Reuters — In October, eHarmony had 3.2 million uniques and was the fifth most-visited online dating site behind such providers as Yahoo Personals, which had 6.2 million uniques, and the Match.com, which had almost 5.5 million uniques, according to comScore Media Metrix.
Category: eHarmony
eHarmony and Friendster Launch Online Personals Matching System
BUSINESS WIRE — Nov. 30 –Friendster and eHarmony announced an exclusive partnership. The companies will jointly launch a co-branded matching service that will combine eHarmony’s patented Compatibility Matching System(TM) with Friendster’s vibrant 13-million member community to help Friendster members find love and long-term relationships.
Mark Brooks: So that’s how Friendster will make money! Nice move. Friendster gets a cut of eHarmony’s premium membership revenues without alienating their avid userbase. Still, MySpace has an even more avid, but slightly younger userbase. I wonder who they’re talking to?
The Cost of Finding Love
BANKRATE.COM — For $24.95 a month, $44.85 for 3-months or $65.70 for 6-months, you can have access to Match.com; nearly 1 million subscribers. For $1 a minute you can talk with an expert to get advice on Match.com dating. For $40 you can get help writing that all-important Match.com profile. eHarmony's services cost $49.95 for a one-month subscription, $99.95 for 3-months, $149.95 for six-months and $249.95 for a year. Great Expectations fees average $3,000 and up. Matchmakers fees can be astronomical, sometimes topping $25,000 and up.
Gannett and eHarmony Partner
MCLEAN, Va. & PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE) — Nov. 15, 2004 — Gannett Co., Inc., a leading international news and information company, and eHarmony, the Internet’s premier relationship service, today announced a partnership to launch branded online personals for USA TODAY and Gannett’s daily newspapers.
eHarmony Presents New CD Series
BUSINESS WIRE –Oct 26 — eHarmony today introduced a CD series for singles, Finding the Love of your Life. eHarmony developed the product as a means to self-awareness and preparation for healthy, long-term relationships. 12 CDs each contain 60 minutes of guidance and insight on the most important areas of mate selection, with accompanying online self-assessments that help to pinpoint strengths, weaknesses and attractiveness to the opposite sex.
eHarmony Grows; New State-of-the-Art Call Center
PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 4, 2004–eHarmony is continuing to expand operations with a focus on superior customer service. Since October 2003, the number of eHarmony employees has nearly tripled. eHarmony call centers currently handle over 100,000 customer inquiries each month by phone, email and live chat, and the company projects the number of "customer care" representatives alone to grow by 25 percent by the end of 2004. ALTAVISTA
Dubious of Online Dating; Teens
ADN–…The core theme of any serious Internet matchmaking service is its personality test. These tests have widespread use today and not just for finding love. Sites are popping up everywhere for this very purpose. eHarmony.com claims to have a higher match-to-marriage rate than any other dating Web site and displays happily wed couples at every click of the button, though it is the same handful of couples over and over again. All of these sites are meant for the use of those who are 18 or older.
eHarmony Announces Dream Date Contest Winners
PASADENA, CA, Sept. 13, 2004 — eHarmony today announced the winner of its 2004 Dream Date Contest. The annual contest gives couples matched through its service the opportunity to win a luxury dream date by sharing their personal eHarmony "story of romance.
eHarmony Celebrates Four-Year Anniversary
PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 30, 2004–eHarmony, the Internet’s premier relationship service, marks its fourth anniversary, having grown to more than 5 million users, with over 6,000 marriages and hundreds of thousands of relationships…"It’s interesting to observe how the industry is now seeing what I have known all along: that mate selection is a very complex process," said eHarmony’s founder, Dr Neil Clark Warren.
Online Dating’s Creep Factor
Tues August 24, Motley Fool — MatchNet’s recent IPO filing hinted at what I have suspected for some time: Online dating, once viewed as the realm for losers and geeks, has become a regular part of Internet social life…Increased transience and demanding schedules make it hard for singles, and the bar scene gets old. Moderns get married later, leaving lots of time for dating around. Last, our woefully high U.S. divorce rate leaves many re-released into the field…Two out of five singles have tried it…MatchNet would have been the first publicly traded online dating pure play in the U.S…Since 1999, MatchNet’s sales have grown 460% to $36.9 million…InterActive is planning its own foray into social networking…There seems to be demand for complex psychological profiles — enter eHarmony and True.com…It’s likely perceived that people will pay more for real "matching," which eHarmony and True both claim to provide. Hold your criticism: many users probably feel the higher prices insinuate users who are more serious about "real relationships." So, if MatchNet decides to revive its scuttled IPO filing later — or if the other privately held contenders decide to go public themselves — my advice would be: Look out, investors; when it comes to this industry, you may have to kiss a lot of toads.