PR NEWSWIRE — May 12 — SpeedDate.com, the speed dating Web site, announced the availability of its Android application, allowing singles to effortlessly connect with potential matches from their mobile phone. SpeedDate.com is a free service which gives singles the ability to connect via three-minute instant messages or live video dates.
The full article was originally published at PR Newswire, but is no longer available.
Online Personals Watch News Summary #2, April 10, 2009
This weeks news covers the rise of philandering, virtual goods companies making $500m+, mobile dating to hit $1.4b in 2013, banner ad blindness, lock and key and events, online speed dating and a survey of fussy singles.
JENN RUBIN — March '09 – SpeedDate.com sets up members on three-minute chat sessions. Daters can converse via webcam or IM. If both vote “yes” after the introductory conversation, the site allows them to continue communicating. The company claims to have hosted more than 30m online speed dates since its launch in 2007. Mark Brooks of Online Personals Watch, calls online and real-world speed dating services “complementary.” “I think real-world speed dating will tend to grow as a consequence of the online speed dating companies, creating more awareness on the concept of speed dating, Match and eHarmony should be learning from SpeedDate.com’s platform. I think they need to add similar functionality to their sites” he says. Dating expert Renee Piane agrees that Match and eHarmony will eventually have to rethink their site strategies in order to stay relevant in the communication age. FULL ARTICLE @ JENRUBIN.COM
See all posts on SpeedDate
See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on eHarmony
USA TODAY — Feb 11 – Within the past few years, researchers have begun to focus on the nature of physical attraction. Personality, evolution and even economic compatibility can all be factors in why people are drawn together. Research suggests that some physical characteristics — a symmetrical face, for example — are considered more universally attractive. Other studies have found romantic attraction among those who have similar family, religious and economic backgrounds. Attraction is even more complicated for those who date online. SpeedDate.com allows people to "meet" for three-minute interactions through live audio-video and IM. FULL ARTICLE @ USA TODAY
NY TIMES — Feb 12 — Online dating has had a following ever since dating sites popped up around '94, said Mark Brooks, editor of Online Personals Watch. The industry then started leveling off in Feb '05. "Now at a time when money is scarce or uncertain, they don't want to go through it alone," said Dr. Pepper Schwartz of Perfectmatch.com, which had a 51% increase in new members in the Q4 of '08 compared with '07. Speeddate.com's traffic is up 60%. "During recessions people stay at home more, they don't want to pay and go to bars. They're going online to meet each other," said Markus Frind, the CEO of Plentyoffish, a free site, where visits have increased 77% from Dec '07 to Dec '08, and 32% over the last three months. While "marriage" and "children" were always popular key words, Mr. Frind said, during this period last year Plentyoffish.com users mentioned the word "job" in their profiles 5.5% of the time. This year, that number has risen to 7.7%. On BlackPeopleMeet, the percentage of people listing "job" as a criterion when asked 'What are you looking for in a partner?' increased 18% from Jan '08 to Jan '09. Offline romance specialists say they are also seeing a spike in business. From Oct through Dec'08, new membership at The Right One/Together Dating, a dating service with 60 locations across the country, increased ~18% compared with the same period the previous year. The price of membership starts at $1,000. "People are putting down deposits rather than paying in full, which is fine," said CEO, Paul Falzone.
The full article was originally published at New York Times, but is no longer available.
See all posts on PerfectMatch See all posts on BlackPeopleMeet
See all posts on SpeedDate See all posts on TheRightOne
See all posts on Plentyoffish See all posts on TogetherDating
TECH CRUNCH — Feb 3 – For at least 30 minutes SpeedDate passwords were totally optional. Type in a user name (no password needed), hit "Log In", and you had access to every private message, 'flirt', and buddy list available on the user's profile. SpeedDate says it is now fixed and that the issue only affected a subset of users, though the number of accounts affected seems to have been substantial. FULL ARTICLE @ WASHINGTON POST
CNET NEWS — Feb 3 — Online speed dating service SpeedDate announced on Monday the availability of its free iPhone application. The app allows access to SpeedDate members' profiles, which you can connect to by sending a "wink" or a quick "flirt." The free version doesn't allow to save potential dates, search based on screen name, or filter searches with more details. SpeedDate offers a seven-day free trial. After that it will cost $59.99/month.
The full article was originally published at CNet News, but is no longer available.
STAR LEDGER — Jan 5 — When she hit 40, Neenah Pickett decided to find a husband by 2010. She created 52Weeks2FindHim.com so she can post self-descriptive videos and speed-date with email responders from her home via webcam. Online dating took off in the early 1990s, with users posting detailed personality profiles and flattering photos. More recently, sites like webdate.com and speeddate.com began to feature video dating, said Mark Brooks, editor of Onlinepersonalswatch.com, an industry site for online personals. "Sometimes, you go out on a date with somebody and find out they don't have a full head of hair, or are 20 pounds heavier than that photo taken years ago," Brooks said. "With a video date, you see what you're going to get. It's very compelling."
The full article was originally published at NJ.com, but is no longer available.
CNET NEWS — Oct 24 — SpeedDate.com, the purveyor of the Web video-based online dating service snatched up the rights to the Oregon Trail Facebook application, which will soon be replaced with the service's existing speed-dating application. The practice of changing an application's functionality and namesake is fair and legal according to Facebook's platform application guidelines and terms of service. Developers are free to make these drastic changes to their applications as long as they stay within Facebook's relatively loose rules.
The full article was originally published at CNet News, but is no longer available.
MARKETWATCH — Oct 20 — Since launching in October 2007, speeddate.com raised over $8m in VC funding and hosted 18m online dates. SpeedDate.com allows singles to meet each other through 3-minute online speed dates using webcams, audio, and IM. SpeedDate is also available as an application on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, and meebo.
The full article was originally published at MarketWatch, but is no longer available.