Category: Engage

Engage.com Connects Daters with Matchmakers

Posted on April 9, 2007

EngageMERCURY NEWS — Apr 9 — Engage.com (free, 200k members) is founded on the premise that online dating needs to be more like offline dating. Members are encouraged to seek out matchmakers who have volunteered to act as yentas…and invite friends to join and to vouch for them. The site's old-fashioned approach to courtship is one answer to the disappointment reported by online daters. A 2005 JupiterResearch survey found one in three online daters as "somewhat satisfied." Mark Brooks, editor of Onlinepersonalswatch.com and an Internet dating consultant, said Engage addresses one weakness of the most popular dating sites, the ability to involve one's friends in a budding romance. Brooks said the chance of hooking up with a friend of a friend is one of the keys to the success of social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook. People can avoid the awkwardness of actually declaring they are single, but don't want to be. "I love what they are doing, but it's going to take them awhile to be successful," Brooks said. Some of Engage's features are specifically designed to turn off would-be "players" who populate other sites. For example, Engage encourages its members to rate one another on "responsiveness," "politeness" and whether a person is "true" to his or her profile. Mike Murrow has been chronicling his online dating misadventures and said Engage's matchmaker process sounded good but required friends who were extremely committed. "My friends have their own lives; they are not going to scan through the profiles." FULL ARTICLE @ MERCURY NEWS

Mark Brooks: I think the industry is doing a better job of setting expectations these days. Online dating takes time. The matchmaking industry is doing well because many people don't want to spend time. They just want dates, and they'll pay for them. There's an opportunity in there somewhere. 😉 The clever people at Match are working to meld the yenta and online dating worlds together, but I think it will be a little tougher than they think. I think Match will need to offer a money back guarantee to safeguard their brand, and encourage word-of-mouth, and compete with $3000+ services like Great Expectations, Together Dating/The Right One, and Table For Six.

Engage.com Connects Daters with Matchmakers

Posted on April 9, 2007

EngageMERCURY NEWS — Apr 9 — Engage.com (free, 200k members) is founded on the premise that online dating needs to be more like offline dating. Members are encouraged to seek out matchmakers who have volunteered to act as yentas…and invite friends to join and to vouch for them. The site's old-fashioned approach to courtship is one answer to the disappointment reported by online daters. A 2005 JupiterResearch survey found one in three online daters as "somewhat satisfied." Mark Brooks, editor of Onlinepersonalswatch.com and an Internet dating consultant, said Engage addresses one weakness of the most popular dating sites, the ability to involve one's friends in a budding romance. Brooks said the chance of hooking up with a friend of a friend is one of the keys to the success of social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook. People can avoid the awkwardness of actually declaring they are single, but don't want to be. "I love what they are doing, but it's going to take them awhile to be successful," Brooks said. Some of Engage's features are specifically designed to turn off would-be "players" who populate other sites. For example, Engage encourages its members to rate one another on "responsiveness," "politeness" and whether a person is "true" to his or her profile. Mike Murrow has been chronicling his online dating misadventures and said Engage's matchmaker process sounded good but required friends who were extremely committed. "My friends have their own lives; they are not going to scan through the profiles." FULL ARTICLE @ MERCURY NEWS

Mark Brooks: I think the industry is doing a better job of setting expectations these days. Online dating takes time. The matchmaking industry is doing well because many people don't want to spend time. They just want dates, and they'll pay for them. There's an opportunity in there somewhere. 😉 The clever people at Match are working to meld the yenta and online dating worlds together, but I think it will be a little tougher than they think. I think Match will need to offer a money back guarantee to safeguard their brand, and encourage word-of-mouth, and compete with $3000+ services like Great Expectations, Together Dating/The Right One, and Table For Six.

Oodle Report

Posted on March 28, 2007

OodlelogoPRESS RELEASE — Mar 28 — A look at more than 1.4 million singles on Oodle.com showed that 60% of singles do not reveal whether they have or want children and 55% do not specify if they smoke.  For fear that they will appear less desirable! However, data from a recent survey on Engage.com proves this theory wrong. In fact, 88% of those surveyed said they were open to the idea of dating people with children and 63% would consider dating smokers. Mom was right…"honesty is the best policy." Oodle also found Chicago, Boston, and Miami are the best bets for Catholic singles while Miami, New York and L.A. are best for finding Jewish mates. If you don't drink or smoke, the best place to find a mate is Salt Lake City. More than half the over 40 online dating population has been married before.

