Category: Lavalife

Lavalife ‘Click At A Flick’

Posted on October 19, 2006

Lavalife_logo_3CNW — Oct 19 — Lavalife, Fido and Cineplex Entertainment announced today a new partnership to expand the online dating experience with an innovative "offline" singles event series that will take place exclusively at Cineplex Entertainment theatres in select cities across Canada. "Click at a Flick." Featuring movie screenings in cities across Canada, launching in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. Single moviegoers simply buy a ticket for the featured movie and proceed to the designated Cineplex Entertainment auditorium where they can mingle and click with other singles before the lights go down.  Singles will also enjoy a series of hi-tech dating games powered by Fido, such as a text flirting game that allows singles to send messages across the theatre to other partygoers using their cell phones. Lavalife's open-minded approach to dating allows members to choose how they want to "click" with other singles by offering three unique communities: dating, relationships and intimate encounters.

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

Mark Brooks: Lavalife is especially strong in Canada and New York. PlentyofFish is stealing a lot of their market share and has taken #1 spot in Canada according to Alexa which lists PlentyofFish is the #22 site and Lavalife at #41 and AdultFriendFinder as #51 (probably largely due to this link on PlentyofFish. Lavalife ran a similar program with Loews cinema last year. I think it's  a GREAT idea. I'll say it again, singles don't want tens of hours of IM and communications online each week. They want dates. They want real world connections. The more dating sites focus on improving the number of quality, well matched dates their users can go on, the better they will do in the long run, and the more they will be able to charge.

Lavalife Launches Magazine

Posted on October 3, 2006

Lavalife_3CNW — Oct 2 — Lavalife Magazine charts dating, relationships, sex, life and style among urban singles, featuring regular lifestyle stories, advice columns, pop culture digressions and opinion pieces infused with humor and common sense. Editor, Kim Hughes is a widely published writer and editor whose work has appeared in NOW, The Globe & Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Report On Business, Salon, Amazon.com and Billboard. Features include "A History of Sex Toys," "Dating after the Death of a Partner" and "How to Avoid Dating a Jerk."

Mark Brooks: Adding compelling content to your dating site is a good move. Their are two methods.  1. Pay writers, 2. Encourage users to write. Match and Lavalife have gone with option 1.  FriendFinder and PlentyofFish have gone with option 2 in the form of a user contributed magazine where readers vote up the good articles, and in the case of PlentyofFish, user forums. 

Canada: Online Dating Convenience

Posted on October 2, 2006

Logo_plentyoffish_4TRICITY NEWS  — Oct 1 — With work and kids and soccer practices and doctor appointments, how and when do people find the time to connect with one another? It's hard and that's why internet dating sites such as Lavalife and plentyoffish are so popular with singles of all ages. "The internet dating thing is huge – it's almost like a candy store!" a user exclaims, noting she could converse with – even date – several men at once.

Comscore’s Canadian Internet Dating Rankings

Posted on September 28, 2006

Comscore_3 OPW — Sep 28 — The Canadian internet dating rankings are now in. Both Lavalife and PlentyofFish edge out further against their competition. Canoe ReseauContact and Mate1 move one spot to #3 and #4 as Spark reduces it's traffic and relegates to the #5 spot.  NETCLUB.FR and Yahoo Personals move up one spot in a similar fashion. LoveHappens reduces it's traffic and relegates itself down from #6 to #9. Match grows a little stronger and moves up into 10th spot. 

Dating Sites and Live Events

Posted on July 25, 2006

THE MIAMI HERALD — July 22 — A handful of online dating services — once the go-to places for finding that significant other — are realizing that the best way to meet is by actually — meeting. ''We use the Internet to get people off the Internet,'' says Myles Weissleder, VP, Meetup.com, (two million members). JDate and Lavalife have organized both casual and elaborate events. Kristin Kelly, Match.com's spokesperson, ''At the end of the day, you need to meet. Online dating is only efficient if you know when to meet. Hanging online is not what we want you to do,'' Kelly said. But Match.com does not organize offline events. ''We used to have a separate events business but it just wasn't profitable for us,'' Kelly said.

Mark Brooks: Events offer dating sites a double edged sword. If you run GREAT events, you'll get great word-of-mouth. People like to talk about what they've done on their evenings and weekends. However, the other side of the sword can cut deep. Run mediocre to poor events and the negative word of mouth can be crucifying. You can't run a dating events business half heartedly.

