Category: Match.com

Lucrative in Love

Posted on February 15, 2006

Yahoopersonals_7THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER — Feb 12 — With about 89 million singles in the U.S., the search for love is most intense between New Year's and Valentine's Day.  Traffic typically increases by 20% in January and February, said Kristin Kelly, Match.com spokesperson, but the online dating industry is big business year-round. In 2006, it is estimated that U.S. consumers will spend about $521 million on dating Web sites' subscription fees, outpacing all other categories of online paid content.  The Washington region is one of the hottest markets for online dating. There are nearly 200,000 Match.com subscribers in the area, making it the third-largest market for the dating company.  Yahoo! Personals and Match.com are offering new and more expensive services that allow daters to conduct more targeted searches with a series of compatibility tests. Rochelle Adams, spokeswoman for Yahoo! Personals, said there continues to be "exciting opportunities with providing tools and technology to singles."

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

Mark Brooks: The number of monthly uniques visiting dating sites is down because social networks are sucking many of of them up.  They add their profiles, hang out, and then realise that social networks are for friendship, internet dating is for dating, and they convert over to dating sites.  Social networking sites are good for online dating.  They've sucked up many uniques but dating sites are reporting improved conversions and higher revenues.  How could this be?  Social networks are a great precursor to online dating.  Manu users who might not have considered online personals in the past will start with a social network and then 'upgrade' to a paid site to get more focused attention. 

The Mythology of 21st-century Dating

Posted on February 14, 2006

Matchcom_12CNN — Feb 13 — According to Jupiter Research, more than 17 million people viewed online personals last year, and about 2.5 million paid for them. (It's usually free to browse; the money kicks in when you want to connect with someone.)  There are several major sites to choose from, including Match.com, eHarmony, Yahoo! and the aptly named Plentyoffish.com. As part of a CNN Radio special, CNN Headline News anchor Erica Hill and I hosted a radio show discussing online dating PODCAST.  FULL ARTICLE @ CNN INTERNATIONAL

www.findlovehere.com

Posted on February 13, 2006

Newsweek_articleNEWSWEEK — 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.

Online Dating Population Flat

Posted on February 13, 2006

Yahoo_personals_2RED HERRING — Feb 10 — JupiterResearch said, "it’s not clear where daters are looking for mates but it doesn’t seem online social networking communities pose a significant threat."  A mere 14% of online daters not subscribing to a service reported using social networking sites. Yahoo is the top dating site on the web, according to 19% of participants in a survey conducted by GMI Poll. Match.com comes in second, with 14%, followed by eHarmony.com, with 5%. Among the prospective daters, 42% report success when using the sites.

India’s Internet Population Explosion

RED HERRING — Feb 10 — The number of Indians getting online continues to swell, according to the Internet & Mobile Association of India. By the end of 2005, the number of Internet users in the country hit 38.5 million, up 54% from 25 million in 2004.

Philips Electronics and Match.com Explore Music, Dating and Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 8, 2006

Matchcom_11BUSINESS WIRE — Feb 6 — Philips Electronics and Match.com joined forces to determine the impact of music on the holiday. In a survey by Impulse Research, 91% of 1,514 survey participants believe that knowing someone’s musical preferences helps them get to know their special someone better, and 74% have given some form of music such as an MP3 player, compilation CD or concert tickets as a gift to someone they were dating. 46% use music to help set the mood during a date.  The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) forecasts 20.5 million MP3 players will be sold in 2006.

DatingDirect Most Visited Dating Site in December

Posted on February 8, 2006

Datingdirect_2Feb 3 — DatingDirect.com was the most visited UK online dating service in Decmber 2005, according to new research. Research from both comScore Europe and Nielsen//NetRatings show DatingDirect ahead of its rivals during the lucrative festive period before Christmas and the new year. Figures from comScore's December 2005 research show DatingDirect.com with nearly 895,000 unique users per month, ahead of its rivals Loopylove.com (674,000 unique users), Yahoo! Personals (622,000) and Match.com (651,000).  In addition, December's Nielsen//NetRatings figures, reveal that the site attracted 16% of all traffic to personals sites, ahead of rivals Match.com, LoveHappens and Yahoo! Personals. Top personal sites according to unique audience in December 2005, according to Nielsen//Netratings. 

Zogo.com Answers Call for Real-time Dating Site

Posted on February 6, 2006

ZogoBOSTON HERALD — Feb 2 — Zogo, set to launch in Boston later this month, works like traditional Internet dating Web sites such as Match.com: Members create profiles and search for love mates based on such criteria as gender, location and ethnicity. But Zogo users can also access the personals on their mobile phones, invite a member to chat by sending a text message and have a real-time conversation as soon as the member accepts the invitation. If one member no longer wants to hear from a user, Zogo’s blocking feature hides his or her profile from the other’s database.  Zogo also boasts a "prowling" feature for singles out on the town.  By clicking on the "start prowling" button, Zogo users let others know what neighborhood they’re in and that they’re seeking to meet up with other like-minded singles. 

Mark Brooks: Wow!  I’m going to have to try this out. 

The Internet’s New Social Order

Posted on January 30, 2006

Eharmony_3THE NEWS FACTOR — JAN 26 — Web sites specifically built to put people in touch with one another — are booming in terms of participation and new services. Whether you are looking for social chatter, dating, gaming, or networking with other professionals, the Internet has the forum for it, and it has become both easy and fast to acquaint yourself with like-minded people. The communities are becoming so popular that some wonder whether they could fundamentally alter the way humans interact with each other. In addition to the networking behemoth MySpace, which currently has 47.3 million members, there's Friendster, The Well, Tribe Networks, and Bebo. Smaller sites that specialize in just a few topics are springing up, too, like Yelp, an online community devoted to chat about local watering holes and entertainment.  Dating online seems even easier thanks to aggressive recruitment efforts by sites like eHarmony and Match.com; both claim eight million and credit for thousands of marriages. 

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

Searching for Love (With Conditions)

Posted on January 30, 2006

LoveandfriendscomTHE NEWSQUEST HERALD — Jan 27 — Loveandfriends.com as well as Ivorytowers.net are just two sites where professionals can meet similarly able, cultured and thoughtful souls. Other suitor-specific websites include dating agencies for vegans, farmers, volunteers or bikers. With predictions of 16 million single men and women in the UK by 2010, professional matchmaking continues to boom.  "At present there is no legislation for internet sites and it is completely unregulated. Members of the public on the whole are much safer with introduction agencies, because more checks are made." Other sites mentioned include: CSV Make a Difference, Gothic Souls, Association of British Introduction Agencies, Biker Dating, Veggie Romance, Marriage Bureau, Match.com, Parship. 

Internet Dating User Films Dates

Posted on January 30, 2006

Matchcom_10FOX 7 — Jan 26 — 33-year-old Matthew Ferguson used Match.com; the registered sex offender is accused of videotaping sex with 18 women at his San Marcos apartment. He was removed from Match.com after he was arrested in December. Match.com emphasized that safety of their members is their number-one priority, and that there are several safety tips available online for concerned members. 

The full article was originally published at Fox 7, but is no longer available.