Month: June 2011
Australia Is WhiteLabelDating.com’s Fastest Growing Market
OPW – June 24 – Currently, Australia is WhiteLabelDating.com’s fastest growing network for both new members and revenue. Over the last 3 months, basic members were up by 86%, with revenue increasing by 158%. Australia is currently a healthy market with good levels of online spending from consumers and online dating being a popular resource. According to IBISWordl the online dating industry in Australia made earnings of ~$100M in 2010.
Is ‘Sugar Daddying’ Prostitution, or Just Extreme Gifting?
FOX NEWS – June 23 – Sugardaddy.com is a dating site that connects “sugar daddies” with “sugar babies” or “sugar mommas.” The site has a disclaimer that prohibits members from offering money in exchange for sex, saying any such violations will result in the cancellation of membership and banning from the site. “Prostitution is about sex for money … and women who rely on these interactions to support themselves – this is their profession,” says Noel Biderman, CEO of Avid Life Media who runs a similar Sugar Daddy dating site called EstablishedMen.com. “Sugar daddy relationships are real women who are interested in being with men who are willing to spend their disposable income on the lifestyle."
by Hollie McKay
See full article at Fox News
See all posts on SugarDaddy.com
See all posts on EstablishedMen
3 Minutes Online Dating
PR WEB – June 23 – Speed dating purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, originally as a way to help Jewish singles meet and marry. The first speed dating event took place at Pete's Café in Beverly Hills in late 1998. By 2000, speed dating had really taken off. Speed dating is also available online at 3minutesdate.com. Members can invite to chat with others if they find their profiles interesting, and enter a chat room for 3 minutes speed date.
The full article was originally published at SF Gate, but is no longer available.
Match to Acquire More Shares in Meetic
BUSINESS WIRE – June 23 - The Match.com group owns indirectly through Match.com Pegasus Limited a 26.51% interest in Meetic and a 50% interest in a venture with Meetic providing online personals services in certain countries in Latin America. This transaction will offer Match.com and Meetic new growth opportunities. On May 29, 2011, Marc Simoncini entered into a binding agreement with Match.com Pegasus Limited to tender in the Offer 3,667,773 Company Shares, representing 15.96% of the total number of shares outstanding. On May 30, 2011, Match.com announced its proposed tender offer for Meetic. Under the terms of this agreement, Simoncini will resign from his current position as Chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Meetic, but not from his position as a member of the board.An indicative timetable is set forth below:
June 22, 2011 Filing of the proposed Offer with the AMF
June 23, 2011 Filing by the Company of the response offer document
July 5, 2011 Clearance decision (Déclaration de conformité)
July 7, 2011 Opening of the Offer
August 10, 2011 Closing of the Offer
August 18, 2011 Publication of notice announcing the final results of
the Offer
August 19, 2011 Reopening of the Offer (in the event the Offer is
successful)
August 29, 2011 Settlement – Delivery of the initial Offer
September 1, 2011 Closing of the reopened Offer
September 8, 2011 Publication of notice announcing the final results of
the reopened Offer
September 19, 2011 Settlement – Delivery of the reopened Offer
June 22, 2011 Filing of the proposed Offer with the AMF
June 23, 2011 Filing by the Company of the response offer document
July 5, 2011 Clearance decision (Déclaration de conformité)
July 7, 2011 Opening of the Offer
August 10, 2011 Closing of the Offer
August 18, 2011 Publication of notice announcing the final results of
the Offer
August 19, 2011 Reopening of the Offer (in the event the Offer is
successful)
August 29, 2011 Settlement – Delivery of the initial Offer
September 1, 2011 Closing of the reopened Offer
September 8, 2011 Publication of notice announcing the final results of
the reopened Offer
September 19, 2011 Settlement – Delivery of the reopened Offer
The total cash consideration to be paid by the Offeror would amount to ~225M Eur. The Offer will be fully funded by IAC funds.