Ultimate List of Dating Industry Jobs

Posted on May 4, 2006

May 4 — I'm rolling the list of internet dating, social networking and business networking industry jobs links into a handy little list.  Please let me know if you have any new links for the list by emailing me at mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com.  Thanks.  – Mark

CommunityConnect
Cupid
Friendfinder
Friendster
Hi5
Lavalife
Match
Mate1
Meetup
MySpace
PerfectMatch
PlanetOut/Gay
Shaadi
Spark Networks
Webdate
Yahoo Personals

Hooking Up in the Information Age – Mobile dating

Posted on April 24, 2006

WebdatemobileWIRELESS WEEK — Apr 15 — In 2004 Webdate Mobile launched with U.S. Cellular. Several months later Match.com Mobile got on deck with Cingular Wireless and Sprint. Lavalife signed Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.  Webdate has since launched with Boost Mobile and Sprint Nextel and Webdate CEO Abe Smilowitz says he's pleased with the amount of revenue being generated.  Mark Brooks, editor of onlinepersonalswatch.com, estimates there are currently fewer than 1 million mobile daters, compared with 5 million users of mobile flirt applications. He draws a distinction between mobile dating applications – which typically feature photos, profiles and the ability to send messages back and forth – with simple social networking applications that let users flirt via texting. "Mobile dating applications are focused more on getting people together," Brooks says. "There's far higher adoption of chat, because it doesn't require much of an application. That's a very different animal than mobile dating." Most are available for a flat monthly rate of $4.99. Match.com spokeswoman Kristin Kelly says 42% of MatchMobile customers are 18 to 25 years old, 81% are between 18 and 35.  Webdate Mobile gives customers access to Webdate's database of 6 million profiles. "It's seamless. Mobile and online are virtually the same. That's been our approach and continues to be our approach," abe says. Osmak doesn't see much future for Bluetooth-enabled matchmaking, mainly because no billing systemis in place for such transactions.  And if having Bluetooth-enabled phones is the only thing the individuals have in common, what's the point? "The real value is in finding suitable people, not just people," says Brooks.

Hooking Up in the Information Age – Mobile dating

Posted on April 24, 2006

WebdatemobileWIRELESS WEEK — Apr 15 — In 2004 Webdate Mobile launched with U.S. Cellular. Several months later Match.com Mobile got on deck with Cingular Wireless and Sprint. Lavalife signed Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.  Webdate has since launched with Boost Mobile and Sprint Nextel and Webdate CEO Abe Smilowitz says he's pleased with the amount of revenue being generated.  Mark Brooks, editor of onlinepersonalswatch.com, estimates there are currently fewer than 1 million mobile daters, compared with 5 million users of mobile flirt applications. He draws a distinction between mobile dating applications – which typically feature photos, profiles and the ability to send messages back and forth – with simple social networking applications that let users flirt via texting. "Mobile dating applications are focused more on getting people together," Brooks says. "There's far higher adoption of chat, because it doesn't require much of an application. That's a very different animal than mobile dating." Most are available for a flat monthly rate of $4.99. Match.com spokeswoman Kristin Kelly says 42% of MatchMobile customers are 18 to 25 years old, 81% are between 18 and 35.  Webdate Mobile gives customers access to Webdate's database of 6 million profiles. "It's seamless. Mobile and online are virtually the same. That's been our approach and continues to be our approach," abe says. Osmak doesn't see much future for Bluetooth-enabled matchmaking, mainly because no billing systemis in place for such transactions.  And if having Bluetooth-enabled phones is the only thing the individuals have in common, what's the point? "The real value is in finding suitable people, not just people," says Brooks. 

The New Dating Game

Posted on March 20, 2006

Lavalife_2MONTEL SHOW WEBSITE — Mar 16 — The rules of the dating game have changed drastically over the past decade. With work hours increasing and personal time decreasing, people are struggling to meet someone they connect with.  Today, men and women are using everything from the internet to cuddling with strangers to meet a mate. "Cuddle Parties" are intended for people exploring touch in a non-sexual way.  Sugardaddyforme.com is a matchmaking service with the goal to bring together rich, successful men and attractive women that love to be pampered, spoilt and supported. Plus, lavalife.com/montel has created a host page for MONTEL guests and viewers to sign up. Anyone who logs onto that page can create a free profile and get 2 free hours to use on Lavalife.com.  FULL ARTICLE @ THE MONTEL SHOW WEBSITE

PartyPoker.com and Lavalife Offer Freeroll Poker Tournament

Posted on March 16, 2006

Lavalife_partypoker_1CASINO CITY TIMES — Mar 9 — PartyPoker.com and Lavalife are teaming up to offer a free 11-week long No Limit Texas Hold'Em tournament series that offers single poker players a chance to meet new people while playing cards online.  Players interested in participating must be members of both Lavalife, which provides both land-based and online dating services, and PartyPoker.com, a leading online poker casino. Both memberships are free. RELEASE @ CASINO CITY TIMES

Mark Brooks: I think certain brands work well with poker.  Hold on, isn't internet gambling illegal in the USA.  How's that going to work?  Lavalife is Canadian, so this is a nice differentiator for them that US companies can't really offer.