Category: Zoosk

Posted on February 16, 2010

This is the news for February 10th through February 15th, 2010. Here is the news we covered:

  • Visits to dating sites showing a general decline
  • PlentyofFish vs. Match.com
  • Mobile Dating and Virtual Goods are big business
  • Online Dating is becoming commonplace
  • Meetic has posted 2009 revenues
  • Match.com and Meetic partner in Latin America
  • Match.com joins forces with Neu.de
  • New ad campaign for Match directly targets women
  • Easydate and Dating Factory partner up
  • IMVU teams up with Zoosk
  • Avid Life Media and Friend Finder Networks shelve IPOs
  • Matchmaking industry going strong

Finding The Right Online Dating Service

Posted on February 14, 2010

Online dating zavinac a srdicka LA TIMES – Feb 14 – Piper Jaffray Investment Research predicted U.S. spending on online dating would reach $1.7 billion annually by 2013, and $1.2 billion was spent in 2008. The Internet is essentially the world's largest bar, explains Mark Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch. The first step is figuring out which nightspot is for you: There are those with no cover charges, PlentyofFish and OKCupid, and hookup spots Fling.com and OnlineBootyCall.com. There are "theme nights" geared toward particular interests, such as BikerPlanet.com, and "neighborhood watering holes" based on religion or culture, such as JDate or AsiaFriendFinder. There's comfort in name recognition from eHarmony and Match. Or get a yenta through eLove.com.

"One of our more popular sites as of late is DateaCougar.com," says Stephen Ventura, VP of First Beat Media, which owns GothScene.com, BikerPlanet.com, FitnessDates.com and others.  Want a dash of romance with your social networking? Brooks says to look to Zoosk. It syncs with a users' Facebook's profile page. Spark's Kizmeet is attempting something similar. Still, Brooks says it's unlikely that social networking sites will kill the online dating market. "If people are anonymous, people tend to be more aggressive and more outspoken," he says. "On an Internet dating site, if you want to cut somebody off, you can easily. When you're on a social network, you have to be [polite] because their friends are watching."

Match.com's mobile members alone grew 250% from 2008 to 2009, says Whitney Casey, Match's relationship expert. Industry experts Brooks and CyberDatingExpert.com's, Julie Spira also praise GPS-based mobile applications like Skout and Foursquare. "I'm looking forward to people using Internet dating on the iPad," Brooks adds. "You can look up a profile very easily on that format. The iPhone is still a phone." Spira says to look to webcam dating sites, Speeddate.com or WooMe.com. Hitwise reports that visits to free dating sites like PlentyofFish rose 19% over the previous year.
FULL ARTICLE @ LA TIMES

See all posts on PlentyofFish              See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on OkCupid                    See all posts on DateaCougar
See all posts on Fling                         See all posts on Zoosk
See all posts on OnlineBootyCall         See all posts on SpeedDate
See all posts on JDate                        See all posts on WooMe
See all posts on eHarmony                 See all posts on Spark Networks
See all posts on eLove

IMVU Partners With Zoosk

Posted on February 12, 2010

Zoosk imvu loga PRESS RELEASE – Feb 11 - IMVU, an avatar-based social network and virtual world where people meet and interact in 3D, partners with Zoosk to bring the dating service to IMVU. To join the Zoosk service within IMVU, members age 18 and over will simply click the "Dating" link under the Community tab. From there, they will follow the step-by-step instructions to create an account. FULL ARTICLE @ PR LOG

See all posts on Zoosk

This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch.

Internet Dating Industry Weekly News Feb 9th, 2010

Posted on February 2, 2010

This is the news for January 20th through February 1st, 2010. Here is the news we covered:

  • Real Simple Magazing ranks top dating sites
  • Avid Life Media pushing for an IPO
  • Match.com launches MatchAffinity
  • iovation shows strong sucess in 2009
  • 2010 iDate Awards results

The Modern Love Connection

Posted on January 28, 2010

KANSAS.COM – Jan 28 – In a study done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in Dec 2009, 93% of the 18-29-year-old group was reported as internet users. Younger adults make up 28% of the entire social networking population. According to Laurie Davis, host of LoveNation, a weekly web show that covers emerging trends in the dating world, more people will be digitally connected romantically through “micro-dating.” Zoosk is one of the many companies doing just this. Zoosk allows singles to connect through Facebook. Cell phone apps are also becoming popular. Skout is an iPhone app that uses the iPhone’s GPS to offer a real-time location-based service for online daters. With this app, a single could view profiles based on location.