Cupid Wins Over German Online Dating Business
STOCKOPEDIA – June 23 – Cupid has acquired a 75% stake in two German online businesses, OnlineLiebe GmbH and WomenWeb GmbH, for a total of €2.75M (£2.5M). The two companies are run together by the same team in Munich, led by founder Andreas von Maltzan, who is recognised as one of the pioneers and leaders in the German dating market, having established Neu.de, Germany’s most popular dating site, which was sold to Meetic in 2007. OnlineLiebe GmbH owns sites such as Zuckerjungs.de, Zuckerdaddys.de, Gleicheliebe.de and Gayjz.de. Its leading site, Zuckerjungs.de, was founded last year and has already become the market leader in the ‘Cougar’ dating niche in Germany, as well as in Austria and Switzerland. WomenWeb GmbH is Germany's largest online community network of female interest websites with domains such as Womenweb.de, Frauen.de, Kochrezepte.de, Allegraclub.de, Esoteriktreff.de, Hochzeits-club.de and eight other portals. Bill Dobbie, Cupid’s CEO, said: “This acquisition continues our stated strategy of international expansion and is an excellent opportunity for us to gain a foothold in the German-speaking markets.
Interview: Clique, a Dating Site Facebook Should Be Jealous of
THE NEXT WEB – June 23 – Clique connects friends of friends—It’s how you meet people at a party, brought online. Clique users can’t connect with anyone who is more than two degrees away from a friend, so every date is vetted by someone he or she knows.
Q: What is Clique and why is it different from other dating sites?
Christy Purington, Founder: Clique is a dating site that connects friends of friends. We include those in relationships–dubbed “wingmen”–to help set up friends.
Q: What is the end goal of Clique? To set up all your friends?
A: First, for daters to discover new people in their social graph as potential dates. Second, its for users–single or taken–to set up their friends.
Q: How will you monetize Clique?
A: We want to avoid the subscription model if possible. One option is charging for the second tier of connections. These are the people who are close enough to your network to be meaningful, but far enough away that you may not have interacted with them yet.
Yet Another Federal Deceptive Trade Practices Suit Filed Against Match.com
DALLAS OBSERVER – June 22 - On Tuesday, another federal suit was filed in Dallas naming Match.com as a defendant. Two Texas men claim, among other things, that Match.com is bilking subscribers by lying about how emails are sent to and read by (or not read by, as the case may be) non-subscribers to the service. They also allege that Match.com creates "bogus online profiles as evidenced by the number of profiles of allegedly different Members containing identical photographs and identical phrases."
You Deleted Your Dating Profile. Is It Really Gone?
GLOBE AND MAIL – June 21 - Beware what you share while searching for love online, your intimate details may linger long after you have found it. That’s the warning from the Privacy Commission of Canada in a report tabled today in Parliament. A Canadian woman asked eHarmony to delete her account. eHarmony said it could not “entirely delete her record of having joined, or remove her personal information.” eHarmony only “anonymizes” the information because 40% of member reactivate within two years. The online dating site should give users a chose between deactivating accounts and deleting them permanently – and needed to be clear about the process for doing so. eHarmony responded by saying it would keep personal information of departing clients for two years. While the commission accepted eHarmony’s actions, the report also pointed out that many of the online dating sites do not have privacy policies.
by Erin Anderssen
The full article was originally published at Globe and Mail, but is no longer available.
Interview: Henry Badenhorst, the Gaydar Guy
PINK NEWS – June 21 - Henry Badenhorst is arguably one of Britain’s most influential gay men. The source of his influence comes from his ownership of Gaydar, the online dating platform he co-founded, which boasts ~6M subscribers worldwide. While Gaydar is hugely popular in the UK, South Africa and Australia, the service hasn’t replicated that success in America. Gaydar initially entered the US market via a partner, but with mixed results. Looking ahead Badenhorst is contemplating becoming involved with London’s annual Pride event, which he thinks pales in comparison to similar events held by Sydney and Brighton.
by Laurence Watts
See full article at Pink News