Month: April 2011

Woman Files Civil Suit Against Match.com Following Sexual Attack

Posted on April 14, 2011

Lawsuit picture EXAMINER – Apr 14 – Jane Doe was sexually assaulted by another Match.com member, Alan Paul Wurtzel. It turns out that Wurtzel had been convicted for sexual battery on six different occasions. The suit seeks a temporary restraining order requesting no more members be signed up for Match.com until there's a means to weed out sexual predators. According to her attorney, the woman wants Match.com to screen members' names against public sex offender registries.

by Dave Thomas
The full article was originally published at Examiner, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: How ridiculous! Background checks are far from foolproof. Social networks aren't forced to use them, and dating sites should not be forced either. I'm a fan of dating sites using background checks. But I'm not a fan of them being legislated into the industry. TRUE uses them; a basic Rapsheeets/Choicepoint check of felons and sex offendors. I'm not aware of any other sizable sites that use them. Matchmakers often use them as a differentiating feature against their idating brethren.

See all posts on Match.com

Divorces Rise As Taboo Falls In India

Posted on April 14, 2011

Secondshaadi logo BUSINESS WEEK – Apr 14 – Just a decade ago, divorce was a dirty word in socially conservative India. But as the economy has boomed, the rigid boundaries governing traditional Indian life are beginning to fall, especially among the growing urban middle class. Dating among twentysomethings is growing popular, love matches (as opposed to arranged marriages) don't provoke the family scandals they once did and divorce is no longer out of bounds. The country maintains no statistics on divorce. In the 1980s, New Delhi had two courts that dealt with divorce. Today there are 16. A new Indian matchmaking website Secondshaadi.com, or second marriage, now targets divorcees and widowers. "Women, especially now, have little tolerance for bad marriages, for parental interference in their marriage. They have more economic independence," says Iti Kanungo, a court-appointed marriage counselor.

by Muneeza Naqvi
The full article was originally published at BusinessWeek, but is no longer available.

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eDarling Recently Expanded Into Russia And Turkey

Posted on April 13, 2011

Edarling logo EU STARTUPS – Feb 22 – eDarling launched its online dating service in Russia and Turkey in the beginning of 2011. Thus, the company is now operating in eleven European countries. By the end of the year eDarling wants to double its userbase up to 10M members across Europe. The Berlin based Affinitas GmbH started eDarling in 2009.

by Thomas Ohr
See full article at EU Startups

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Zoosk To Spend £2m On Advertising In The UK

Posted on April 12, 2011

Zoosk logo new MEDIA WEEK – Zoosk has appointed MediaCom to its multimillion-pound account after a three-way competitive pitch against undisclosed agencies. Activity for the brand will be mainly television-based, with Zoosk estimated to spend £2m in the UK. The activity in the UK is the first time the Zoosk brand has been seen outside the US and Canada, where the dating service has based most of its advertising until now.

by Mark Banham
See full article at Media Week

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Badoo: Global Online Dating Sensation

Posted on April 12, 2011

Badoo logo INDEPENDENT.CO.UK – Apr 12 - Badoo, the social network that replaces the supposed romance of online dating with instant hook-ups based on physical attraction, is now gaining some ground in the UK. Although the service is run from London, its current membership of 113M consists predominantly of users in Brazil, Spain, France and Italy and 300K people join daily. The site was founded in 2006 by now very rich Russian businessman, Andrey Andreev. The killer feature driving Badoo's success is location.

See full article at Independent.co.uk

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How You Meet Your Spouse Matters

Posted on April 12, 2011

Eharmony-logo EHARMONY BLOG – Feb 10 – Online dating has become the third most-popular way for newlyweds to have met over the past five years. Lately we’ve been asking ourselves a basic question: Does where you meet your spouse make a difference in how happy the marriage is and if the relationship lasts? It turns out that eHarmony couples are more satisfied with their marriages than those who met on Match.com, via friends or family, or at a bar/social event, according to eHarmony study. People who met on eHarmony were 66.6% less likely to get divorced, those who met through school were 41.1% less likely to get divorced, those who met through some other means were 16% more likely to get divorced, and those who met at a bar were 24% more likely to get divorced.

by Dr. Gian Gonzaga
See full article at eHarmony blog

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Greg Liberman Named President & CEO Of Spark Networks

Posted on April 12, 2011

Greg liberman MARKETWIRE – Apr 12 – Adam Berger, who joined Spark as a board member in 2006 and then served as its Chairman and CEO since 2007, has resigned his positions but will remain with Spark as a director. Mr. Liberman has served as Spark's President since 2006, its COO since 2005 and joined the company as its General Counsel in 2004.

