FOX NEWS — Feb 8 — Online dating is 10 years old. But the days of paying to find a match may be a thing of the past if you believe one couple who met online and started their own dating service.
The full article was originally published at Fox Orlando, but is no longer available.
TECH CRUNCH — Feb 7 — Jobster, which has raised nearly $50 million in venture capital, is making a dramatic business model shift starting tonight, by making all job listings free (and much more). Their goal is to do what PlentyOfFish is doing to Match.com. Jobster hopes to make a large dent in Monster's billion dollar a year revenue stream. FULL ARTICLE @ TECH CRUNCH
Mark Brooks: Jobster burned through a lot of money, lost out to Monster, laid staff off…and gone free. Is 'free,' really the way to go? How duplicatable is the PlentyofFish business model? Your comments please.
TECH CRUNCH — Feb 7 — Jobster, which has raised nearly $50 million in venture capital, is making a dramatic business model shift starting tonight, by making all job listings free (and much more). Their goal is to do what PlentyOfFish is doing to Match.com. Jobster hopes to make a large dent in Monster's billion dollar a year revenue stream. FULL ARTICLE @ TECH CRUNCH
Mark Brooks: Jobster burned through a lot of money, lost out to Monster, laid staff off…and gone free. Is 'free,' really the way to go? How duplicatable is the PlentyofFish business model? Your comments please.
THE PARADIGM SHIFT — Feb 6 — Compete.com has just released a monthly index of the top 200 sites in the USA ranked by time spent on the site. I've extracted the online personals rankings for you to review, below.
The full article was originally published at Compete, but is no longer available.
Rank Site
1 myspace
7 pogo
8 facebook
10 craigslist
12 youtube
13 live
18 neopets
19 adultfriendfinder
24 photobucket
31 match
36 bebo
55 blackplanet
67 singlesnet
73 plentyoffish
79 livejournal
88 eharmony
95 hi5
101 tagged
115 classmates
126 true
131 manhunt.net
146 userplane
159 adam4adam
163 hornymatches
167 ezboard
173 alt
176 blackpeoplemeet
189 friendster
THE PARADIGM SHIFT — Feb 6 — Compete.com has just released a monthly index of the top 200 sites in the USA ranked by time spent on the site. I've extracted the online personals rankings for you to review, below.
The full article was originally published at Compete, but is no longer available.
Rank Site
1 myspace
7 pogo
8 facebook
10 craigslist
12 youtube
13 live
18 neopets
19 adultfriendfinder
24 photobucket
31 match
36 bebo
55 blackplanet
67 singlesnet
73 plentyoffish
79 livejournal
88 eharmony
95 hi5
101 tagged
115 classmates
126 true
131 manhunt.net
146 userplane
159 adam4adam
163 hornymatches
167 ezboard
173 alt
176 blackpeoplemeet
189 friendster
OPW — Jan 28 — Here's my thoughts on what 2007 holds for online dating and social networking. What are your predictions? Your comments please.
1. The Internet Dating market will stratify further with the introduction of new high end services and hybrid sites offering mostly free services. e.g. Match.com's VIP service and LTR.com
2. Social Networks will continue to niche out. e.g.
ActiveRain, A Small World, Grono.net, iWiW.net, MyChurch.org, Rate.ee, WAYN, Zaadz
3. A free eHarmony will emerge
4. Mobile dating will pick up after the launch of the iPhone and N95
5. A new social networking site will steal some of Facebook’s thunder and focus purely on the student market
6. Two more top 10 dating properties will offer optional background checks
7. Match will pioneer high-end matchmaking
8. Dating and social networking services will do voice, properly
9. PlentyofFish will rise to a top 5 dating site rank in the UK and USA
OPW — Jan 28 — Here's my thoughts on what 2007 holds for online dating and social networking. What are your predictions? Your comments please.
