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: Match.com
IAC Reports Q2 2004 Results
NEW YORK, Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — IAC/InterActiveCorp reported Q2 2004 results today. Revenue was $1.5 billion. Personals made $48.5 million revenues, up 1% over Q2 2003. YAHOO NEWS
Match/Gallup Survey Finds Single Voters Favor Kerry, Oppose Same-Sex Marriage and Believe the War in Iraq Was Not Worth the Price
DALLAS, July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Match.com, the global leader in online dating, today released key findings from its recently commissioned Gallup survey of American singles;elephone survey of 1,001 American singles from across the country…49% want to see Kerry win the next election, 35% Bush…57% say Iraq war not worth the cost…41% support gay marriage being recognised by law as valid.
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.
Evite 2.0 Features Events Listings from Match.com
LOS ANGELES, /PRNewswire/ — Evite announced the final product launch of Evite 2.0 featuring the most comprehensive online directory of local events on the web. In addition to displaying user supplied events, Evite expanded its local event offering by teaming up with Ticketmaster, Ticketweb, Museumtix, Match.com, and Active.com. Through these relationships, the new events directory offers nearly 50,000 local events in cities throughout the United States…Match.com hosts singles and social events in 58 cities across the US through MatchLive and SpeedMatching. Match.com’s offline events will be featured in the directory one week following the launch. Match.com will host more than 1,800 singles events this year.
Match Invites Singles to ‘Come and Get Your Love’ in TV/Radio Ads
DALLAS, June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Returning to the airwaves with a new national advertising campaign, Match.com …invites singles to come and get their love with help from Match.com’s new Total Attraction Matching(TM) system. This proprietary system incorporates powerful, scientifically-based personality profiling tools and the first and only physical attraction matching platform….the new creative will air on targeted outlets such as E!, VH1, Bravo and ABC Radio Network…Joe Schmo 2 on Spike TV, Sex and the City on TBS and Nip/Tuck on FX.
True Responds to Subpoena From Rival Match
DALLAS, June 15 /PRNewswire/ — …True (formerly TrueBegininngs) responded to subpoenas served to six of its employees by former employer Match by taking out full-page ads in the WSJ and Dallas Morning News. The ads feature a letter written by Herb Vest, founder and CEO of the company, to Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO of IAC, parent company of Match. …Vest vows to defend his employees. …"True reviewed the employees' agreements, and we firmly believe that we have we have not broken any rules by hiring them." …claims by Match involve possible "breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of duty of loyalty, unfair competition, misappropriation, disclosure of trade secrets, and torturous interference with contact or prospective business relations."