BUZZIBUZZ – Feb 7 – 39% of single Brits spent less than £100 on dating in 2011, new research from Twoo.com has revealed. This figure includes the cost of taking someone out on a date, buying new clothes for a date and any online dating subscriptions. The survey of 1,000 people was commissioned by Twoo.com and conducted by research company Toluna. The “big spenders,” or those who reported spending over £1K, live in Scotland (17%), East Midlands (14%) and London (9%). Surprisingly, women are thriftier than men when it comes to dating, with 52% stating they spent less than £100 in 2011, although men aren’t exactly pushing the boat out either, with 30% believing that £100 for the year is the right amount to spend.
The full article was originally published at BuzziBuzz, but is no longer available.
BUSINESS WIRE – Feb 7 – The survey's highlights include:
— Valentine's Day remains a moneymaker with 60% of people saying they plan on spending the same amount of money that they did last year. — 82% of people saying they would like an "experience" for Valentine's Day rather than a gift. — 40% of men and 41% of women view it as an opportunity to do something romantic — ~70% of people wouldn't mind going on a blind or first date
Methodology: This study was conducted online within the US by uSamp on January 25, 2012 among 730 respondents aged 25-55 who are single or divorced.
The full article was originally published at Market Watch, but is no longer available.
PR NEWSWIRE – Feb 7 – On February 9, ahead of Valentine's Day, singles throughout Toronto should boldly ride the first car of the subway train during their daily commute. To celebrate, a street team will be in place at the bustling Yonge and Eglinton stop to distribute free Lavalife.com buttons, which singles can discreetly wear to help identify each other.
DISCOVERY NEWS – Feb 7 – A new study shows that how you catch a potential date's eye might depend on your gender. Researchers used eye tracking technology to follow people's eye movements as they perused online profiles. The results show that men spend 65% more time looking at photos than women. Women, on the other hand, spent 50% more time than men actually reading the profiles. AnswerLab, a consumer research company, ran the study in one day at a coffee shop in San Francisco. The researchers collected data using the Tobii X1 Light Eye Tracker, a new, portable model of eye tracker.
HEALTH.COM – Feb 7 – "Online dating is great. It allows people access to potential partners they otherwise would not have," says Eli J. Finkel, Ph.D., the lead author of the new review, which was commissioned by the Association for Psychological Science. One of the weaknesses of online dating is an over reliance on "profiles". Although most dating websites feature photos and detailed, searchable profiles covering everything from personality traits to likes and dislikes, this information isn't necessarily useful in identifying a partner, Finkel and his coauthors write. That's partly because daters don't always know what they want in a mate. The abundance of profiles online also may make daters too picky and judgmental. "Online dating creates a shopping mentality, and that is probably not a particularly good way to go about choosing a mate," says Harry Reis, Ph.D.eHarmony and PerfectMatch.com, claim to minimize the guesswork involved in online dating by using mathematical algorithms to match couples according to various traits — including, in one case, the ratio of index- to ring-finger length. The authors of the review are skeptical of these claims. They weren't able to find a single rigorous study showing the effectiveness of the algorithms, and other research suggests it's extremely difficult to predict the likelihood that a relationship will succeed before two people meet. None of this, however, means that online dating isn't a good way to meet people. Finkel advises online daters to identify promising partners and move the conversation off-line as quickly as possible.
ABC NEWS – Feb 6 – A review of 400 psychology studies and public interest surveys was commissioned by the Association for Psychological Science and will be published in the February edition of its journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest. "Online dating has entered the mainstream, and it is fast shedding any lingering social stigma," said researchers. When dating online, it's fine to rule out those who have unsuitable habits, such as smoking. In the early 1990s, less than 1% of those seeking relationships met through personal ads. But by 2005, 37% of Internet users said they had dated someone they'd met online. Brad Weisberg, co-founder of TheJMom.com, said his site uses "old-school traditional values" to make matches. It charges between $10 and $18 a month for a subscription. Jewish mothers can post photos of their families and look for commonalities in their children's education, values and personalities.
