Category: Cyber-Dating Expert (Julie Spira)

Finding The Right Online Dating Service

Posted on February 14, 2010

Online dating zavinac a srdicka LA TIMES – Feb 14 – Piper Jaffray Investment Research predicted U.S. spending on online dating would reach $1.7 billion annually by 2013, and $1.2 billion was spent in 2008. The Internet is essentially the world's largest bar, explains Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch. The first step is figuring out which nightspot is for you: There are those with no cover charges, PlentyofFish and OKCupid, and hookup spots Fling.com and OnlineBootyCall.com. There are "theme nights" geared toward particular interests, such as BikerPlanet.com, and "neighborhood watering holes" based on religion or culture, such as JDate or AsiaFriendFinder. There's comfort in name recognition from eHarmony and Match. Or get a yenta through eLove.com.

"One of our more popular sites as of late is DateaCougar.com," says Stephen Ventura, VP of First Beat Media, which owns GothScene.com, BikerPlanet.com, FitnessDates.com and others.  Want a dash of romance with your social networking? Brooks says to look to Zoosk. It syncs with a users' Facebook's profile page. Spark's Kizmeet is attempting something similar. Still, Brooks says it's unlikely that social networking sites will kill the online dating market. "If people are anonymous, people tend to be more aggressive and more outspoken," he says. "On an Internet dating site, if you want to cut somebody off, you can easily. When you're on a social network, you have to be [polite] because their friends are watching."

Match.com's mobile members alone grew 250% from 2008 to 2009, says Whitney Casey, Match's relationship expert. Industry experts Brooks and CyberDatingExpert.com's, Julie Spira also praise GPS-based mobile applications like Skout and Foursquare. "I'm looking forward to people using Internet dating on the iPad," Brooks adds. "You can look up a profile very easily on that format. The iPhone is still a phone." Spira says to look to webcam dating sites, Speeddate.com or WooMe.com. Hitwise reports that visits to free dating sites like PlentyofFish rose 19% over the previous year.
FULL ARTICLE @ LA TIMES

See all posts on PlentyofFish              See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on OkCupid                    See all posts on DateaCougar
See all posts on Fling                         See all posts on Zoosk
See all posts on OnlineBootyCall         See all posts on SpeedDate
See all posts on JDate                        See all posts on WooMe
See all posts on eHarmony                 See all posts on Spark Networks
See all posts on eLove

How No. 1 Dating Site Match.com Came to Be

Posted on February 13, 2010

Match logo newFOX BUSINESS – Feb 11 –  “Valentine's Day is our Super Bowl,” said Amy Canaday, public relations director for Match.com. “It is the Christmas of the dating industry,” said Eric Resnick, of Courtland Brooks, a boutique marketing firm catering to the online dating industry. "It is one of the most emotional days for singles and couples alike,” said Julie Spira, author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating. Match.com is one of the oldest of the roughly 1,500 dating sites in the U.S/ Industry. Observers say its chief competitor is plentyoffish.com, a free dating site with a membership base comparable to Match. The CourtlandBrooks site, OnlinePersonalsWatch.com, reported on Hitwise’s ranking of U.S.-dating-site visits. As of Oct '09, PlentyofFish was tops, followed in order by Match, Singlesnet, Yahoo Personals, DateHookup and eHarmony. "Match established itself as a market leader long ago", Resnick said. "But staying on top can always be as challenging as getting there." “Mobile, mobile, mobile,” said cyber-dating expert Spira when asked about the latest trends in online dating. Experts at the iDate 2010 Internet dating conference held in Miami last month pegged mobile online dating as a $550M-annual-revenue ringer industrywide, with the potential to double. “We have found that mobile users are twice as engaged as those on laptops or desktops,” said Mandy Ginsberg, Match.com' general manager. FULL ARTICLE @ FOX BUSINESS

See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on PlentyofFish

Julie Spira Is Joining Lovetropolis’ Team Of Online Dating Experts

Posted on February 12, 2010

Lovetropolis julie spira picture OFFICIAL WIRE – Feb 11 - Julie Spira will be contributing to Lovetropolis.com’s featured expert series. Julie Spira, known as The Cyber Dating Expert, is a popular online dating observer and commentator. She is also the bestselling author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Julie Spira’s signature advice will be available to Lovetropolis.com members in featured and archived articles on her expert page.

The full article was originally published at Official Wire, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Lovetropolis

Five Must Reads For Women This Season

Posted on February 2, 2010

Open book JMAG – Jan 21 –

– Choosing ME before WE: Christine
Arylo, takes a very personal heart-breaking experience and turns it
into an uplifting three-part empowerment guide for single women.

