15 Things I Learned At iDate

OPW – Jan 28 – I managed to attend several sessions at iDate, and here's a smattering of things I picked up that I thought might be of interest to you.

1. Google – One day we won't have machines, the cloud will all be viewed as one big computer with infinite computing power and memory.
2. Snapchat – Doesn't have their own IT dept. They're run entirely in the cloud.
3. Divergent Netiquette – We protect user privacy but it seems that this has the consequence of allowing people to not be held accountable for unpalatable behavior. Their netiquette is diverging more and more from their real world etiquette. We need to figure out a way to bridge the divide so people behave better.
4. FTC – There's lots of quality players. A few rogue sites with risky behaviors. Its hard to compete when your competitors or doing things that are dodgy or illegal. FTC is more keen to help.
5. Fraud – 12% of the adult population been hit by some kind of mass marketing fraud.
6. Scam Victim Suicides – There are more suicides by scam victims in Australia than homicide victims.
7. Affiliates – You're liable for your affiliates behavior! So police them carefully.
8. Scammer Language – Scammers will often put in their profiles, 'I'm not a scammer.' Thats a clear sign for other scammers to know not to bother messaging them and that they are indeed a scammer.
9. eHarmony – Adaptability is the most powerful dimension that shows up most in healthy relationships.
10. eH+ – eHarmony's matchmaking service has been beneficial to their brand. It's starting up in Britain and Australia soon and is in L.A. right now. They hire PhD's, and family therapistsas matchmakers. It's profitable, but not a large piece of their business yet. Intros are made to people who hit 80% of their requested criteria.
11. Hire slow – Take longer to hire people. Hire slow and fire fast!
12. Seasonality – Know your market seasonality and time your product announcements to optimize.
13. Socks! – The iDating industry is $4B a year. Meanwhile, the sock industry is $20B a year! 5X dating. Huh!?
14. Serendipity Fails – A number of people discovery services were flawed because of critical mass problems inherent with serendipity. Highlight, Roamz, and At The Pool. All failed.
15. Brazil – You lose business if you are not physically present in Brazil because 60% of local credit cards only work with local businesses. Namoro Online is the biggest Brazilian dating site with 2.5M users. ParPerfeito is owned by Match. POF, Be2 and Ashley Madison are also big. 80% of people in Brazil now have credit cards. 

Post by Mark Brooks @