Category: Uncategorized

THE SENTINEL — Oct 19 — For an annual fee of $99, PersonaCheck members receive a complete criminal background check, a personal credit report, Social Security number verification, an address check and unlimited use for a year. Hard copies of the information are sent directly to the member via snail-mail and added to their profile upon verification.

DAILY UNIVERSE — Oct 18  — Reality TV is going to hit Utah's media world with the first Utah reality TV dating series – "Not on the First Date [NOTFD]."  Utah is an interesting place when it comes to dating styles and techniques. Preliminary screenings of "NOTFD" were shown in Provo and Los Angeles.

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

ODE MAGAZINE — Oct — There are countless studies looking into traumas, neuroses and disorders. Much less research has been done on joy, pleasure and happiness. Time (February 7, 2005) tries to restore the balance by interviewing experts about the latest studies on what makes people happy. Is it money? Not really. A good education? No. Nor is it a high IQ. Youthfulness? Nope. Marriage? Yes, this is often the case. Friends? Absolutely!

Mark Brooks: Why are you working in the online personals industry?  The best/top sites are run by people who have a true, insatiable passion for helping move society towards happiness, one successful relationship at a time.  Herb, Abe, Nelson, Eric, Lorna, Duane, Ben, Taek, Meir, Ruben, Jim, Warren, Andrew…

SENIOR JOURNAL — Oct 12  — "Each potential member posts their picture on the web site and they will only be allowed in if the public votes them in. We feel the number one complaint with dating online is the quality of users." It is free to join, if the members accept you. SnubClub.com 

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

Mark Brooks: An interesting spin on Hotornot

ASSOCIATED PRESS — Oct 11 — A Web site for gay men, cfs.com, has sued PayPal, claiming the online payment service refused to process transactions for charitable donations the site was collecting for Hurricane Katrina victims because the site engaged in "the sale of adult, sexually oriented or obscene materials or services."  In addition to featuring online personals, chat rooms and listings, the site sells sex videos and some advertisers sell sex toys.  cfs.com claims it was not using PayPal to process any adult-content transactions.  PayPal spokeswoman Sara Bettencourt said the company has strict guidelines prohibiting use on adult-themed Web sites.

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

Mark Brooks: Any lawyers out there willing to comment?

PRWEB — Oct 6 — Phone Matrix announced the launch of its new PrivateCall™ Express phone service on three online personals sites. PrivateCall lets people talk on the phone without exchanging numbers, without risking safety and identity theft.  If a person can’t be reached, PrivateCall’s heuristics intelligently repeat dialing until both parties are successfully connected.  “There’s simply too much of a gap between online daters using instant messaging, chat and email to them showing up for their first in-person coffee date. Anonymous phone calling services allow online daters to talk on the phone and get a sense of chemistry, without divulging their telephone numbers,” stated industry analyst and editor of Online Personals Watch, Mark Brooks. “Anonymous phone calling services will proliferate in 2006 as the online personals industry becomes ever more sensitive about safety.”  "Phone Matrix has crafted a very attractive service," said a spokesperson for Megafriends. "With a system we tried before, less than 1% of members registered for the anonymous calls. We’re not yet done promoting PrivateCall and the registration rate is already pushing 20%."  RELEASE @ PR WEB

CLICK2HOUSTON — Oct 7 — A Houston-area woman said she was told to date clients at a dating agency.  Paul paid nearly $4,000, but said he only got dates with staff members.  The Houston-area Better Business Bureau has received 200 complaints on Houston Dating Services in the past year.  Paul has moved onto another local service –one he's happy with, so far. 

The full article was originally published at Click2Houston, but is no longer available.

Mark Brooks: This is a real world dating agency.  Often they have a hard time finding enough members in certain age ranges.  Sending in agency employees for dating members is bad form.  They need to turn down clients or comp them at least if they can't support their desired age range. 

Sept 28 — Participation in three of the technologies highest on the Internet’s buzz list — blogging, reading RSS feeds, and engaging in social networking — is climbing, but two of the three haven’t cracked the 1-in-10 barrier. 10% of consumers read blogs once a week or more, said Forrester Research, double the rate in 2004.

Mark Brooks: Online Personals Watch stands at 728 posts and 560 comments. What started as a little side project 15 months ago is morphing into a portal for the online personals industry.  Search Engine Watch is the model inspiring Online Personals Watch. OPW is partnered with iDate, the Internet Dating Convention.    

PR Newswire — Sept 28 — Dr. Robyn encourages women to use the following safety tips for first meetings: 1) Spend time on the phone prior to meeting. But, do not give out your home or cell phone number.  2) Meet in a public place.  3) Never get talked into anything you do not want to do. 4) Do not get in his/her car.  5) Watch for red flags such as catching them in a lie.  6) Ask for several recent pictures before you meet.  7) Let someone know where and when you are meeting and anything you do know about him.

Mark Brooks: Good tips.  Anonymous phone calling service provider PhoneMatrix can help online personals sites with tip #1.  They allow users to connect via the phone without revealing their numbers via the online personals site.

PR WEB — Sept 28 — Dinklink.com, "Dating, with no kids attached" will help the millions of singles seeking the "D.I.N.K" (Dual Income, No Kids) lifestyle. "At Dinklink.com, people know they have two things in common with every other member on the site: no one has or wants children, and everyone has a job," says Joe Pazo, founder and CEO of Nocturnal Metropolis.  U.S. Census data indicates that approximately 77% of unmarried women 18-44 were child-free in 2002. The social landscape is changing.  The long held notion of 'family' revolving around children is being replaced, for some people, by a desire to spend more time traveling and following individual pursuits with a significant other or spouse by their side".  Memberships start at $7.99 per month. RELEASE @ PR WEB

Mark Brooks: A great niche that is set to get larger.  Smart move.  Now, how will he market the site to get it to critical mass?