Online Dating Insider

Yes, it's the title of a real book, and there's an article in the Star Tribune about the book's co-authors (see Date with the future: Couple brings next wave of coupling to the masses).

Michael Lasky, 51, is a lawyer from Minnesota, and his "woman-friend" is Judith Sliverstein, 46, a dermatologist from Atlanta, met through an online dating service. They have become online dating "evangelists", and co-authored the book Online Dating for Dummies.

Emode, a matchmaking and social networking site purchased Ringo, another social networking site, and changed it's name to Tickle (see IDG News Service: Social networking site Emode tickles Ringo).

The article also offers some interesting commentary on the potential profitability (or lack thereof) of social networking sites:

Although social networking is an emerging and interesting phenomenon, it remains to be seen if it will evolve into a solid business model, analysts said. "I don't know that this is a market yet," said David Card, an analyst with Jupiter Research. At this stage, social networking is more of an online feature than a market around which a real business can be built, he said.

"Social networking is about a year old and it's very much in niche status, mostly that of younger people interested in connecting with others," said Charlene Li, a Forrester Research analyst. Yet providers of social networking services are attracting venture capital funding, mostly because these Web sites have found a new way to attract users, and thus have new opportunities to generate revenue, she said.

Bambi Francisco at AlwaysOn writes:

InterActiveCorp's ( IACI: news, chart, profile ) Match.com is one of the most popular sites online, but its ability to raise prices next year (should it care to) looks questionable even though online dating is the leading service consumers are willing to pay for.

The onset of the site called Friendster, a new so-called social-networking site that burst onto the Internet scene through word-of-mouth marketing and its unbeatable cost to the consumers -- zero, invariably caps Match.com's ability to charge. Someone recently pointed out to me that he saw the same people on Match that he saw on Friendster. So, why bother paying to get on Match?

(See The middleman's dwindling value.)

Bambi overlooks the fact that eHarmony is currently charging $50, more than any other online dating service that I know of. People are willing to pay a premium for a premium service.

It is also doubtful that Friendster will stay free much longer. The company is supposedly worth $30 million, so they are going to have to start charging money soon to justify that.

But people get mad if they feel they are being ripped off. The recent angry reviews of JDate here at eDateReview.com demonstrate this. People are probably more willing to pay a premium price for a new service with slicker marketing than to suddenly pay more for the same old service. Given the large number of online dating sites out there, it's an unwise business move to alienate users the way JDate did.

Jay, one of the guys who was kicked off the show Average Joe, announces his new website. But the site is just a single page with an affiliate link to another dating site, so I don't think I'm going to give the guy a free link just because the beautiful Melana liked Zach better, and he paid money to publish a press release.

However, if he wants to submit a mutual link with eDateReview.com, he's welcome to fill out the form at the add site page just like everyone else.

The online dating service TrueBeginnings and Rapsheets Criminal Records announced a partnership in which Rapsheets will provide background checks for all users who sign up for TrueBeginnings.

"TRUEBeginnings understands the concerns and hesitations among singles looking for a relationship," said Martin Hanan, President, TRUEBeginnings. "Our partnership with Rapsheets was created specifically to address these issues and help to protect the safety of our members by ensuring that all members' interactions are secure."

link to press release

MingleMatch, a company offering niche dating sites such as Black Singles Connection, Christian Mingle, Canadian Personals, and Single Parents Mingle, announced that third quarter revenues are up 365 percent over the same quarter last year.

link to press release

A new online dating site, Verona Street, opened this week. Verona Street’s angle is that the service is more women-friendly than other online dating sites.

It is not commonly known that online dating websites typically have a 70% to 30% men-to-women ratio among its members. Things are different at Verona Street. By offering more women-friendly features, Verona Street aims to achieve a better balance between men and women.

link to press release

DoubleSign.com, an online dating service specializing in astrological matchmaking, including both Western and Chinese astrology, is seeking an additional $10 million in equity financing and plans to go public by 2008. DoubleSign.com is currently privately funded by its founders.

According to the company's press release, Doublesign.com received more than 6 million hits in October 2003.

Walter King, DoubleSign.com's president, claims to believe that his service will reduce the number of divorces, pyschological breakups and even suicides resulting from incompatible personal and business relationships.

link to press release

A Philadelphia news website, DailyLocal.com, features an article today about online dating, Using the Internet to look for a perfect match.

The article, like most in the popular media, is mostly favorable towards online dating:

Christine Gunsaullus, of West Chester, has been able to preview potential friends with the simplicity of clicking and reading. The service that once had a stigma attached has kept Gunsaullus' date book full.

So the good news for users of online dating services is that the "stigma" is no longer there. Of course there is the usual other side of the story included here as well:

"I don’t particularly trust the Internet enough to give my personal information regarding my relationship interests," said Aubrey Hays, a West Chester resident. "I think there's a lot more to know about a person than what you can read online. And it's kind of insensitive. You set yourself up with an anonymous person."

The article also contains this piece of information about the typical Match.com user:

The typical member for match.com is a 33-year-old, college-educated professional who lives in a metropolitan area, according to [Match.com's] Director of Dating Kathleen Roldan.