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

See all posts on Spark Networks

Online Dating Tips From VirtualDatingAssistants.com

Posted on April 12, 2011
Virtualdatingassistants logo BUSINESS INSIDER – Apr 12 - According to market research, 1 out of 6 marriages that are happening in the US right now originated online, and these days ~30% of couples meet on the internet. However the authors of “Freakonomics” discovered that 56% of men that create an online dating profile do not even get one single message while Jupiter Research found that 97% quit within 3 months. Scott Valdez, Founder of Virtual Dating Assistants (ViDA VirtualDatingAssistants.com) advises that informed decisions yield better results.
- It Usually Pays to Pay: ViDA found that each message they sent on a pay site  was two times as likely to result in a date as a free site. 
– Photos - Avoid Flash: According to data analysis by OkCupid, flash adds 7 years to your age. Men, Smiles are Out of Style. Women, Smiles are In Style
– Messages: Focus on the most active users
– Tailor your approach to your audience:  While women of all ages respond well to humor, women in their early 30s and above responded well to longer, more thoughtful emails. Women in their 20s rejected these more serious emails.
– Profile Updates: Increase your visibility by keeping your content fresh

by Katharine Blodget
See full article at Business Insider

See all posts on Virtual Dating Assistants

Cyberstalkers Take To Social Networks Over Dating Sites

Posted on April 11, 2011

Cyberstalker HUFFINGTON POST – Apr 11 – According to a new study by the British Electronic Communication Harassment Organization (ECHO), cyberstalking has become more prevalent than real-world stalking. Researchers surveyed 250 participants between the ages of 14 and 74, and considered harassment that occurred via social networks, email and mobile phones. According to the study, most of the victims' ages ranged from 20 years old to 39 years old. Only 4% reported being stalked by a former partner, compared with victims of face-to-face stalking, where around half are former partners. Victims told researchers that stalkers commonly used social networks as channels for harassment and intimidation. 20% of victims said they were tracked through their social networks, compared to 4% who said they were targeted via dating sites.

by Catharine Smith
See full article at Huffington Post

This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch

Top Facebook Applications

Posted on April 11, 2011

Appdata logo1 INSIDE FACEBOOK – Apr 11 - Phrases, as well as Badoo and other dating apps, a few Connect apps, horoscopes, Friend Buzz and a Page tool were on the list of top 20 Facebook applications by monthly active users this week. 

Top Gainers This Week
        Name                           MAU              Gain          Gain,%
1.     Phrases                     20,606,742     +1,704,743     +9%
2.     Badoo                       67,976,269     +1,582,045     +2%
3.     Diamond Dash              2,759,892     +1,187,499     +76%
4.     Book List Challenges      1,545,394     +1,065,757     +222%
5.     Frases Diarias               8,095,449     +979,888       +14%
6.     friend.ly                      2,511,080     +963,091        +62%
7.     FarmVille                    48,229,941     +942,563        +2%
8.     Yahoo!                      13,172,942     +833,616         +7%
9.     Cupid                         5,434,267     +769,007        +16%
10.    Are YOU Interested?   16,595,172     +740,478         +5%

See full article at Inside Facebook

Mark Brooks: The social dating services Badoo and Mamboo were founded by people who worked on Mamba.ru in the past. Russia's top dating site. Badoo has driven unprecedented growth in recent months. Friend.ly is another service to keep your eye on.  (Full Disclosure: My company, Courtland Brooks, advised and was retained by Friend.ly)

This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch