveals a sort of more intimate question that you can't ask on a first date." Relationship experts say that on a first date, it's not necessarily the content of a conversation that matters but the chemistry generated by the couple. "The chemistry happens more often in your brain than in your language," said Dorree Lynn, a psychologist and author of "Sex for Grownups." "You're either attracted or you're not attracted." FULL ARTICLE @ ABC NEWS
Noel Biderman, CEO Of AshleyMadison.com – Changing The Face Of Matrimony
BENZINGA – Feb 9 – Ashley Madison, a controversial dating site that was launched in 2001, has received heavy criticism over its premise. The site serves as a platform for married persons to engage in marital infidelity.
Q: What drove your decision to foray into this world?
A: More and more people who were already in relationships took advantage started joining dating sites. My paradigm was, why not build a social network of their own where these married people could connect with one another, as opposed to having to pose as something they weren't.
Q: One of the statements you've made is that your commercial in a 30-second spot is not going to convince anyone to cheat. But what about those that would shy away from starting an affair in the workplace?
A: We can't create prohibition. It fails every time that we do so. I'm part of the landscape that says, “Let people be who they want to be and pursue what they want to pursue.”
Q: So is it a question of cannibalizing this behavior, like you say, and putting it in a place where it's not affecting other people? Or is your stance closer to your previous comments, in which you said this can actually help a marriage?
A: Ashley Madison is not some kind of home-wrecking service. Some people are looking to pursue something outside of their relationship to preserve their primary relationship.
Q: Describe the growth trajectory of Ashley Madison over the past few years?
A: Our site has gone from 800,000 to 900,000 users to 7.8M users in the span of the last two and a half to three years.
Q: You had an IPO in the works back in February. Why was that put on hold?
A: I don't have a ton of insight into that because I personally wasn't necessarily pursuing that directly. I, for one, am totally happy with Ashley Madison and Avid Life Media being a privately held company.
FULL ARTICLE @ BENZINGA
Marketing Guru Phil Henricks :: Keeping Gaydar On The Radar
EDGE – Feb 6 - Phil Henricks is the marketing guru behind Gaydar.net, a pioneer in online dating and one of the most popular LGBT meeting places on the Internet.
Q: Is it true that that Gaydar started because the founder’s friend wanted a boyfriend?
A: Yup. Necessity was the father of this invention.
Q: Is Gaydar geared toward relationships, or are the people who are using it really just looking for sex?
A: Gaydar is what you make it. There’s something for everyone.
Q: Is it just me or does it seem like there are no lesbian dating sites?
A: There are very few lesbian dating websites. It’s a smaller market, but also I think girls prefer to meet under more traditional circumstances.
Q: Peak times?
A: Monday nights are hot. Sundays from 5 to 11 p.m. is second, followed by Tuesdays.
Q: Where is the future of the Gaydar site headed?
A: The Android Gaydar app should be ready shortly after Valentine’s Day. Beyond the app, we’re giving the website an extreme makeover, which will be really fun. Look for that in early summer.
15 Fascinating Facts On Human Attraction
NURSINGSCHOOLS – Feb 7 -
1. We love symmetry
2. Women with prominent eyes are attractive to men
3. Men with a larger jaw and prominent brow are more attractive to women
4. Women like powerful, protective men
5. Hourglass shape
6. The younger, the better
7. Women like a guy who makes them laugh, guys like a woman who laughs at his jokes
8. We're attracted to people we see regularly
9. Gay men go either way: There's no straight rule for what gay men find attractive
10. We like people who look similar to us
11. Birth control pills may affect attraction
12. Romantic love might be more important than sex
13. Reciprocal liking: It means that we're attracted to the person who likes us back
14. We want a mate who resembles our parents
15. Positive association plays a role: Related to #13
FULL ARTICLE @ NURSING SCHOOLS
Mobile Dating App SinglesAroundMe Launches “Destination Search”
PR WEB – Feb 9 – Location-based mobile dating app SinglesAroundMe launched its "Destination Search" tool that gives singles the opportunity to see where other singles are in real time at any location of their choice worldwide. From the input GPS matched location, users can search for other singles from 100 feet to 100 miles. Results are displayed on a geographical map, where users can then view pictures and profiles and send winks and messages.
The full article was originally published at SF Chronicle, but is no longer available.
Match.com Sued By Subscribers Who Say They Were Snookered
WASHINGTON TIMES – Feb 8 – Match.com says it has millions of “active” subscribers, but “well over half” of the profiles are inactive or fake, contends lawyer Jeffrey Norton who helped file the lawsuit Dec. 30. The lawsuit is based on the plaintiffs’ experiences, plus testimony from former employees and researchers who have “pulled tremendous amounts of ‘proof’ right off the site,” Mr. Norton said. But sources familiar with Match.com and the online dating industry say the lawsuit is what’s unbelievable. Match.com is a profitable company, so it’s a “natural target” for a lawsuit, said Mark Brooks, who runs the Online Personals Watch blog. Scammers hit every online dating site, so big companies such as Match.com have developed ways of identifying and purging the phony entries, said Mr. Brooks. About two-thirds of the Match.com work force are customer-service representatives, he said, and while these employees can recognize and remove phony images, “it’s a constant battle.” Mr. Brooks‘ advice to online daters is simple: “Buyer beware. Be careful of ‘too good to be true.’” FULL ARTICLE @ WASHINGTON TIMES
JDate Introduces JPicks: A Site For The Chosen Deals
MARKET WIRE – Feb 8 – JPicks.com is an exclusive daily deal site offering only "Chosen Deals" of 50-90% off at local shops, eateries and entertainment venues in Los Angeles. Typically, a deal is only available for up to 24 hours and only while supplies last, so time is of the essence in redeeming a JPick.
The full article was originally published at NewsyStocks, but is no longer available.