TELEGRAPH.CO.UK – Apr 15 – As online dating grows, online fraud goes with it. There was $65M worth of online dating fraud reported last year, but James Vargas, founder of online identity service MiiCard, estimates that "one fifth of victims report it to the authorities". That means ~2.5% of people involved in online dating are victims of fraud. The typical frauds involve fake profiles followed up by a sob story and a request for money. There's reliable research to suggest ~10% of online dating profiles are fakes of this type.
Month: April 2013
iDate Las Vegas Video
OPW – Apr 15 – Here’s the video summary from the Internet Dating Conference in Las Vegas that took place this January. The next iDate conference is in June in Los Angeles. The event will focus on mobile.
Twoo.com Now Available In Malay
PR WEB – Apr 14 – Malay becomes the 38th language in which users can surf Twoo.com, the people discovery service. Twoo sees ~100K people using their service in Malaysia every month.
Swoon Dating App Connects With Facebook For Speedy Matchmaking
HUFFINGTON POST – Apr 14 – Swoon launched last month as part of a larger initiative by Tagged to branch out into standalone apps. It launched Android to start, an iOS version is expected in May. Users connect their Facebook account — no questionnaires to fill out, and are flipping through a bunch of Facebook profile photos with first names, ages, mutual friends and mutual interests listed. They flick a card in any direction or hit an 'X' to move to the next one. If they are interested in someone, they hit a giant green checkmark. The other party is notified of interest only if they are interested as well. Another app, Yoke, was based on the same concept, utilizing the Facebook Social Graph and Interest Graph to play matchmaker.
More Religious Singles Are Searching For Love Online
by Cindy Huang
The full article was originally published at PBS, but is no longer available.
Internet Dating Jobs Listing Update – April 2013
OPW – Apr 11 – New iDating jobs listing is live on the Internet Dating Jobs blog.
Below see a couple of this month's most interesting offers:
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From our esteemed Courtland Brooks clients:
AnastasiaDate.com
UX Lead (User Experience Lead/Human-Computer Interaction Lead)
Global Personals USA (Webdate, Fling, WealthyMen)
Media Buyer/Advertising Account Manager
GuySpy
New Blog Contributors
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eHarmony
Marketing Director – UK
Grouper
Director of PR/Communications
Match.com, Chemistry.com, People Media
Director, Yield Management (Indirect Channels)
POF.com
Director of Finance
Zoosk
Director of International Marketing
To see more open positions go here.
Do you have an idating industry job offer which is not included? Please, send it to petra@courtlandbrooks.com and we will add it to the list.
OnlyADate.com Gets People Offline Quickly
TECH COCKTAIL – Apr 10 – Mainstream online dating websites require an average investment of about seven hours online to meet somebody offline. OnlyADate strives to knock that seven-hour time period down to thirty minutes. With OnlyADate, the user still gets to select who they want to go out with. They are relegated to two options: create a date or show interest in a date. When a user creates a date, their profile becomes visible to their local community after selecting a time, date, and restaurant for the meeting. This opens the doors for other users to show interest in the created date. The host sees the interested individuals and selects the ones they want to go out with. The schedule a date or show interests costs $10.
by Will Schmidt
The full article was originally published at Tech Cocktail, but is no longer available.
Tinder For Business
FORBES – Apr 9 – Since launching last fall, Tinder’s addictive quality and explosive growth have become truisms. Tinder users have rated each other’s profiles 3.5 billion times. The company is still seeing 5% day-over-day growth, down from 10% in January. With quick success in the dating market, Tinder is beginning to think about applying their intuitive matchmaking process to other verticals. One industry in their sights: business networking. There is no rejection on Tinder, only mutual matches. Because no one knows that you “like” a profile unless they like yours back, your interest is only unmasked when reciprocated. That means users can swipe all day without feeling like a stalker or risking self-esteem. Tinder still doesn’t make any money. Rad and Mateen, the app's founders, are considering offering premium functionality for paying users.
by J.J. Colao
See full article at Forbes
This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch.
The Mail Order Bride Boom
FORTUNE MAGAZINE – Apr 9 –
AnastasiaDate.com is a "premium international dating" service for singles looking for love abroad. Premium international dating is a new name for what's traditionally referred to as the mail-order bride business. The company made $110M in 2012. In 2013, it projects it will make $140M. The site's traffic grew 220% in 2012. It now has 4M users. According to Experian, the top 10 premium international dating sites drew 12M visits in March, 29% increase YOY. "People are realizing that there's a bigger world than Match.com," says Chief Strategy Officer Mark Brooks. The company will have to overcome the deep stigma. The practice conjures images of women desperate to marry out of failing economies; and of unappealing American men looking for a traditional mate to keep the house clean. Brooks sees international dating today as being on the cusp of respectability — in much the same way online dating was in its early stages. AnastasiaDate.com is also trying to clean up its act. "We are very, very sensitive to reputation now", says Brooks. The company is planning a crackdown on its local partner agencies who pay women to interact on the site. The site's most active users are American men 35-60 years old, making ~$100K. To interact on the site, they can buy credits. IM chatting costs one credit/minute. There can also be real safety risks for women. A pair of high-profile murders of foreign brides prompted the enactment of federal legislation in 2005 to protect women brought to the U.S. via The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act. "The industry has grown to appreciate it," he says. "It was designed to provide a very high level of comfort and safety to female members of international dating sites, which is, of course, of utmost importance to us."
by Anne VanderMey
The full article was originally published at Fortune Magazine, but is no longer available.
How Has Online Personals Watch Helped You?
OPW – Apr 9 – The producer of a new tech-oriented CNBC show just called and they're intrigued with Online Personals Watch. They'd like to know how OPW helps our readers. So, how does OPW help you? Is there a decision you've made as a consequence of reading OPW? Please email me at mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com. They will feature a couple of iDating businesses on the show.