CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH — Mar 30 — According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project the internet is increasingly a place where Americans just hang out. Some 30% (40 million) of internet users go online on any given day for no particular reason, just for fun or to pass the time.
The full article was originally published at Center For Media Research, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Solid niche, nice site. Bravo!
Mark Brooks: I've not seen a Christian social network yet. Makes sense. But what a funky name. Doesn't lend itself well to word of mouth. I added it to the social networks list. A friend tried creating Craigslist for Christians, JoinGod.com, last year but didn't get it to critical mass and got busy with other projects.
CANADA IT — Mar 20 — A Canadian startup, EQO Communications, introduced a mobile service enabling Skype users to exchange instant messages and make VoIP calls over a wireless network. The service works on more than 40 models of phones that run J2ME. Said EQO CEO Bill Tam 'for folks who have been using SMS…we allow them to cross the chasm from the online world to instantly exchange text messages in the mobile universe.' Mr. Tam believes his service will enable Skype users to connect with services like LinkedIn and Friendster, as well as matchmaking services, through their mobile phones. 'The mobile carriers are looking to leverage online communities,' he said. 'The notion of your identity following you is a key advantage.'
The full article was originally published at Canada IT, but is no longer available.
MEDIA POST — Mar 24 — The May issue of men's magazine Maxim will be mobile-enabled, with links in the pages to content and advertisements accessible by readers' mobile phones. ElleGirl magazine tested a mobile-print integration, using Mobot.
The full article was originally published at Media Post, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Content is shifting to mobile phones. Mobile dating next, en masse.
TAMPA TRIBUNE — Mar 23 — The "Florida Internet Dating Safety Awareness Act" was approved by the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, and a companion bill received approval from the Senate Commerce and Consumer Services Committee on Tuesday. Each bill has three more committee stops before heading for a vote. Ambler’s bill failed last year but has changed, focusing more on the safety tips and less on the prominence of the disclaimers. In eight years as special agent supervisor for the Department of Law Enforcement’s Computer Crimes Center, Bob Breeden hasn’t seen any online dating-related cases, he said.
The full article was originally published at Marketing Vox, but is no longer available.
TECH NEWS WORLD — Mar 21 — Google is teaming with Nike for soccer fans worldwide with joga.com. Joga being Portuguese for "play," the new site will allow players and fans of soccer to create profiles, pick favorite players, post photos and video, compete in online tournaments and more.
Mark Brooks: Social networking will follow the same trajectory as online dating with the creation of numerous niche sites. For alumni – facebook.com, for the young – piczo.com, for Estonians rate.ee. Avenue A/Razorfish brought Carnival into the MySpace era with CarnivalConnections.com, "a site that enables travelers to plan and manage their group travel needs and socialize all at one spot."Please email me at mark@onlinepersonalswatch.com if you see others that I can list under the Ultimate Social Networking sites list.
Mar 24 — I was in four Fox News interviews in February. Alas, there was no online videos to link to.
1. Fox News Orlando – mobile dating overview
2. Fox News New York – mobile dating overview
3. Fox News Washington D.C. – online dating safety
4. Fox News Los Angeles – online dating safety
I have news reels on the way for Orlando and New York. – Mark Brooks
Mar 22 — A writer asked me for numbers of ‘successes’ on online dating sites. Here are my thoughts. Success can be defined at 8 levels… Online dating sites basic ‘promise’ is to put compatible singles in front of each other, in the real world, on a first date. The first level of success is with two singles IMing or both emailing each other. Then, talking on the phone. #3 is a big step, meeting face to face, and I think most of the people who make it to phone conversations make it to face to face meetings. Then perhaps they decide to date, repeatedly, make it to 3 months, then 9 months, then to a prolonged committed relationship, then marriage. 8 levels of ‘success’ if you like. Now how do the user numbers match up?
20+ million online daters (not including social networks) for 2006 leading to several million paid online dating users.
1. two people IMing/emailing online – several million daters make it this far
2. two people talking on the phone – 5+ million with at least one phone encounter
3. face to face meeting – 5 million meet face to face
4. active dating, 3 dates or more (sexual) – 4 million actively date one person or more
5. 3 months relationship – 750,000 make it into an ongoing relationship of 3+ months
6. 9 months – 250,000 make it to 9 months with at least one person
7. fiance/prolonged relationship/15 month – 100,000 have prolonged committed relationships
8. marriage – 50-75,000 marriages will result from online dating introductions this year
What do you think? Way off? Close? Your comments please… Please add your informed opinion and have your own stab at the numbers. – Mark Brooks