Category: Courtland Brooks Press

Single Shot: How To Be A Cheap Date

Posted on October 10, 2008

Cheapdate_seattle_pi_article SEATLE PI — Oct 10 — Dating in the New Improved Depression means learning to make do with the simple things in life, the things we've been blathering about for 30 years: long walks on the beach, snuggling in front of a fire and enjoying The Sunday New York Times. Free personal sites are one of the hottest new trends in online dating, according to Mark Brooks, editor of Onlinepersonalswatch.com. The top three contenders, as ranked by Hitwise, are Plentyoffish, DateHookup and OkCupid, but there are many more, including HOT or NOT, Webdate, Matchdoctor, Bookofmatches and Smooch.

The full article was originally published at Seattle PI, but is no longer available.

See all posts on PlentyofFish    See all posts on Webdate
See all posts on DateHookup    See all posts on Matchdoctor
See all posts on OkCupid          See all posts on BookofMatches
See all posts on HotorNot         See all posts on Smooch

Dating Sites Hang On Despite Increasing Competition

Posted on September 23, 2008

Idate_logo_2008 IDG SERVICE — Sep 23 — Owners and companies running dating Web sites are meeting Monday and Tuesday at the Internet Dating Conference in London to discuss challenges in their industry. The top dating sites in the U.K. for June were PlentyofFish, followed by Meetic, Match.com, Gaydar.co.uk and GirlsDateForFree, according to comScore. In North America, the top sites in June were PlentyofFish, Singlesnet, eHarmony, Match.com and Yahoo Personals. The number of page views for dating sites are falling, and people are spending less time but revenues are growing. The main revenue model is subscription. Other dating sites are offering premium services used by traditional matchmaking companies. A site in China, Zhenai, charges $200 a year for access to its online site and team of match matchers who work with singles over the phone. That's far less than fees charged by traditional matchmakers, which can cost $5,000 or more a year, said Mark Brooks, who runs a consultancy focusing on social networks and dating sites. FreeDating.co.uk is free, and makes money by showing ads. It's the same model used by PlentyofFish, a relatively simple site that debuted in 2003 and has surged to the top spot in the U.S. and U.K. markets. FULL ARTICLE @ PC WORLD

See all posts on PlentyofFish                 See all posts on Singlesnet
See all posts on Meetic                          See all posts on eHarmony
See all posts on Match.com                    See all posts on Yahoo Personals
See all posts on Gaydar                         See all posts on Zhenai
See all posts on GirlsDateForFree

Psismic Matches People Over Things They Like

Posted on September 2, 2008

Psismic_logo TECH CRUNCH — Sep 2 — Psismic has a novel approach to internet dating. Rather than simply stating who you are, or taking a personality profile, Psismic lets users upload interesting pictures and videos, text posts and links. Then others indicate if they like what you've posted and the site serves up matches based on who likes the same items. The site is minimal in nature, well laid out and easy to navigate. There's really not a lot to it. The main page shows the all-important "Post Stream" which shows all the posts from other users. — author Mark Brooks FULL ARTICLE @ TECH CRUNCH 

Internet Dating Scams Can Get Expensive

Posted on July 28, 2008

Bu011836previewCONSUMER AFFAIRS — July 28 — Annette was lonely. eHarmony.com matched her with a building engineer who was working in Nigeria. Everything was fine until the customs agents in Nigeria confiscated his luggage with $45,000 in travelers' checks. His situation worsened and Annette had wiped out her life savings by wiring $36,300 to Nigeria to help him. Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com and a consultant for the industry, said every dating Web site has problems with scammers. "This is organized crime. They are targeting lots of different industries, but idating is one of them," Brooks said. "Many of these scammers work together to create enormous fraud rings and share data on how best to scam people", said Scott Olson, VP marketing for iovation, a company that tracks computers so that Web sites can block devices that have a history of being connected with fraud. eHarmony.com clearly states on its Web site that it does not perform background checks. Some Web sites do offer background checks, but Brooks agreed with Posell (eHarmony.com) that most background checks would be costly with little increase in safety. FULL ARTICLE @ CONSUMER AFFAIRS

Mark Brooks: Good background checks cost $100+. Background checks pulling data from online sources can cost as little as $3. iovation offers a solution which allows dating sites to work together to combat scammers, and works in the background. If you'd like to kick some scammer ass, look to iovation. I've helped them sign up numerous dating sites into their 'anti-scammer dating ring' including a top 3 dating site! Disclosure: iovation is an Online Personals Watch sponsor and a client of Courtland Brooks.

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As Seniors Live Longer, Their ‘Love Expectancy’ Grows

Posted on July 17, 2008

Old_couple MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS — July 16 — Seniors today are the fastest-growing users of Internet dating services and the fastest growing group of cohabiters. Longer healthy life expectancy is part of the explanation. According to Mark Brooks, a consultant who tracks the Internet-dating industry, the number of seniors joining online dating services has risen at double-digit rates annually since 2003, the most of any age group. But attitude changes are probably the biggest factor in the expanding social lives of seniors. Falling in love at an elderly age was seen as somewhere between unwise and dementia. 

