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.
Category: eHarmony
eHarmony Matches Soul Mates Around the Globe
PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 27, 2004–…Since its inception in 2000, people from over 228 countries are being successfully matched…The top five member bases are in the U.S., Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria with smaller memberships found in far reaching countries such as Kenya, Brazil, Poland, Zimbabwe, and Israel…Four and a half million users.
eHarmony; Members Top ‘Must Haves’ and ‘Can’t Stands’
PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 19–When it comes to choosing desirable qualities, men and women have more in common than one would think…Laughter is key to a good relationship…Singles seek affection. Emotional health is key. All singles agree on what they don’t want: Characteristics such as lying, cheating, and infidelity.
True; Millions of Singles Could Be Using Flawed Compatibility Tests
DALLAS, PRNewswire — …The research, which will be presented this week at the iDate 2004 inaugural conference in Nice, France, set out to explore and analyze the psychometric reliability and validity of the testing methods used by such services as eHarmony, Match.com, PerfectMatch.com and Tickle.com, among others. With the sole exception of True, no online dating service makes available any independent verification for the scientific basis of its testing methodology, evidence of the success of its tests, or any other information which may be used to measure or evaluate the validity of the methods employed to determine compatibility among singles. In light of these findings, True believes that industry standards must be developed and implemented to ensure reliability and validity of online psychological tests, thereby protecting online dating services from challenges to the quality and accuracy of their assessments.
eHarmony’s Compatibility Matching Results in Happier Marriages
PASADENA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 15, 2004–…4,786 couples matched by the service have married to date. Last month, the company announced that it had received the first of its kind patent around its ability to predict long-term relationship satisfaction. Based on thirty years of research… At last month’s American Psychological Society’s annual convention in Chicago, eHarmony’s scientific team presented their findings that couples who were matched by eHarmony and have married are significantly happier than couples married for a similar length of time who met by other means.