TORONTO STAR — Mar 13 – Lavalife and Quest, two competing Toronto-based firms, have retained the services of lobbyist to aggressively lobby MPPs to kill Bill 9 that would prevent retailers from charging men or women different prices for essentially the same goods and services. A class-action lawsuit was settled in California related to Californian gender-based price discrimination law in 2001. Lavalife agreed to pay California male customers between May 14, 2001 and Jan. 14, 2005, the equivalent of up to $706,464 US in phone credit minutes.
Category: Lavalife
www.findlovehere.com
NEWSWEEK — Feb 20 issue — According to JupiterResearch, 15% of Internet users between the ages of 45 and 54 browsed dating sites last year. The number of baby boomers visiting Lavalife has grown 39% over the last three years. At Match the 50-and-older crowd is the fastest-growing segment. SciConnect.com; 60% of its science nerds are 40-59. PerfectMatch.com; 63% 35-60. PrimeSingles.net is a 50-plus site whose membership grew 39% in 2005.
The full article was originally published at MSNBC, but is no longer available.
Lavalife Turns Matchmaking into Internet Empire
TORONTO STAR — Jan 16 – Lavalife facilitates the exchange of 1.3 million messages a day. It was sold in 2004 to Vertrue Inc, a marketing services company that deals in consumer-based membership and loyalty programs, for $175 million. In the mid-1980s, five ambitious guys – Ed Lum, Nick Paine, Dave Shamandy, Rasool Verjee and Bruce Croxon (Lavalife's CEO), figured out how to leverage new interactive voice technologies. None of them were computer science geeks. Croxon has a BA in economics, Paine a degree in business administration, and Verjee a law degree from Cambridge University in England. In 1987 they took the plunge and the business grew, expanding into 30 regional offices across North America. In 1996, the four partners bought a small online company, webpersonals (which became lavalife in 2001), for about $300,000 spread over two years. (The liquid motion lava lamp was invented in the mid-60s by Craven Walker, who reportedly said, "People who don't like lava lamps are afraid of sex.") There is no fear of sex at Lavalife – indeed, the business is all about facilitating sexual possibilities: for long-term, dating, or intimate encounters. The vast majority of all age groups sign up for relationships or dating. Bruce Croxon's professional goal is to "stay relevant to younger people" and expand the company's services, particularly in "the mobile space." The majority are 25-39. The fastest growing segment is 19-25's. Voice mail is becoming popular again, providing over 50% of Lavalife's revenue. "Women love the voice. Men love the visual." FULL ARTICLE @ THE TORONTO STAR
Mark Brooks: Bruce bought Webpersonals from Stanford Phd Andrew Conru in 1994. Conru then went on to start Friendfinder in 1996.
Internet Dating: A Consumer’s Guide, Part III
The full article was originally published at NY Press, but is no longer available.
Use Your Cell to Find Someone Special
NEWS 14 CAROLINA — Jan 3 — Many of the big online dating sites have gone mobile. Match.com, Lavalife and sms.ac, for example, have all linked with Sprint PCS to offer matchmaking on the go. Said Michael Galluccio of Sprint PCS, "you can set up your profile (on a cellphone) and go through profiles, find somebody who peaks your interest and start to communicate back and forth with them. Really, the only difference is that it's smaller. And what you're giving up in size you make up for with mobility." In the future, the service might use a cell phone's GPS. Sprint is enabling all of their phones with GPS services, and they need to find a way to make that a very strong selling point. Having the GPS tell you if there are cute singles in your vicinity is a fun selling point.
Friends with Benefits. Buddies. Booty calls. Is this what dating has become?
THE SEATTLE TIMES — Dec 11 — Today's dating scene is about as easy to pigeonhole as the color of paint. Sure, there are plenty of traditionalists out there, but there are many others who don't date so much as hang out or hook up. Some rely on what I'll politely call "bed buddies" to get them through the lonely times. Dating has changed dramatically. Fifty years ago, a single woman would sooner hide out in a darkened apartment than let her neighbors know she didn't have a Saturday night steady. These days, she'll post her picture on AdultFriendFinder or Lavalife's "Intimate Encounters" section to find a no-strings sex partner for the night. "If somebody has no intention of looking for someone special in their life and just wants sex for fun and pleasure, isn't it better that they tell you up front?" says Pepper Schwartz, University of Washington sociology professor and author of "Finding Your Perfect Match." (and PerfectMatch.com spokesperson). "The honesty may be a little difficult to take, but it might hurt less in the long run."
The full article was originally published at Seattle Times, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: This is a groundbreaking article. I rarely see the subject of casual dating sites broached in the press. Some interesting social trends are empowering the press to start picking this subject area up. Adultfriendfinder, Sexsearch and Mate1 are the top adult dating sites.
Yahoo, Google to Launch Wireless Services
The full article was originally published at Biz Report, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Webdate, Match and Lavalife all offer mobile phone based dating. Webdate offers a more advanced 'downloadable app' and allows users to search their entire database of over 4 million, rather than a limited set of mobile-only users.
Yahoo, Google to Launch Wireless Services
The full article was originally published at Biz Report, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Webdate, Match and Lavalife all offer mobile phone based dating. Webdate offers a more advanced 'downloadable app' and allows users to search their entire database of over 4 million, rather than a limited set of mobile-only users.
Man Extorts Women
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPER — July 20 — Patrick Gilin was so popular that he persuaded more than 70 women he met through dating services to send him money "well into the six figures," authorities said. Giblin, a 41-year-old Atlantic City gambler, was charged with 21 counts of extortion and wire fraud. Giblin met the women by registering with telephone and online dating services, such as Quest Personals, Lavalife, Intimate Connections and Private Lines. He would get to know the women through telephone conversations, then tell them he planned to move or travel to their area and needed help with moving expenses.
Mark Brooks: Such offenses are extremely rare, but significant. It’s best to communicate via an online dating site for a while to warm up, then date a few times. I’m a big fan of the initial ‘coffee date.’ Don’t give out your work or home address until you are very comfortable with someone. Let common sense prevail. I think background checks are a good thing for the industry, but they’re not 100% foolproof.
Connections, The Wireless Way
BUSINESS WEEK — June 29 — SMS.ac and other mobile social networks help users find dates, keep in touch with friends, share photos, and update their blogs via cell phone. SMS.ac claims 40 million users; 14% in U.S. Most other services only have thousands of customers, who typically pay a $5 monthly subscription fee. Popularity should skyrocket as telcos, which get a cut of fees, roll out more of these applications later this year. Sprint began offering SMS.ac, Match.com Mobile and Lavalife Mobile several months ago. U.S. subscription revenues should rise from $31.4 million this year to $215 million in 2009, according to Frost & Sullivan. Additional revenues from forwarding SMS and MMS messages could double that amount. These social networks typically cater to 18-35-year-olds. There are 2 billion cell phones in the world, vs. fewer than 700 million PCs. No wonder online heavyweights such as Google, Match.com, and online social networking sites are ramping up their efforts in the mobile social networking market. Friendster is testing Friendster Mobile in the Philippines. Google acquired Dodgeball.com. In July Match.com will debut a more advanced mobile dating service in Japan. Members will be able to post multiple photos with their profiles, receive daily or weekly lists of matches, and perform complex searches.
The full article was originally published at Business Week, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: See you at the mobile internet dating convention.