Mark Brooks: Did Intermix do this knowingly. Was the code slipped in with a banner ad run and overlooked?
Category: Outlets – USA Today
Prying Eyes are Everywhere
USA TODAY — Apr 14 — A growing amount of free personal information is so easy to find online that many Internet regulars don’t think of it as spying. Plug a name into Google and you have an instant background check of your best friend, your brother-in-law or that guy or gal you met last night at a bar. "You can bug people the way spy agencies used to do 20 years ago – really cheap now," says Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. But now, idle curiosity prompts many Net users to nonchalantly do "soft surveillance" – plugging a name into a search engine to see what turns up. "Everyone does it," says James Hong of San Francisco, founder of online dating and photo-rating Web site Hot or Not. "I do it on new employees; I do it if I meet a cute girl, and I want to know more. Maybe I’m crazy, but who doesn’t do it?
Meet a Real-Life Hitch
USA TODAY — Feb 17 — Charges run the gamut – $45 for an e-mail, up to $250 for a phone consultation and as much as $1,500 for face-to-face meetings over a period of time. Some will shadow a date and film the encounters to show their clients where they erred. Others take the Hitch approach and will even tutor on-the-spot with clever comebacks as they go to the grocery store or on errands with their clients. David Wygant, for $10,000, will even move in for the weekend and provide 24/7 access to his wisdom for the next three months. Dating gurus say well-educated professionals who are accomplished in the workplace but haven’t found the same rewards in their personal lives seem to be the most in need of advice.
Mark Brooks: And why not. Choosing the right ‘one’ is the most important decision a person can make. Pays to make a good decision. Costly to make a bad decision. Online personals companies are leaving money on the table, it would appear. In time we’ll see more and more premium service emerge as online personals customers demand more and more. eHarmony charges $50 a month. Tip of the iceberg!
Love Growing Strong On Web
USA TODAY — Feb 14 — The industry has grown so fast that Hitwise foresees a shakeout. Says Mark Brooks, who runs Online Personals Watch, "I think we're moving into the first stages of maturity." So companies are trying, like the most desperate bachelor in the bar, to stand out. Those who market love on the Internet are increasingly wooing customers by giving personality and compatibility tests. For the strongest players, the cyberspace dating game remains lucrative. In December, for instance, eHarmony attracted $110 million from two venture-capital firms. "What kind of metrics must eHarmony have shown the VCs to get $110 million?" asks Brooks. JupiterResearch says online-dating revenue hit $473 million in 2004, up from $396 million in 2003. <On background checks>…"That's a solution looking for a problem," complains Jim Safka, the new CEO of rival Match.com. But some competitors grudgingly admire the marketing strategy. "It was brilliant," says Nelson Rodriguez, CEO of LoveAccess.com. "You try to legislate into law your business model." True's CEO Herb Vest warns: "If a person is married or a criminal, they best go somewhere else." True says it intends to prosecute married people who masquerade as singles. "We don't think of ourselves as an online-dating service," says Greg Forgatch, CEO of eHarmony. "We're all about helping people get married and get married well." Yahoo has launched Personals Premier, a $35-a-month service with advanced searching and matchmaking and a personality test. IMatchup.com has unveiled a handwriting-analysis feature. Niche sites proliferate. "I'm not promoting Cupid.com anymore; I'm pitching DesMoines.Cupid.com," says Cupid.com CEO Eric Straus.
Muslim Online Dating
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR — Jan 19 — MuslimMatcher is one of several online Muslim matchmaking services that have sprung up in the United States and internationally in recent years. They are used by hundreds of thousands of Muslims worldwide, most of whom live away from families willing to arrange a marriage, or who prefer to find a spouse by themselves. FULL ARTICLE @ USA TODAY
Mark Brooks: Shaadi is the category leader.