PR NEWSWIRE – Dec 19 – IAC's CEO Greg Blatt is stepping down to become chairman of Match Group, a new IAC operating unit containing Match online dating businesses, as well as Tutor.com and workout program site DailyBurn. Sam Yagan, the CEO of Match, will become CEO of the Group. IAC does not intend to name a new CEO.
Month: December 2013
Lovestruck Turned Into A £6 Million Hit
THISISMONEY.CO.UK – Dec 19 – Since an initial investment of £285K in 2000, Lovestruck has generated £5.7M revenue. Initially, it started off as LunchdateLondon as a site that introduced people who live or work near each other for a quick coffee, lunchtime or after-work dates. But people were meeting up after work so the site changed its name to Lovestruck. Lovestruck's Brett Harding offers advice to start-ups entering into a saturated industry: Know your customers, know your competitors, validate your assumptions with a half-baked product. Once validated, make it a world-class one. Keep unnecessary cash burn to an absolute minimu.
New Alliance Launched To Create Online Dating Standards
PR WEB – Dec 19 – The International Alliance for Honest Dating Sites has been launched by founders of 3 romance sites: Peter Christopher (ChristianFilipina.com), Mark Davis (DreamConnections.com) and John Abbot (ChinaLoveMatch.net). The new Alliance website provides articles, videos and lists of fraudulent practices. The unifying Code of Conduct can be found there along with a list of sites that have been viewed and approved to display the Alliance “Seal of Approval” as honest dating sites.
HowAboutWe To Speak At iDate Las Vegas
WEBWIRE – Dec 17 – Aaron Stein, in charge of user acquisition of HowAboutWe, will present on user acquisition strategies for dating sites and mobile dating apps. He will cover pros/cons of major traffic channels, key sources to test, best practices for tracking across mobile and desktop, tools to use, and whether to run acquisition in-house or employ an agency. The iDate is taking place on January 14-16 in Las Vegas.
FriendFinder Cleared To Exit Bankruptcy
WSJ – Dec 16 – A federal judge has cleared FriendFinder Networks to leave bankruptcy as a private company with much less debt. The plan allows a group of lenders who are owed $330.8M to forgive that debt and take 100% of the reorganized company's new common stock.
AshleyMadison And SeekingArrangement Battle Over ‘Shush’ Image
ENTERTAINMENT LAW DIGEST – Dec 16 - AshleyMadison.com may sue SeekingArrangement.com for using its distinctive image of a woman with her finger on her lips. Both parties are alos accusing each other of purchasing Internet advertising related to searches for the other's dating site.
by Jack Bouboushian
The full article was originally published at Entertainment Law Digest, but is no longer available.
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BostonPersonals.com Launches On DatingFactory.com Platform
PR WEB – Dec 17 – Private label dating provider, DatingFactory.com, Introduces BostonPersonals.com, a dating site for singles in the Boston area. Dating Factory does not maintain their own brands. Instead, they focus on providing the back-end, customer database, technical, payment and marketing support.
Ben Stiller’s Movie Promted eHarmony To Launch eH+
WXYZ – Dec 15 – Ben Stiller's new movie "The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty" has prompted eHarmony.com to upgrade their service to offer one-to-one counselling from a matchmaker. In the film, comedian Patton Oswalt plays the voice on the phone trying to help Stiller's character find love by constantly editing his profile. eHarmony's VP Grant Langston realized it wouldn't be accurate because eHarmony was a self-serve model.
The full article was originally published at WXYZ, but is no longer available.
EliteSingles Launching In New Zealand
SCOOP.CO.NZ – Dec 16 – EliteSingles.co.nz, a dating site for singles with certain academic qualifications, is launching in New Zealand, following succesful launches in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria and Sweden this summer.
People Are Willing To Pay On Free Sites
LATINO POST – Dec 14 – OkCupid introduced its Spotlight feature in July. ~2500 people used the feature in the first 24 hour of its existence. It allows users to pay $2 for 15-minute of extra promotion. One person spent $1,800 for boosting the profile for 3 months. It become a way to monetize OkCupid, which gets revenue from "A-list" and advertising. A-list members pay $5- $10 a month to get better matches, browse profiles invisibly and be free from ads.
by Jessica Michele Herring
See full article at Latino Post