CNET NEWS — Feb 18 — Worldwide there are more then 1400 internet dating sites. Given the market saturation online dating consultant Mark Brooks says newer sites are forced to innovate both in concept and technology. Want your avatar to meet mine? Try out OmniDate.com or let's find out if our voices are compatible. Log onto LoveDetect.com. Another one of those alternate dating sites is CrazyBlindDate.com. Prior to the date you only get to see a pixilated photo of your match and you can only communicate by texting through the site's cupid line. Unlike more established dating sites, webcam sites like SpeedDate.com, Woome.com and Camlink.com require very little personal information to get started. As long as people are out there looking for love there will be a website to cater to their needs, desires, fantasies and fetishes.
Category: CrazyBlindDate
CrazyBlindDate In L.A., Chicago, D.C.
BUSINESS WIRE — Feb 11 — Singles in Los Angeles, Chicago and the Washington, D.C. metro area have their chance to join the growing CrazyBlindDate.com. Already in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Austin, CrazyBlindDate.com is the only online dating site that encourages singles to get off their computers and into real, live dates. CrazyBlindDate.com, first launched in November 2007. FULL ARTICLE @ BUSINESS WIRE
The Hottest Trends In Online Dating
NETWORK WORLD — Feb 7 — No one knows online dating better than Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com. Brooks is a modern-day Cyrano — he's a consultant to many of the Web's largest online dating sites as well as traditional matchmaking services. Network World interviewed Brooks about the hottest trends in online dating.
Q:How many online dating services are there?
MB: Hitwise has estimated there are 800-plus. I think that's about right for the U.S. A lot of them are affiliate sites that are driving traffic to the main dating sites.
Q: How has online dating affected traditional matchmaking services?
MB: Internet dating has warmed an entire generation of users to the prospect of getting help in dating and paying for that help.
Q: What new technologies are you are seeing in online dating?
MB: One of the biggest innovations is avatar-based instant messaging. One site that's pioneering the use of avatars is OmniDate.com. Another emerging technology is iovation, which helps online dating sites battle fraud. With iovation's Reputation Manager, one dating site can flag a person as abusive and throw them out and then let other sites in the online dating community know about it.
Q: How has online dating technology changed in recent years?
MB: Actually, online dating is in about the same place that it has been in for the last three years. One of the things I'd like to see is more technology being applied to personality profiling. In this area there are four companies worth mentioning: Perfectmatch.com; eHarmony.com; Chemistry.com; and True.com.
Q: Have social networkings like Facebook and MySpace cut into online dating traffic?
MB: The numbers show that less people are coming to Internet dating sites. According to ComScore the number of people who came to Internet dating sites in December 2007 was down 10% over the prior year. But I don't think it's the end of online dating. I think the lookilous have gone away.
Q:What are the hottest trends in online dating?
MB: One is the rise in Baby Boomers and also rise of free dating sites, such as Plentyoffish.com, DateHookup.com, OkCupid.com, Matchdoctor.com, Bookofmatches.com, Smooch.com and CrazyBlindDate.com.
Q: What do you see as the future of online dating?
MB: It's difficult to enter the market and be a large generic dating site at this stage. The only thing you can build today is a niche dating site, and even niches are hard to build. That's why we're seeing the rise of a bunch of companies that offer white-label dating services. One of these companies is Whitelabeldating.com.
Dates On Demand
BOSTON GLOBE — Jan 15 — We are in an era when you can get anything as soon as you want it, including soul mates. A new online dating service, called Crazy Blind Date, invites users to sign up for same-day service, matching them with dates in a matter of hours. Unlike most Internet dating services, Crazy Blind Date is about immediacy, not compatibility. Users register on the site and list the times and places they want to meet a date. Once a user submits a request, Crazy Blind Date arranges a meeting. Within a few hours, users are e-mailed the specifics of their date: a place, a time, and – for dramatic effect – a blurred photo of the other person. As of now, the service – which is free – operates in Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Austin, Texas. FULL ARTICLE @ BOSTON GLOBE