Category: Uncategorized

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Dec 7 — Grouper Networks will let users share their homemade videos over the Internet and play them on portable devices such as the iPod. The free service will give users the platform and software tools to present photos and video taken from their cameras to an online audience of their choice.  They will offer unlimited uploads of video clips and a downloadable video application allowing users to edit their movies, add music and effects, and compress the files. The service lets users publish their filmstrips or videos to other Web destinations such as Friendster and MySpace. 

The full article was originally published at CNet, but is no longer available.

THIRD AGE — Dec 5 — Here’s one of the ten…Talking and connecting with another person releases your endorphins. Just as exercise releases endorphins, so too does exercising your ‘social’ muscles by dating. Throw in a whole bunch of other chemicals that are triggered, including prolactin, adrenalin and PEA (phenylethylamine), and you may never need prescription meds again.

The full article was originally published at Third Age, but is no longer available.

ITP TECHNOLOGY — Dec 5 — Software giant Microsoft has unveiled a new free tool called SNARF that helps users sift through bulging inboxes using a social sorting approach. SNARF stands for Social Network and Relationship Finder.  The tool counts e-mails, sorts them by sender, and draws assumptions about their priority based on the frequency of interaction. If the tool proves popular with users, Microsoft plans to include the feature in upcoming versions of its e-mail clients. Users can download the beta version of SNARF. 

The full article was originally published at ITP Technology, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: Gmail allows users to see threads by conversation and search at lightning speed.  This is Microsoft's answer.  Let SNARF index your mail, then, from the SNARF window, try right clicking on a contact 'Open in thread view.'  Nice!  Your conversations displayed. 

Nov 6 — A jewellery manufacturer in the United States is putting her home up for sale on the Ebay online auction site with the twist that she comes with it. Deborah Hale, 48, says she wants to find a bidder, aged 40-60, to share the home within a long-term relationship. housewithbride.com. The house is priced at $US600,000 ($818,370), with herself added in as "priceless". 

The full article was originally published at ABC News, but is no longer available.

LEE SPRINGFIELD BUREAU — Dec 2 — A Southern Illinois Democrat is considering legislation requiring online dating services to perform criminal background checks to weed out predators that might be lurking on the Internet.  State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, said he was surprised to learn that these services are not required to perform background checks on members.  "One thing I was trying to come up with is a way to make sure you have a simple background check on somebody before you allow them to advertise," he said. "It seems to me that there should at least be a non-sex offender requirement to be on one of those dating sites."  He is considering creating legislation to address this potential problem.  FULL ARTICLE @ SOUTHERN ILLINOISIAN

THE KANSAS CITY STAR — Dec 1 — What happens when faith is the dealbreaker?  He’s gotta be Jewish.  She must be Christian.  Or Muslim, or Wiccan, or whatever.  …some interesting interviews with Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, Protestant and Christians. – Mark Brooks 

MARKETING VOX — Nov 30 — Google has opened an internet-ready lounge at London's Heathrow Airport to offer 10 net-connected laptops to travelers during layovers or flight delays. The lounge – Google Space – is staffed by Google employees who provide assistance to users. It allows Google to road-test new products and get feedback. The space was launched a week ago and will be active in Heathrow until December 19. 

The full article was originally published at Marketing Vox, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: If anyone happens upon it, please comment.  Perhaps Google is testing something pertinent to online personals?

ZDNET NEWS — Nov 29 — Microsoft is developing a free online service that will let people list items for sale, events and other classifieds-type of information that can be shared either with groups of friends or anyone over the Internet, the company said Tuesday. The service, code-named Fremont, has been in internal testing at Microsoft for about a week and a half.  It will be a free listing service, with a bunch of twists to make it very unique, such as integration with social networks, in particular integration with MSN Messenger.  Ads relevant to the listing will appear alongside the search results.  The U.S. online classifieds advertising market is forecast to grow from $2.6 billion this year to $4.1 billion in 2010, according to JupiterResearch. 

The full article was originally published at ZD Net News, but is no longer available.

PR WEB — Nov 30 — Online Dating Magazine has launched a new content distribution service, OnlineDatingContent.com, to provide content for dating website owners. Articles focus on online dating, dating tips, relationships, communication tips.  RELEASE @ PR WEB

BUSINESS WIRE — Nov 28 — Vivox will power WorldFriends with live text, voice or video chat. Worldfriends operates in 20 different countries and in four different languages – English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean and provides private label online personals. The popularity of online dating across Asia is on the rise. The number of homes with broadband Internet services in the region — already higher than the United States market — is predicted to rise to 176 million by 2010 from 61 million today. Community members will be able to interact with each other among the most popular IM networks including AOL's AIM, Yahoo!, MSN and ICQ.  RELEASE @ BUSINESS WIRE