GUARDIAN.CO.UK – FEB 7 – Online dating is now one of the most common ways to start a relationship. Jean-Claude Kaufmann in his new book Love Online reflects on what has happened to romantic relationships since the millennium. The landscape of dating has changed completely, he argues. We used to have yentas or parents to help us get married; now we have to fend for ourselves. Love isn't an eternal given – it evolves with societies." Behavioural economist Dan Ariely is researching online dating because it affects to offer a solution for a market that wasn't working very well. Oxford evolutionary anthropologist Robin Dunbar will soon publish a book called The Science of Love and Betrayal, in which he wonders whether science can helps us with our romantic relationships. And one of France's greatest living philosophers, Alain Badiou, is poised to publish In Praise of Love, in which he argues that online dating sites destroy our most cherished romantic ideal, namely love. Online dating is, Ariely argues, unremittingly miserable. It turns out people are much more like wine. When you taste the wine, you could describe it, but it's not a very useful description. But you know if you like it or don't. Kaufmann argues that in the new world online dating the overwhelming idea is to have short, sharp engagements that involve minimal commitment and maximal pleasure. After a while, Kaufmann has found, those who use online dating sites become disillusioned. Everywhere on dating sites, Kaufmann finds people upset by the unsatisfactorily chilly sex dates that they have brokered. He also comes across online addicts who can't move from digital flirting to real dates. The disappointing experience of online dating is partly explained because we want conflicting things from it: love and sex, freedom and commitment, guilt-free sex without emotional entanglements and a tender cuddle.
BOSTON.COM – Feb 7 - Melissa McGlone turned to The Ex-App after a three-year relationship ended recently with an unceremonious text. The free app took off last March with ~3K downloads in the first nine months. Unlike other blocking tools, The Ex-App also tracks the number of consecutive days spent NOT trying to ferret out a former love. Dear Old Love Tumblr blog describes itself as an anonymous safe haven for "short notes to people we've loved (or at least liked). Requited or unrequited." A selection of notes from the site was later turned into a book. There's also CheaterVille.com, a site full of alleged cheaters complete with mugshot-like photos and sometimes lengthy explanations of love deceptions, and NeverLikedItAnyway.com, where dumpees sell off their engagement rings, wedding gowns and other gifts from exes. The latest entrant is WotWentWrong, brand new for dumpees in search of feedback from their formers after a first date failed to produce a follow-up call or budding love died on the vine without explanation.
by Leanne Italie The full article was originally published at Boston.com, but is no longer available.
WEBWIRE – Feb 7 – The 9th annual West Coast iDate conference and the Mobile Dating Conference takes place on June 20-22, 2012 in Beverly Hills at the SLS Hotel. Speakers include the CEOs and founders of some of the top mobile dating sites. Industry leaders in mobile marketing will also present at the event as well.
You’re the co-founder and were the first GM of Match.com. How did you get involved with Match and what’s your side of the founding story? Gary and I are good friends, and we were back then. Gary was looking for somebody to run Match.com. We connected at our reunion and he told me he wanted somebody who really knew how to market women. He thought it was important to get women to Match.com so men would follow.
Gary’s idea was to charge per email or contact. I pushed forward the membership model and of course that’s the model in most online dating sites.
The other important thing was giving people advice on how to use the site better. A lot of people didn’t get that we were creating, not just personals online, but that we were really inventing something. This was back in 1995, before anyone knew about social networking.
What were the companies back them? Webpersonals.com, matchmaker.com and Match.com? There were a few but they weren’t sophisticated about the marketing and customer acquisitions. They didn’t work with any partnerships and I don’t think they thought about targeting women. We were doing really well at attracting women and keeping them.
On that point you went on after Match.com to work as VP of Women.com. What do women want from idating that many dating sites are missing? Safety, anonymity and fun is really important . If you take care of this, you’re going to do well. Any respectable dating site gives you enough control to control pics, messages, blocking and filtering etc. I also think that people need more specialized advice.
You are involved with two Internet dating start-ups. Could you tell us about those? The first one is TheComplete.me and I think it’s very unique and very exciting because it really talks about your social graph on Facebook. The other start-up I’m involved in is “Three Day Rule”. It’s a completely different approach although it shares that social aspect. It’s based in LA and focuses on high end events.
BUZZIBUZZ – Feb 7 – 39% of single Brits spent less than £100 on dating in 2011, new research from Twoo.com has revealed. This figure includes the cost of taking someone out on a date, buying new clothes for a date and any online dating subscriptions. The survey of 1,000 people was commissioned by Twoo.com and conducted by research company Toluna. The “big spenders,” or those who reported spending over £1K, live in Scotland (17%), East Midlands (14%) and London (9%). Surprisingly, women are thriftier than men when it comes to dating, with 52% stating they spent less than £100 in 2011, although men aren’t exactly pushing the boat out either, with 30% believing that £100 for the year is the right amount to spend.
