Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)
7th Internet Dating Conference to be Held February 1-2 in Miami
PR NEWSWIRE — Oct 12 — Ticonderoga Ventures announces the seventh Online Dating Conference, to be held on February 1-2, 2006 in Miami at the Wyndham Miami Beach Resort. The Conference and expo will focus on management, technology and marketing for the industry. Mobile dating, cultural marketing, event planning, metrics, advertising strategies and software will be discussed at this event. Attending the event will be senior execs, marketing firms, telecommunication firms, software companies, affiliate managers, affiliates of singles related sites and entrepreneurs. Also in 2006…May 18-19, 2006, Beijing China – Mobile Dating, Internet Dating and Social Networking to the Far East. September 25-26, 2006, Amsterdam – Mobile Dating, European Internet Dating and European Social Networking.
Mowave Launches GAY.COM Mobile on O2 UK
Mark Brooks: Europe. Now is the time to make your move if you intend to enter this market.
Online Dating in India
HINDUSTAN TIMES — Mar 3 — Says The Pew Internet & American Life Project, of the 15 million that started or ended a romantic relationship in the past two years, 15% say the Internet played a crucial role in the event. Of 8 million people that tied the knot, 14% indicated the importance of the Internet. In India there are scores of indigenous dating sites, catering specially to the Indian community. However, most of these are either outdated, or technically inferior to foreign/global sites. i.e. DatingClubIndia.com. Adsmela.com on the other hand, is more like an online version of a newspaper classifieds column, while Indiandating.com stands out with a neat layout and diverse offerings. New communication techniques are getting introduced, and handheld devices are making the entire Net experience easier and more accessible.
Mark Brooks: Shaadi.com is the top matrimonials site.
Online Dating Agency is Positive About Love
INDEPENDENT ONLINE — Sept 26 — Ben Sassman set up an online dating agency in South Africa two years ago, for people living with HIV/Aids. The Internet enthusiast, who works at an international recruitment agency for medical personnel by day, says his HIV-positive friends would complain of how prospective dates tended to slip away the moment they disclosed their status. As a result, http://www.thepositiveconnection.co.za, was born – apparently the first online service of its kind in the country.
The full article was originally published at Independent Online, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: A great public service.
We Must Meet: Sharp Edge to Internet Dates
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD — Sept 23 — At least four Sydney men have been abducted and robbed at knifepoint in an internet dating scam in the past week, police say. The victims were lured to locations in Sydney’s south-west, believing they were about to meet women after blind dates were set up via websites. When the victims went to meet the women, they were ambushed at knifepoint, kidnapped, robbed and then later released. None of the victims were harmed. FULL ARTICLE @ SYDNEY HERALD
Mark Brooks: Always meet in a public place. Let me repeat. Always meet in a public place.
Koreans Find Secret Cybersauce
WIRED NEWS — Aug 08 — Cyworld blends homepage building and social networking with other online activities, including Sims-like role-playing. It's owned by South Korea's SK Communications and jumped from 10 million to 13 million users in 2004. A quarter of the country's 48.2 million people have signed up, including 90% of the 24- to 29-year-old age group. Users get their own page, a virtual living room called a minihompy where they can create diaries, publish images, network, host legal background music and more. Members personalize their minihompy with virtual objects they purchase from Cyworld, and enhance it with up to 10 tracks of background music they can buy and play for visitors. 100,000 tracks a day are sold through Cyworld. Cyworld's online stores accounted for 80% of Cyworld's $54 million revenue in 2004, selling such digital goods as virtual furniture, page backgrounds and avatars. The word Cy in Korean means relationship. Cyworld uses real names for users' pages, so if people meet at a party, it's increasingly likely they'll swap Cyworld addresses, not phone numbers. People ask, 'Do you Cy?' Cyworld is spreading across Asia this year. It launched in China in June 2005, hopes to reach Japan in October and has Hong Kong and Taiwan on its to-do list. Cyworld U.S. is slated to launch in early 2006.
The full article was originally published at Wired News, but is no longer available.
Meta4 Networks Announces Partnerships
PR WEB — Aug 6 — Meta4 Networks, a private label Online Personals service in Asia, announced partnerships with several major website operators in Greater China including ESPN STAR China, HiNet (dominant ISP in Taiwan) and China Times Interactive. Meta4 Networks is focused on operating the back end operations for online personals services and has agreements with 150 partners in 18 countries. RELEASE @ PR WEB
Mark Brooks: The next Asian internet dating convention will be in Beijing in May next year. I'll be there to check out the latest developments for the online personals industry in Asia.
Phone Technology Aids UAE Dating
BBC NEWS — Jul 29 — Many of the Dubai's black-shrouded UAE girls say they cannot check out the latest fashions in Zara or sip a smoothie in a cafe without being bombarded with the phone numbers of hopeful admirers. UAE population has increased roughly eightfold since 1975. Traditionally, a young man's first amorous approach to a woman is supposed to be a marriage proposal made by his parents to her parents. Bluetooth is a feature built into some mobile phones which enables the user to transfer data to another wireless device nearby. But crucially, it also enables one person to contact another within a 10 metre radius without knowing their phone number. Ahmed Bin Desmal's friends joke that he is a "Bluetooth king". The 20-year-old says he has used the technology to send notes to girls he sees in public places. "In our country it's very rude to go up and talk to them," he says. "I sent some notes, they liked them – they took my number and they called me. I say nice things – I'm into poems." Saud, 22, met the girl he describes as his girlfriend two years ago on the internet, through instant messaging software. Although they talk on the phone, he has seen her only five or six times, by following her from a distance as she shops with her family in a mall. He says she's beautiful. FULL ARTICLE @ BBC NEWS
Mark Brooks: A very different world. Over here we have AdultFriendFinder in stark contrast.
Speed dating! Women One Up on Men
TIMES NEWS NETWORK — JULY 26 — The time, place and reason are all just right. Leather couches, candle-lit ambience and a rainy weather on a Sunday evening, just the perfect time for romance and that is what the 30-odd people present here at a speeddating soiree are looking for! Well, for the guys attending, it’s great. As one of the 13 participants puts it, “You get the chance to meet 15 beautiful women in one night.” As for the girls? It’s not for nothing that they say girls just wanna have fun! We spot a group of four young 20-something enthusiasts who are all here, ‘just to have some fun!’ And a stray comment among those around: “Women are much more adventurous than men!” You bet! Girl:Hi! Guy: Hi! I am Manoj Girl: Hi! Manoj, I am Kiran. What do you do? Guy: Actually, I have come down from Dubai for a friend’s wedding. So, I am here for fun. (And the conversation carries on) BTW, we think this one has worked out. FULL ARTICLE @ TIMES OF INDIA
Mark Brooks: Speed dating is alive and well and working it’s way around the globe.