OPW – Feb 24 – The Harlem Shake is the latest dance craze that swept the world and is still going strong. Here is how Harlem Shake is taking over Match.com and POF.com‘s office.
Category: Match.com
Dating Website Info Being Used In Divorces
UPI – Feb 18 – A recent survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers said 59% of the nation's top divorce attorneys have seen an increase in the number of cases using evidence taken from dating sites during the past three years. 64% said Match.com was the top site cited, followed by 9% who said eHarmony and 27% who listed other choices.
Why Match.com Is Taking Part Of Its Business Off-Line With ‘The Stir’
MINYANVILLE – Feb 14 – In May, Match.com launched "The Stir" — a program of local dating events that bring together Match members for activities like cooking classes, bowling nights, and happy hours. Match.com is bringing in about 24% of Q4 revenue from 2.8M paid subscribers. Match members who pay for the service get an invitation to a Stir event, and they are allowed to bring up to five people as guests. In January, Match threw ~400 events in 80 different cities. In 2012, the company held ~1,600 events with ~150K attendees. Mark Brooks, an online dating consultant based in Europe who covers global businesses, says there’s no question that Match has to do events. “Where else can they grow? There’s really two distinct kinds of singles: those that go out to meet people, and those that like to idate.” Right now, The Stir’s only significant cost is hiring a facilitator to check people in at the event. “This is not adding anything much to their bottom line that’s measurable,” Brooks said. “What it’s doing is reinforcing the brand and getting people to talk. But to truly get people to embrace the events, they have to be a success – bad events could be deadly for the brand, Brooks said. If they walk away from those events thinking, ‘Oh God, I didn’t see anybody I was remotely interested in,’ then Match has failed.” One way Match can control the dating event is by having an active host. If Match’s event strategy doesn’t succeed, it could be undermined by companies like HowAboutWe. “What’s incredible about HowAboutWe is that they’re helping people define themselves by what they’re interested in doing,” Brooks said. “The problem with the dating industry is people don’t know how to write about what they’re looking for until they meet that right person. I bet 80% of people on HowAboutWe have tried Match.com,” Brooks said.
Mobile Apps Tap The Changing Face Of Online Dating
USA TODAY – Feb 13 – The mobile dating revenue is projected to double over the next five years ($415M). There is a site for everybody, many with their own apps as well. The niches range from ethnic, religious or age-based to sites for occupations (FarmersOnly.com) or eating preferences (VeggieDate.org). For gay men, there's Grindr.com and Stagg, DateMyPet for pet lovers. With the dating industry moving so rapidly, the phrase "online dating" will soon disappear from the lexicon, says Sam Yagan, CEO of Match. "The idea of differentiating online and offline in five years will be anachronistic," he says. Nielsen reports that the number of Americans using apps or a mobile version of a dating site was 13.7M in November 2012, more than double the previous year's 5.8M. Mark Brooks, a consultant who has studied the industry from its infancy, says the online and mobile dating industry is more than just a business: "Going from where it is now and where it's going to be in the next 20 or 30 years time, I'd be hard-pressed to think of a business — outside of the medical industry — that will have more impact on society."
by Sharon Jayson
See full article at USA Today
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Why Online Dating Is Struggling To Go Global
THE DAILY BEAST – Feb 14 – Different countries date differently. Cupid Plc burned a lot of money when it tried to expand its BeNaughty website with becoquin.fr in France and gibsmir.de in Germany. Match.com sold its entire European business to the French site Meetic.com. These companies were sometimes felled by practical idiosyncrasies such as offering credit cards as the sole payment method in Europe, not knowing that only 25% of Germans own them. Australians take a more relaxed approach to dating. “In Australia you can never really be sure if you are on a date or you are just hanging out as friends,” says Katrina, an Australian who spent a year in Texas. Taiwan offers a more conservative scene. Potential partners are mainly set up through friends, and romance must be found within one’s social circle. Mark Brooks, editor of Online Personals Watch, predicts that the Chinese online dating industry alone will generate $350M in revenue in 2014, and forecasts growth in developing markets such as Russia and Latin America. Gian Gonzaga, chief scientist for eHarmony, sent out thousands of questionnaires in countries including Brazil, Australia, and the U.S. “We found Brazilian couples value passion the most,” Gonzaga says. “The importance of similar levels of spirituality is highest in the States.” eHarmony then adjusted its websites’ algorithms to reflect Gonzaga’s findings.
by Ella Delany
See full article at Daily Beast
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Online Dating For Those Over 50
CBS – Feb 8 – AARP has joined the online dating services. They debuted their new dating website, AARP Dating powered by HowAboutWe. HowAboutWe has currently ~1M members and has been around for several years now. OurTime.com has been around over a year and is part of the Match.com family. SilverSingles.com is part of the Spark network of dating sites. It has been around for 10 years and claims to be the premier online community for seniors. SeniorPeopleMeet.com is a place for those over 50. It’s partnered up with Match.com and Chemistry.com as well as BabyBoomerPeopleMeet.com.
by Dee Lee
See full article at CBS
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Dan Slater & Sam Yagan On Bloomberg
OPW – Feb 6 – Dan is a former Wall Street Journal reporter who wrote Love In The Time Of Algorithms after a 2 year immersion in the iDating industry. Here he is on Bloomberg, along with Sam Yagan, CEO Match.com.
Match.com Survey: What Singles Want
Banana Republic Partners With Match.com
SF BUSINESS TIMES – Feb 5 – As part of Banana Republic's new campaign, the retailer is partnering with Match.com to host eight in-store meet and greet events for singles in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and a few other markets.
Online Dating Sites Couple-up To Safeguard Industry Reputation
MARKETING WEEK – Jan 30 – eHarmony, Match.com and MySingleFriend are holding preliminary talks to establish a code of conduct to distance themselves from less reputable operators in the sector. Also involved in the process are Lovestruck and Christian Connection, other online dating brands are also in discussions but have declined to be publicly associated with the talks at present. It is also understood the long-established Association of British Introduction Agencies (ABIA) is also involved in the talks. The ABIA itself has proposed a code of practice for online introduction service providers, which is scheduled to come into effect this year.
by Ronan Shields
See full article at Marketing Week
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