USA TODAY – May 22 - AdultFriendFinder has contacted law enforcement and high-profile security firm FireEye to investigate a data breach. Information including sexual preference, marital status and other personal data (dates of birth, email addresses and addresses) for as many as 4M members may have been stolen.
by Mike Snider
See full article at USA Today
HUFFINGTON POST – Sep 17 – FriendFinder Networks has filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to cut its dept as it's struggling to make certain loan payments. The company's estimated liabilities are $500M – $1 billion and assets ~10M. FriendFinder Networks has not been profitable since 2008.
From FFN Press Release: FFN has also reached an agreement with key stakeholders to refinance their long term debt. It will allow the company to reinvest in its business and secure the growth of their strongest brands. "All operations will continue as normal throughout this process," said FFN's CEO Anthony Previte.
THE DEAL – May 7 – FriendFinder has ~$455M in debt outstanding. The company obtained forbearance agreements with the majority of its lenders. Those agreements were extended from their original February deadline through May 6, and so far, FriendFinder is mum on its next step. Mark Brooks, who runs Courtland Brooks, has a solution in mind. "FriendFinder is a good company with bad debt," Brooks said. "At some stage, patience will run out, and the lenders will have to take that company over and run it themselves. I'd love to see Conru more involved. I'd love to see him back at the helm," Brooks said. "He runs a tight ship." Brooks praised Conru's combination of innovation and focus. AdultFriendFinder.com faces stiff competition from Global Personals's Fling.com, and SexSearch.com. "It's really a two-horse race at this point," Brooks said about AdultFriendFinder and Fling. "But SexSearch is going in for the kill." Looking at the usage charts for these websites, Brooks remarked, "It looks like Fling.com is eating FriendFinder's lunch," crediting a new CEO who has done great things for Fling's business. Fling's unique views spiked to 8.2 M in April from 3.3M in January. AdultFriendFinder's views cratered to ~6M in April from 9.2M in January. SexSearch.com's numbers, meanwhile, have jumped to 2.3M in April from 146,841 daily unique views in January. Brooks believes online dating sites should be expanding their mobile offerings, since more users are now accessing dating sites from their mobile phones.
by Lisa Allen
See full article at The Deal (the article is under subscription now)
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HUFFINGTON POST – Dec 14 - Google Zeitgeist — the search engine's annual online presentation of the year's top "trending" and "most searched" terms — includes a list of the top 10 most searched dating sites.
by Christina Huffington
See full article at Huffington Post
FAST COMPANY – Aug 19 - Online dating startups are using quirky concepts, and emerging technology–from facial recognition to geolocation. Online dating is a $1.5 billion per year industry in the U.S. Match.com generates ~$400M; eHarmony ~$150 million; and Adult Friend Finder earn ~$250M in annual revenue. On most sites, users take the time-honored route of writing up anecdotes about their lives. OK Cupid broke that model by combining traditional "about me" profiles with a personality test a la 20-questions. Dutch startup Soul2Match is using facial recognition software to pair people with similar bone structure. HowAboutWe requires users to suggest unique date ideas to one another. Spoondate asks its members to disclose what they want to eat and where, to match them based on cravings. Luv@FirstTweet tracks its users’ Twitter history to get a sense of their interests and personality.
by Sean Captain
See full article at Fast Company
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