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

See all posts on Zoosk
See all posts on Skout

Internet Dating Industry Weekly News Dec 17th, 2009 – 3 mins

Posted on December 18, 2009

This is the news for the week of December 11th through December 17th, 2009. Here is the news we covered for this week:

  • Mobile Dating Growing Like Gangbusters
  • Ashley Madison Sues AshleyMadison
  • Spark Networks Launches Spark.com Dating Site
  • Blackbox Republic Partners with Entertainment Venues and Promoters

Zoosk Secures $30 Million In Series D Funding

Posted on December 3, 2009

Zoosk logo new PR NEWSWIRE – Dec 3 – Zoosk, the social dating community, has closed a $30M Series D round of funding. The round was led by new investor Bessemer Venture Partners, the oldest venture capital firm in the United States. Existing investors Canaan Partners and ATA Ventures also participated. Since its launch in December 2007, Zoosk has attracted~40M singles. Singles can join Zoosk via their social network by adding the Zoosk application on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, and Friendster.

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

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Zoosk Hooks Up With $30M

Posted on November 24, 2009

Zoosk logo new SF BUSINESS JOURNAL – Oct 23 - Zoosk, a so-called online “social” dating service, is now on a $30M annual run rate, and in 2009 it expects to generate $20M in revenue. Zoosk gets 2.3M U.S. visitors monthly, and 8.5M globally, according to Quantcast. Mark Brooks, a well-known online dating site consultant, said Zoosk’s integration with social networks means people don’t have to fill out profiles and they can more casually make connections than on traditional dating sites. Having visibility into a prospective date’s friend network also provides a sense of safety, he said. FULL ARTICLE @ SF BUSINESS JOURNAL

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App And Mobile Dating Market Continues To Skyrocket

Posted on November 3, 2009

Mobile dating super CHICAGO NOW – Nov 3 – Worldwide, the mobile dating market, which included app, mobile Internet services and text-based services, has grown from $330 million in 2007 to $550 million in 2008. That figure is expected to more than double to $1.3 billion by 2013, according to Juniper Research. Skout, SpeedDate, DateCheck, Zoosk, Grindr, Radaroo and Gelato are but a handful of offerings in this market. Traditional online dating sites are also realizing the need for a mobile dating solution. Match.com and OkCupid have made strides in this direction. Traditional online dating sites must offer a mobile solution in order to remain competitive.

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

Online Dating Looks For Love On Social Media

Posted on October 27, 2009

Social dating article picture SF CHRONICLE – Oct 27 – Some argue that social media such as Facebook or Twitter, which provide a more accurate snapshot of users' lives, can lead to better connections. Gelato, a new dating site, lets users create their profiles based on information from Twitter, Facebook, Hulu, Netflix and Last.fm. Thread, a site that opened in September, takes a jab at the awkwardness of navigating the Internet to meet strangers by helping Facebook users connect with the friends of their friends. Zoosk claims to be  a combination of social networks and online dating. Co-founder Shayan Zadeh said that the site's platform is the digital equivalent of going out to a bar with friends and meeting new people. Blackbox Republic, another newcomer for sex-positive people, describes itself as a social dating site. It provides an environment where people can create networks they can retain even after finding new love interests. In a way, its goal is to challenge the shop-and-go spirit of the classifieds system, Blackbox Republic CEO Sam Lawrence said. OnlineDatingPost.com editor Dave Evans said "You're always going to have these dominant players, but the interesting stuff is with the edge cases. These guys have created a sexier proposition." FULL ARTICLE @ SF CHRONICLE

See all posts on Gelato                 See all posts on Zoosk
See all posts on Thread.com         See all posts on Blackbox Republic