FULL ARTICLE @ MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Niche Sites Making A Match Easier

Posted on July 3, 2008

Ave_maria_singles_logo SUN TIMES — July 3 — Forget eHarmony, Match.com or Yahoo Personals. Singles increasingly are turning to niche online dating sites promising to match couples with similar interests, backgrounds or religions. Mark Brooks, whose blog Online Personals Watch chronicles the Internet dating industry, estimates that niche sites now occupy approximately 43% of total market share. Brooks writes that while mainstream sites are stagnating, niche sites continue to grow. People looking to meet Trekkies or truckers can turn to the Passions Network, Sugardaddie.com bills itself as the place where the "classy, attractive and affluent meet", Ave Maria Singles offers a service for hard-line Catholics interested in sacramental marriage and Positivesingles.com is for people staying positive though they've tested positive — for sexually transmitted diseases.

The full article was originally published at Sun Times, but is no longer available.

See all posts on eHarmony
See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on Yahoo! Personals
See all posts on PassionsNetwork
See all posts on Suggardaddie
See all posts on Positivesingles

Online Dating’s New Face

Posted on June 26, 2008

Eyealike_logo_2 INTERNET NEWS — June 26 — Facial recognition technology could help the lovelorn find a better match. Eyealike offers facial recognition systems for enterprises customers and online dating and social network sites. The idea is, users will be able to upload an image, or even choose from a selection of celebrity faces, and click on screen levers to adjust that image to their personal tastes. Mark Brooks, a consultant to the online dating industry, said facial recognition is the latest in series of technical advances with more to follow. He notes the advent of online "speed dating" sites like WooMe and ratings sites like Hot or Not. There are also already sites like MyDouble if you want to just see what celebrities you most resemble and perhaps use that info in a dating profile. Brooks agrees, the facial recognition and editing is better-suited to would be casual daters. "A site like eHarmony is slow to let users share photographs because it's more about getting to know the other person," he said. "A lot of this is about trying to fix the real world which is broken. In the real world, you see pretty girls and hunky men on magazine covers who are largely unattainable." FULL ARTICLE @ INTERNET NEWS

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See all posts on WooMe
See all posts on eHarmony

Single, A Documentary Film

Posted on June 15, 2008

Gpf_presents_single OPW — June 15 — Here's my segment from the recently made documentary 'Single'. I talk about mobile dating, amongst other things. You can buy a copy at SingleFilm.com. It's been shown at various festivals so far and should end up on TV, hopefully PBS, at some stage. It could do with a few more sponsors. You can contact Jane if you're interested. – Mark Brooks

Can You Date Me Now?

Posted on June 13, 2008

Mobiledating STAR TELEGRAM — June 13 — According to a 2007 study by M:Metrics, 4m mobile users connected, in one month alone, to their preferred dating service. Setting up a mobile-dating account is fairly straightforward and is facilitated by such major carriers as AT&T Wireless, Nextel and Sprint. "The exciting thing about mobile dating today is that from that little screen of your everyday cellphone, you can finally do just about anything in today's dating world," says Mark Brooks, editor of onlinepersonalswatch.com. "It certainly makes for a far quicker, even nicer experience than just plain old texting." Fast Flirting offers, for an estimated $3 per month, the chance to mobile-meet in an online "lobby" where users can fire off as many text messages as possible in 10 minutes. Perhaps the most ambitious "location-based" mobile-dating site is Meet Moi, which has been in operation since March.

The full article was originally published at Star Telegram, but is no longer available.

OmniDate Helps Daters Find Real Love In A Virtual World

Posted on May 11, 2008

Omnidate_logoCHICAGO TRIBUNE — May 11 — Paula Weisz's favorite place to take her dates is the Millennium bar. For her dates, she doesn't get dressed up, doesn't put on makeup, and doesn't even need to leave the comfort of her living room sofa. Weisz is among the growing number of people who are exploring virtual dating. "The gap can be filled by this simulated world that's safe, virtual and fun," said Ravit Abelman, who, with her husband Igor Kotlyar, founded both the OmniDate.com beta (showcase) site and the OmniDate program. "People can move from the online world into the real world and not be strangers." Through OmniDate, users choose avatars, that will represent them on their dates. Virtual dates can include touring a museum gallery, going to a bar, listening to the user's choice of music or even going to the beach. In 2006, researchers at the MIT Media Lab found that people who interacted with each other in the virtual world through avatars had better chemistry in face-to-face meetings than people who had only viewed profiles. Many sites, such as Woome.com and Speeddate.com, are using video chatting to make the online dating experience more realistic. But for some daters, being on video may be intimidating.

The full article was originally published at Chicago Tribune, but is no longer available. Also in COLUMBIA NEWS, THE TORONTO STAR. 

Mark Brooks: Igor and Ravit have done a great job building a dating app that really gets daters more emotionally involved and connected. It's a lot more interesting than flat IM. OmniDate is a client of Courtland Brooks and sponsor OPW, btw. Let me know if you'd like a demo, or email Ravit directly.