1. The Internet Dating market will stratify further with the introduction of new high end services and hybrid sites offering mostly free services. e.g. Match.com's VIP service and LTR.com
2. Social Networks will continue to niche out. e.g.
ActiveRain, A Small World, Grono.net, iWiW.net, MyChurch.org, Rate.ee, WAYN, Zaadz
3. A free eHarmony will emerge
4. Mobile dating will pick up after the launch of the iPhone and N95
5. A new social networking site will steal some of Facebook’s thunder and focus purely on the student market
6. Two more top 10 dating properties will offer optional background checks
7. Match will pioneer high-end matchmaking
8. Dating and social networking services will do voice, properly
9. PlentyofFish will rise to a top 5 dating site rank in the UK and USA
THE PARADIGM SHIFT — Jan 24 — When I was at iDate 2 years ago most people laughed at me when I said I would create a major free dating site. This year at iDate dating sites were talking about how they could go free. It is strange to see a completely new internet bubble forming around what I’ve done. The biggest problems I see are… Monetization via adsense 3 years ago was 10 times higher then it is now. Free dating sites are way more hardware/resource intensive then paid sites and social networks. As a free site I still have to pay $5 a member, just like paid sites. I predict 2007 will be a year of carnage.
The full article was originally published at The Paradigm Shift, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Two years ago I chatted with Markus at iDate, respected him for his SEO work, but didn't take him too seriously. I think Markus occupies a spot on the sales funnel just below social networks. He funnels members into paid dating sites. At the other end of the spectrum I'm seeing a significant trend towards paid dating sites trying to up the ante with regard to service levels and fees. There will be a stratification of services this year with new pricepoints and service levels emerging. Is a shake out looming? Do other free dating services have a chance? Markus is a picture of efficiency. Is he beckoning fresh entrepreneurs and existing services into a black hole because of this check which revealed (see June post) that Markus was doing ever so slightly better than most would have assumed. Your comments please…
THE PARADIGM SHIFT — Jan 24 — When I was at iDate 2 years ago most people laughed at me when I said I would create a major free dating site. This year at iDate dating sites were talking about how they could go free. It is strange to see a completely new internet bubble forming around what I’ve done. The biggest problems I see are… Monetization via adsense 3 years ago was 10 times higher then it is now. Free dating sites are way more hardware/resource intensive then paid sites and social networks. As a free site I still have to pay $5 a member, just like paid sites. I predict 2007 will be a year of carnage.
The full article was originally published at The Paradigm Shift, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Two years ago I chatted with Markus at iDate, respected him for his SEO work, but didn't take him too seriously. I think Markus occupies a spot on the sales funnel just below social networks. He funnels members into paid dating sites. At the other end of the spectrum I'm seeing a significant trend towards paid dating sites trying to up the ante with regard to service levels and fees. There will be a stratification of services this year with new pricepoints and service levels emerging. Is a shake out looming? Do other free dating services have a chance? Markus is a picture of efficiency. Is he beckoning fresh entrepreneurs and existing services into a black hole because of this check which revealed (see June post) that Markus was doing ever so slightly better than most would have assumed. Your comments please…
TIME — Jan 19 — HonestyOnline takes the lie out of online. "It's an extra layer of protection to determine if a guy is Jack the Ripper with three wives," said William Bollinger, EVP National Background Data, a database used by HonestyOnline. At iDate 2007, vendors demonstrate ways to meet, court, virtual date and even marry without ever leaving home. OmniDate can place you in a virtual restaurant with an animated date. On Mobilove, I scrolled through profiles and sent text messages. Already 500,000 Americans have posted their pictures and mini profiles on their cell phones, and users are growing by 20% every month, according to Mobilove VP Nils Knagenhjelm. Thanks to Vumber you can get many numbers with only one phone. If the person dialing one of the numbers turns out to be a less than desirable caller, poof! the number disappears with a few keystrokes. "You can vanish without a trace," said Geoff Schneider, Vumber's EVP. Plenty of Fish, with 400,000 hits a day, was created by Markus Frind, who still runs it out of his apartment. He figured out people essentially exaggerate on profile answers. He follows a more sensible creed: actions speak louder than words. For example, Susie says she wants a solid, stable man who earns $100,000-plus but keeps clicking on profiles of muscle-bound bad boys. Plenty of Fish makes sure she meets plenty of underemployed weightlifters, and some of the stable ones she ignores. "People don't even realize we do this. They just know they are getting results," said Frind. Chris Walker is experimenting with behavioral matchmaking. An early innovator, he started in the 1960s with punch card computer dating. After years of matching people, he now focuses on how people choose to spend their time. "The personal touch still blows away everything else out there," says Paul Falzone, CEO of The Right One and Together, an old-school matchmaking dating service.
The full article was originally published at Time, but is no longer available.
