Category: Courtland Brooks Press

Online Dating is Split Over the Bill

Posted on May 1, 2005

Miami_heraldMIAMI HERALD — Apr 27 — Love is supposed to steal your heart not your car. The background checks bill passed the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee Tuesday but still must be scheduled for a floor vote in the waning days of the session. Although True.com has pushed similar legislation in six other states, no other bill has made it this far.  ''I've got complete confidence that True is going to run this thing through,'' said Mark Brooks, the editor of Online Personal Watch, who has been monitoring the bill's progress.  "But the industry certainly doesn't like the idea that it's being rammed down their throats."  While True.com says it's simply trying to make online dating safer, critics accuse the newcomer, which has 3 million members, of using the legislation to stake out more turf in a crowded and lucrative industry.  Said Kristin Kelly, senior director of PR at Match.com.  "It's bad for the industry because it continues to promote a stigma that's not accurate.''  True's CEO Herb Vest said, "we don't want criminals and married people preying on our members.  There are close to 70 million singles out there that are not using online dating sites right now. If we can let them know that, as an industry, we care about their safety then we're all going to grow at a prodigious rate.''  The Florida DOC database hasn't been updated since August of last year and Rapsheets only searches 15 of the state's 67 counties.  Two Miami online dating sites — Webdate and Date.com — said they will be offering their clients background checks, regardless of the bill's outcome.  ''I think background checks are a relatively good idea, if done properly,'' said Webdate COO Abe Smilowitz.

Mark Brooks: True is leaning on the Florida bill with all it's might, connections and savvy.  The session ends Friday 6th May.  Watch this space!  I'll keep you posted.

Niche Dating Sites Allow Special-interest Singles to Find Each Other

Posted on April 5, 2005

ARIZONA TRIBUNE — Apr 5 — The online personals industry is experiencing "The Big Squeeze." Mark Brooks, an online personals industry analyst and editor of Onlinepersonalswatch.com, says hundreds of small dating sites have emerged in the past five years. They are now competing for advertising dollars with the big guys like Match.com. But lower profits don’t mean the online dating bubble is about to burst, says Brooks. "It’s actually quite the opposite in some ways. Online (dating) is as solid as ever. It’s no longer cheesy and it’s no longer sneered at."  Brooks estimates there are about 900 Internet dating sites, and he claims that more people than ever are signing up.  Niches are the growing trend among these smaller start-ups. "There’s really something for everybody."  People who enjoy hiphop can find love on Hiphopsinglesconnection.com and (young) women looking for generous men to shower them with gifts may find success at Sugardaddyz.com. There are also companies that cater to "varying levels of singleness."  People looking for a spouse may have the best chance on eHarmony. The site is known to include members who are motivated and serious about ending their singlehood, says Brooks. On the other hand, Friendster.com helps individuals create a social network and don’t necessarily aim to make love connections. "They do a good job of modeling the real world."  FULL ARTICLE @ EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE

Mark Brooks: I recommend some of the niche sites such as ChristianCafe.com, DateMyPet and SeniorFriendFinder.  Never heard of Hiphopsinglesconnection and Sugardaddyz though.  They look like intriguing, but have no traffic (according to www.alexa.com) and probably just a handful of members.

Love Growing Strong On Web

Posted on February 14, 2005

USA TODAY — Feb 14 — The industry has grown so fast that Hitwise foresees a shakeout. Says Mark Brooks, who runs Online Personals Watch, "I think we're moving into the first stages of maturity."  So companies are trying, like the most desperate bachelor in the bar, to stand out. Those who market love on the Internet are increasingly wooing customers by giving personality and compatibility tests.  For the strongest players, the cyberspace dating game remains lucrative. In December, for instance, eHarmony attracted $110 million from two venture-capital firms. "What kind of metrics must eHarmony have shown the VCs to get $110 million?" asks Brooks.  JupiterResearch says online-dating revenue hit $473 million in 2004, up from $396 million in 2003. <On background checks>…"That's a solution looking for a problem," complains Jim Safka, the new CEO of rival Match.com. But some competitors grudgingly admire the marketing strategy. "It was brilliant," says Nelson Rodriguez, CEO of LoveAccess.com. "You try to legislate into law your business model."  True's CEO Herb Vest warns: "If a person is married or a criminal, they best go somewhere else." True says it intends to prosecute married people who masquerade as singles.  "We don't think of ourselves as an online-dating service," says Greg Forgatch, CEO of eHarmony. "We're all about helping people get married and get married well."  Yahoo has launched Personals Premier, a $35-a-month service with advanced searching and matchmaking and a personality test. IMatchup.com has unveiled a handwriting-analysis feature.  Niche sites proliferate.  "I'm not promoting Cupid.com anymore; I'm pitching DesMoines.Cupid.com," says Cupid.com CEO Eric Straus. 

Love Blossoms on the Internet

Posted on January 20, 2005

Webdate_abe_smilowitzMIAMI HERALD — Jan 20 — Since Miami Beach-based Webdate started offering a free online dating service two years ago, some 2.8 million love-seekers have signed up. The company's traffic surged 800% in 2004, compared to 17% for the online personals industry as a whole. with 8,000 to 10,000 new users signing up daily, Webdate has the fastest-growing black book in the industry.  There are almost 850 online dating services worldwide. Giving away service has put Webdate on the charts with the likes of Match.com and Yahoo Personals.  On Jan. 19 for example, the firm announced it would expand its mobile dating service by March to cover 80% of all data-ready cell phones.  "Webdate MobileT" allows clients to use their handsets to search for potential dates, download profiles and initiate text messages and anonymous phone calls.  "You don't have to be in front of your computer to be online dating anymore," Smilowitz said. Since its launch in December, some 40,000 users have subscribed to the mobile service at $2.99 per month.  At his new South Beach office, Smilowitz spins his monitor around to show off another high-tech feature: live video chat.  On the screen is the small image of a user in Indonesia, busy typing away at her computer.  "We've all heard the horror stories about chatting with someone online and they have a great picture, but then you meet them and you realize it wasn't them at all, or that the picture they were using is 20 years old," said Smilowitz, 30. "With this, people get the chance to hear the other person's voice and see their face from the comfort and safety of their own home."  But the market is getting more crowded and fragmented.  ''There are increasingly more sites aimed at seniors — it is definitely catching on with the older set — and just about every other demographic you could think of,'' said Mark Brooks, the publisher of Online Personals Watch.