Month: November 2011

Police Target Lonely Hearts Fraudsters

Posted on November 28, 2011

Soca logoSUNDAY TIMES – Nov 28 – Romance scammers are to be targeted by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca). According to Soca ~200K people have already been tricked by overseas conmen. Online dating scams have become one of the most lucrative methods. This is because online dating has itself become so successful, with 1,400 dating sites operating in Britain, including Plentyoffish, eHarmony and match.com. Mark Brooks, who runs Courtland Brooks, a consultancy specialising in the online dating industry, said: “Every site has significant problems in dealing with scammers. It is the bane of the industry.” Karl Gregory, head of match.com’s UK division, said cases of fraud were still rare. “Our advice”, he said, “is to stay within the site to build up relationships over time rather than giving out personal details, and never to give money to anyone for any reason.”

by Jonathan Leake
See full article at Sunday Times

Mark Brooks: Actually, this is far more a problem in the USA than the UK.  Most sites are fighting and winning the battle against scammers, I think.  But the isolated cases of date scamming are still very newsworthy and bad for the dating industry. 

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Siri Dating?

Posted on November 26, 2011

Siri-logoOPW – Nov 26 – Which dating site will be the first out with a Siri-connected app?

'Find me a hot blonde to have dinner with tonight'

Here's a great article on Siri on PaidContent (no longer available), which basically says Siri came to fruition because of a $200 million DARPA project. It's hot, it works (somewhat), and dating sites should start thinking about how this applies to the next-gen of mobile dating.

Social Networking Apps Bring The Close Closer

Posted on November 25, 2011

Girl with cellSYDNEY MORNING HERALD – Nov 25 – Blendr enables users to check their smartphones and then text other users a few metres away. If they hit it off, they can meet up for a date within minutes. Blendr is the heterosexual version of Grindr, which has more than 2M gay users in 192 countries. Joel Simkhai, who founded Grindr and Blendr, says the main difference between the two apps is that the straight version is less focused on casual sex. Other geosocial networking apps, such as OkCupid Locals and HowAboutWe are popular.

by Rachel Wells
See full article at Sydney Morning Herald

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Top Tips For Your Dating Sites

Posted on November 25, 2011

Whitelabeldating logoWLD BLOG – Nov 24 - 
1. Use Social Media - The majority of users will not proactively type your website’s URL into their browser and arrive at your site via direct traffic. That is why reaching people where they virtually ‘hang out’ is essential.
2. Keep your audience in mind - post in the tone that people will associate with your site, engaging with your audience on a ‘human’ level.
3. Make your site sticky - The perfect way to make your site sticky is to link, link, link! Hook users and reel them in by creating links (where relevant) between blog posts, to allow users to move effortlessly around the site and more importantly, stay engaged with your brand.

See all posts on WhiteLabelDating.com

Modern Dating

Posted on November 24, 2011

Rsvp logo new november 2011BRIMBANK WEEKLY – Nov 24 – Online dating no longer has the stigma it once had or is seen as a last resort. For many, it’s the first place they turn to as the more conventional means to meet their match. Australia’s first online dating site RSVP has recently celebrated its 15th birthday. They had ~1.8M members and ~8000 marriages and 900 babies from people who had met on the site. Speed dating is also taking off. Justin Parfitt, owner of Fast Impressions, started his company in 2002. Events include nights for people who like literature, travel and trivia, particular religions and can also cater to same sex relationships and even psychical preferences — such as tall men, slender women and nationalities.

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

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SmartDate Employees Stiffed, VC Rails Against CEO

Posted on November 24, 2011

Smartdate logo newOPW – Nov 24 – The proverbial s*t is hitting the fan at TechCrunch.fr.

– Francois Tison, General Partner at 360 Capital Partners
“Risk and failure are part of our business. In most failures, we can look between shareholders and say "we tried, we did everything we could, we saved what we could." Some failures leave a more bitter taste. It (SmartDate) clearly belongs to the second category. "

SmartDate is accused of loading the site with fakesters.Contractors and employees have not been paid, apparently.

– Former Employee
He (CEO, Fabrice LeParc) lied to us, forced to use unethical techniques, contradicted himself constantly, and pushed us to lie providers ("Yes, be patient, the bank transfer has been done …").

See all posts on Smartdate

Company Profile – Gaydar

Posted on November 23, 2011
  Gaydarspravne logo
Gaydar is a worldwide, profile-based dating website for gay and bisexual men, women
and couples over the age of 18. Although many of the individual profiles are publicly
accessible on the Internet, to gain more functionality and interact with other users,
a registration is required and a guest profile must be created. Gaydar and similar
sites are widely regarded as having had a major impact on gay communities in many
parts of the world. Gaydar allows users to display and receive more detailed and
intimate information in many personal areas than is possible in live venues.
 
Website: http://www.gaydar.co.uk/
Owned by: Gaydar Has Been Sold To The Creator Of Channel 4′s Big Breakfast in May 2013
CEO: Trevor Martin 
 
Business address: QSoft Consulting Limited (P.O. Box 113, Twickenham TW1 4WY)                                                                                                                                                                                   1 The Green, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1PL, United Kingdom
 
Phone: +44 (0)20 8744 1089
Email / Contact form: support@gaydar.co.uk
http://www.qsoft.co.uk/content/contact.aspx
 
Blog: http://www.gaydarblog.com/
Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaydar_%28website%29
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/gaydar
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Gaydar
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/254677
 
Date Started: November 1999
Founders: Gary Frisch
Henry Badenhorst 
 
Investments: 2007 – £2m funding boost from its owner, QSoft Consulting
 
Subsidiaries: GaydarRadio
 
Countries served: worldwide
 
Business model: freemium model
paid membership:
1 month- £8
3 months- £17
6 months- £32
12 months- £60 
 
Category: niche / gay
 
History:

November 2010 – Gaydar Launches iPhone App
   
Gaydar news on OnlinePersonalsWatch
Courtland Brooks clients can access the top 20 company profiles.

PlentyofFish Rebrands As POF

Posted on November 23, 2011

Pof stats compete october 11OPW – Nov 23 – Just in case you missed it, PlentyofFish.com now drives to POF.com, and the site has been rebranded as POF. Its easier to remember, and easier to refer to in conversation and by 'word-of-mouse'. One of the tricks to viral marketing is to make it as simple as possible for people to refer to your brand. The perfect brand name is 2 syllables and 4 letters, apparently. POF is a whole lot easier to refer to and type-in than Plenty…of….fish. (Full disclosure: POF is a long term client of Courtland Brooks)

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Cupid – Eurozone Crisis Fails To Stop Continent’s Love Life

Posted on November 23, 2011

Cupidplc logoSCOTSMAN – Nov 23 – Cupid said Europeans showed no signs of losing their appetite for “fun and love” amid the economic turmoil, keeping its rapid international expansion on track. Analysts at Peel Hunt believe Cupid's profits before tax and other deductions will reach £11M this year, up from £5.6M in 2010, and should hit £20M by 2013. CEO Bill Dobbie said the firm was spending ~ £30M on advertising this year – more than half of estimated revenues. Cupid mainly advertises online but Dobbie said that adverts direct to mobile phones was a rapidly growing area.

by Dominic Jeff
See full article at Scotsman

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