MIAMI HERALD — Mar 25 — The ”Internet predator awareness and online
safety act” has been approved at the state Senate’s Commerce Committee
despite the objections of companies such as Yahoo! and Match.com. The bill would require any
Internet dating service to disclose online and by e-mail whether or not
it conducts a criminal background check. The site would have to tell a user if it allows members to have
criminal records, but it doesn’t have to say what that record is. Match.com
doesn’t conduct background searches because they’re so unreliable,
something that Republican Senator and former Alachua County Sheriff
Steve Oelrich confirmed. He said criminal background checks are iffy
things and would give ”a false sense of comfort” to users who could
think that a ”Jack the Ripper” was really a ”Jack Robertson” until
it’s too late.
Category: Outlets – Miami Herald
What, you Think we Won’t Notice?
MIAMI HERALD — Apr 13 — When I found myself back in the dating game, the online choices were overwhelming. Which service should I use? Friends had different opinions, debating the finer points of Match.com vs. eHarmony. No, try AmericanSingles, one would say. Or PlentyofFish, it's free. What about Yahoo personals or MySpace? Nearly every woman 25-to-33 was searching for someone with 22 qualities that must be met. I realized how deceptive profiles can be. Why do we try and be something we are not when trying to attract potential dates? There's no hiding when you finally meet in person.
What, you Think we Won’t Notice?
MIAMI HERALD — Apr 13 — When I found myself back in the dating game, the online choices were overwhelming. Which service should I use? Friends had different opinions, debating the finer points of Match.com vs. eHarmony. No, try AmericanSingles, one would say. Or PlentyofFish, it's free. What about Yahoo personals or MySpace? Nearly every woman 25-to-33 was searching for someone with 22 qualities that must be met. I realized how deceptive profiles can be. Why do we try and be something we are not when trying to attract potential dates? There's no hiding when you finally meet in person.
Digital Matchmakers Get Down to Business
MIAMI HERALD — Jan 16 — The online dating industry needs to start stealing tricks from younger and nimbler websites. That seemed to be the message floating through the hallways at iDate, the annual conference of the Internet dating industry. 350 participants were at the iDate (and Social Networking Conference). Dating sites (think Yahoo Personals and Match.com) are seeing users poached by social networking sites. While those sites are not specifically designed to find a date, that is how they are being used, said Michael Jones, CEO of Userplane. ''Traditional online dating sites are feeling the pinch,'' he said. Of the Top 10 dating sites in the United States, seven saw a declining number of unique visitors throughout 2006, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. At the same time MySpace overtook Yahoo as the world's busiest website. But the poison is the antidote, said Jones. By stealing pickup lines from social networking competitors — such as allowing users to link to their MySpace profile or upload slide-shows from sites such as Flicker and Rockyou — the industry can woo back admirers. Just a few years ago, anyone with a server, a black book and the verve could launch an online dating site, said Mark Brooks, the publisher of Online Personals Watch. Now the market is crowded and competitive, and the only hope for newcomers is to generate heaps of buzz and tap unexplored niches. Or, as Brooks sums it up: "Word of mouth marketing and differentiate — or die.'' Date.com CEO Meir Strahlberg said he didn't see any need for a radical reinvention to keep up with the MySpaces of the world.
Mark Brooks: iDate2007 was hands down the best internet dating conference yet. I felt there was more energy at this conference than last year. The halls were full of top level business schmoozing. The Royal Palm Hotel was more expensive but far more comfortable than last year. Worth the extra, and the location was perfect. It was walking distance to the convention center, and right on the beach. The convention center was a higher standard venue in many ways but we need to change the room orientation next year. Wide rooms work better than long rooms. The keynote presentations were packed out and the multi track system worked well. However, next year it would be great to have a distinct social networking track and a distinct internet dating track. That would encourage greater SNS participation and 500+ attendees. I think 75% of the attendees were dating focused this year. We'll see more social networking interest at the July conference in California. Your comments please…
Digital Matchmakers Get Down to Business
MIAMI HERALD — Jan 16 — The online dating industry needs to start stealing tricks from younger and nimbler websites. That seemed to be the message floating through the hallways at iDate, the annual conference of the Internet dating industry. 350 participants were at the iDate (and Social Networking Conference). Dating sites (think Yahoo Personals and Match.com) are seeing users poached by social networking sites. While those sites are not specifically designed to find a date, that is how they are being used, said Michael Jones, CEO of Userplane. ''Traditional online dating sites are feeling the pinch,'' he said. Of the Top 10 dating sites in the United States, seven saw a declining number of unique visitors throughout 2006, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. At the same time MySpace overtook Yahoo as the world's busiest website. But the poison is the antidote, said Jones. By stealing pickup lines from social networking competitors — such as allowing users to link to their MySpace profile or upload slide-shows from sites such as Flicker and Rockyou — the industry can woo back admirers. Just a few years ago, anyone with a server, a black book and the verve could launch an online dating site, said Mark Brooks, the publisher of Online Personals Watch. Now the market is crowded and competitive, and the only hope for newcomers is to generate heaps of buzz and tap unexplored niches. Or, as Brooks sums it up: "Word of mouth marketing and differentiate — or die.'' Date.com CEO Meir Strahlberg said he didn't see any need for a radical reinvention to keep up with the MySpaces of the world.