Mark Brooks: Oodle aggregates profiles from the likes of Engage.com, PlentyofFish and others. Sites can pay to have their profiles featured in order to get more click throughs. Lycos tried something similar a couple of years back but the program failed because it required sites to send a flat file, and pay on a cost per reg basis…and Lycos just didn't send enough leads to be that worthwhile in the end.

Oodle Report

Posted on March 28, 2007

OodlelogoPRESS RELEASE — Mar 28 — A look at more than 1.4 million singles on Oodle.com showed that 60% of singles do not reveal whether they have or want children and 55% do not specify if they smoke.  For fear that they will appear less desirable! However, data from a recent survey on Engage.com proves this theory wrong. In fact, 88% of those surveyed said they were open to the idea of dating people with children and 63% would consider dating smokers. Mom was right…"honesty is the best policy." Oodle also found Chicago, Boston, and Miami are the best bets for Catholic singles while Miami, New York and L.A. are best for finding Jewish mates. If you don't drink or smoke, the best place to find a mate is Salt Lake City. More than half the over 40 online dating population has been married before.

Mark Brooks: Oodle aggregates profiles from the likes of Engage.com, PlentyofFish and others. Sites can pay to have their profiles featured in order to get more click throughs. Lycos tried something similar a couple of years back but the program failed because it required sites to send a flat file, and pay on a cost per reg basis…and Lycos just didn't send enough leads to be that worthwhile in the end.

Cupid Deserves More Respect

Posted on January 23, 2006

Cupidcom_1PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE REVIEW — Jan 22 — Engage.com allows members' friends and family to log on and act as matchmakers. Trish McDermott (formerly VP Romance at Match.com) calls it "intervention dating." Cupid.com, founded in 2001, acquired Predating, the nation's largest speed-dating company, in 2004. They triangulate their online dating service with radio promotions in more than 100 local markets and coordinate speed-dating events.  "Our view is that dating is very much a local business," says Eric Strauss, CEO. "eHarmony is great for matching somebody up with you, but if you're in Pittsburgh and they're in L.A., what good is that?"

The full article was originally published at Pittsburgh Tribune Review, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: Cupid.com/PreDating will attempt the world record for the largest simultaneous speed-dating on Feb 8th

A Guide to Dating Sites for Niche Interests

Posted on November 1, 2005

SEATTLE TIMES — Oct 30 — There are the shopping-mall dating sites (Match.com, Yahoo! Personals), then there are the boutiques. JDate.com; Jewish singles community. Engage.com; a social networking site where your friends set you up.  DateMyPet.com; hookup for yourself and your pet.  Teamdating.com; girl-friends join to meet guy-friends go out in a group.  Fitsingles.com; for people who like to run, hike, kayak, cycle and do pull-ups in doorways.  DegreeDate.com; for the educated. SingleParentMeet.com & SingleParentsMingle.com; first you've got to impress your date – then your date's kids.  Chemistry.com; uses an eHarmony-style compatibility test – rejection can take weeks instead of minutes. SpiritSingles.com; new-age site where spiritual integrity trumps the shallow pursuit for hot babes. Riiigghhht.

The full article was originally published at Seattle Times, but is no longer available.

Defensive Dating

Posted on July 19, 2005

ABC NEWS — July 14 — Technology is here to help you distinguish potential soulmates from future cellmates.  Nearly one out of every two unmarried people have tried Internet dating in recent years, turning it into a $1 billion business. True.com performs criminal background checks and warns that "married people will be prosecuted." eLove.com, requires new members undergo face-to-face screenings at which officials verify pictures.  Cheaters are more than welcome at AshleyMadison.com.  MyPrivateLine.com provides an untraceable, toll-free phone number that you can set up in minutes for 15 cents a minute.  Engage.com is carving out a role for friends and family. 

The full article was originally published at ABC News, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: True's 'married people will be prosecuted' insignia is brilliant.  I wonder how many Marrieds the background checks catch?