– If He’s Not the One, Who Is? Lisa Steadman is
back with the perfect sequel to her first book, It’s A Break Up, Not a
Breakdown. This time, she challenges the newly single to examine failed
relationships and learn from their mistakes.
– The Prince Harming Syndrome: In a clever and witty manner, author
Karen Salmonsohn combines the ancient Greek philosophy of Aristotle
with modern therapy tactics to redefine our approach to successful
relationships.
– Boys Before Business: The Single Girl’s Guide to Having it All:  Jennifer S. Wilkov
and Kimberly A. Mylls reinforce the message that single ladies can be
successful on all fronts without sacrificing your sense of self.
– The Perils of Cyber Dating: Julie Spira imparts cyber-dating savoir faire,
interspersed with her outrageously hilarious virtual experiences.
FULL ARTICLE @ JMAG

The Perils Of Cyber-Dating – Amazon Bestseller

Posted on February 16, 2009
ThePerilsofCyber-DatingCover
PR WEB — Feb 15 – Cyber-dating expert,
author and radio host Julie Spira's new book The Perils of
Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online
reached bestseller status on Amazon.com today. Spira's romantic
tell-all memoir is like "Sex and the City" in a Web 2.0 world. Over the
last 15 years Spira has been on over 250 online dates and received
several marriage proposals. FULL ARTICLE @ PR WEB

Mark Brooks: It's currently…
  #4 in   Books > Entertainment > Humor > Computers & Internet
#14 in   Books > Parenting & Families > Humor

Julie Spira, Cyber Dating Expert And Author

Posted on February 14, 2009

ThePerilsofCyber-DatingCoverOPW INTERVIEW — Feb 14 — Julie Spira is a cyber dating expert and has a book coming out on February 13th which is called The Perils of Cyber Dating – Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking For Love Online.

Why are you a cyber dating expert?
I was on the Internet before most people even knew there was an Internet or even had an email address. I first started on Love@AOL in 1994 when I was the first one on my block to put up an online dating profile. Since then, I went on over 250 dates and received four marriage proposals, which included one husband and one fiancé. Suddenly I became an expert at cyber-dating and was instructing my friends on how to successfully put up their profiles.

What inspired you to write the book?
I wrote The Perils of Cyber-Dating because I felt I had compelling stories to share with other online daters. I wanted to encourage singles of all ages with an email address to join an online dating service. I had to start my life all over again and I believed that I could make a difference in the lives of others by sharing my real life stories in cyberspace. The stories are humorous,  witty, and very relatable.

Are you a fan of online dating?
I am absolutely a fan of online dating. Though I had some perilous and heartbreaking stories; I had some heartwarming stories as well. I’ve always embraced the Internet and was an early adopter.  I think the Internet is a fabulous way to meet someone online. Most people suffer through a few bad dates or event a heartbreak like I did from online dating, but it shouldn’t discourage them from trying to go back online again.

What do you love about Internet dating?
What I love the most about it is that it’s so instantaneous. I live a very busy life and as a busy professional, I don’t have a lot of extra time. The Internet is available 24/7 which made it very easy to connect online.

What advice are you giving in the book to people who are considering Internet dating or how can they do better with the services they use?
I have my Rules of “netiquette” in the book and hope to teach people to see the red flags from my personal experiences. I believe that finding the right partner online is like finding a piece of real estate. If it’s marketed well, both in real estate and on your online dating profile, you will get a lot of activity and hopefully a match will be made. It’s very important to have a profile with good photos.  Recently I had my profile photos taken by LookBetterOnline.com and as a result the response rate to my cyber-dating profile has tripled.

So what do they do differently? What kind of photographs did you use in the past?
My profile photo was actually fine but a few years old.  With a professional photographer, they were able to capture my image with excellent lighting. It is important to stand out in the huge sea of online dating profiles.  I believe that your first photo should be a headshot and fairly recent.

Do you encourage people to put up photographs in general?
Absolutely! Photographs, videos, anything interactive will get noticed.  Men are very visual. Either they will like what they see or they won’t. They will pass over the profiles without a photo.

What do you think is most important for guys as they’re looking over profiles?
Men scan through the bouquet of photos and often don’t take the time to ready the profiles.  They need to realize that a woman can get hundreds of emails from men, especially when their profile is brand new. If a man writes something personal to a woman mentioning something specific in her profile, he will have a greater chance of receiving a response.  You’d be surprised at how many men “copy and paste” the same introduction letter to the same fifty women.  Women have figured this out, and tend to ignore generic emails from men.

Do you talk about various Internet dating sites within the book? The different characteristics of the different sites?
I do mention the sites that I was on in a specific story line or chapter.  My book is more of a personal tell-all memoir and romantic journey with my personal Rules of “Netiquette” and stories of those who broke those rules. I married a man who I met on Matchmaker.com and was engaged to a man I met on JDate.

What sites do you personally prefer?
For me it really depends on the season. I have been on probably over 10 sites in the course of 15 years.  I was quite successful at meeting quality men on JDate and Match.com. For those who are just starting out, they may want to try Plenty of Fish as it is free and easy to use. There is something for everyone now and if you are looking for a serious relationship, you should join a site that caters to that crowd. If you are looking to “hook up” there are plenty of sites for those singles as well.

Cyber-Dating Expert

Posted on February 11, 2009

Julie spira interview PIX MORNING NEWS — Feb 11 — Dating expert Julie Spira has gone on over 250 dates from dating websites, leading to four marriage proposals, one husband and one fiance. Julie  has a book coming out on February 13th which is called The Perils of Cyber Dating – Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking For Love Online.