Mark Brooks: iDate2007 was hands down the best internet dating conference yet. I felt there was more energy at this conference than last year. The halls were full of top level business schmoozing. The Royal Palm Hotel was more expensive but far more comfortable than last year. Worth the extra, and the location was perfect. It was walking distance to the convention center, and right on the beach. The convention center was a higher standard venue in many ways but we need to change the room orientation next year. Wide rooms work better than long rooms. The keynote presentations were packed out and the multi track system worked well. However, next year it would be great to have a distinct social networking track and a distinct internet dating track. That would encourage greater SNS participation and 500+ attendees. I think 75% of the attendees were dating focused this year. We'll see more social networking interest at the July conference in California. Your comments please…
Dating Sites and Live Events
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.
‘Internet Casanova’ to Appear in Court Today on Theft Charges
MIAMI HERALD — Jan 19 — Ivan Urquiza, 35, is set to appear this morning in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom on grand theft and identity theft charges stemming from a 2004 Broward Sheriff’s Office investigation that landed the Miami man the nickname ‘Internet Casanova.’
Is it Love or a Lie?
MIAMI HERALD — Dec 18 — Beth, a leggy brunette and successful lawyer who lives in Dallas, says she enjoys clubbing and rollerblading. But some of these women don't even exist according to a Coral Springs businessman who alleges that Yahoo Personals posts fictitious profiles, date bait. Lawmakers in Texas, Virginia, Michigan, California and Florida are weighing legislation that could make it a crime to misrepresent oneself on a dating site, or fail to inform consumers that they offer background screening for their customers. Analysts say matchmaking sites believe that they can patrol themselves. Most of them use 'report this profile' options to report problem subscribers to a team of 'abuse' monitors who look for risqué photographs, insincere profiles, and users looking for a place to advertise their own business. Mark Brooks, editor of Online Personals Watch, concedes that there is endless potential for abusing the rules. But, he said, that doesn't mean the site owners should be subject to government monitoring. He calls the suits against Match and Yahoo 'ridiculous.' 'If you were sitting in a product development meeting [at Match or Yahoo] and said, 'Hey, let's just have someone do that,' (send bogus emails), that person would be fired,' Brooks said.
Online Dating is Split Over the Bill
MIAMI HERALD — Apr 27 — Love is supposed to steal your heart not your car. The background checks bill passed the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee Tuesday but still must be scheduled for a floor vote in the waning days of the session. Although True.com has pushed similar legislation in six other states, no other bill has made it this far. ''I've got complete confidence that True is going to run this thing through,'' said Mark Brooks, the editor of Online Personal Watch, who has been monitoring the bill's progress. "But the industry certainly doesn't like the idea that it's being rammed down their throats." While True.com says it's simply trying to make online dating safer, critics accuse the newcomer, which has 3 million members, of using the legislation to stake out more turf in a crowded and lucrative industry. Said Kristin Kelly, senior director of PR at Match.com. "It's bad for the industry because it continues to promote a stigma that's not accurate.'' True's CEO Herb Vest said, "we don't want criminals and married people preying on our members. There are close to 70 million singles out there that are not using online dating sites right now. If we can let them know that, as an industry, we care about their safety then we're all going to grow at a prodigious rate.'' The Florida DOC database hasn't been updated since August of last year and Rapsheets only searches 15 of the state's 67 counties. Two Miami online dating sites — Webdate and Date.com — said they will be offering their clients background checks, regardless of the bill's outcome. ''I think background checks are a relatively good idea, if done properly,'' said Webdate COO Abe Smilowitz.
Mark Brooks: True is leaning on the Florida bill with all it's might, connections and savvy. The session ends Friday 6th May. Watch this space! I'll keep you posted.
Old-school dating service for the cyber-averse
MIAMI HERALD — Feb 14 — It’s Just Lunch has stuck in there, and today claims a presence in 75 cities. $1,500 annual membership for 14 lunch dates. An hourlong face-to-face interview follows. Discretion is built into the system. Pannucci works with about 50 restaurants, where she has an understanding with the maitre d’: No one is to utter, ‘It’s Just Lunch.’ After the date, Pannucci’s staff calls clients to get feedback about whether it was a good setup. ”That’s what separates us from all the other services out there: the personal touch,” she said. She advertises in the Miami New Times and seven airline magazines, and is listed in the Yellow Pages. Members who enroll a friend get an extra first date. She currently has a total of 1,000 members, she said.
Mark Brooks: $1500 a year to meet singles who are screened and really serious about not being single…and can afford $1500.