Archive for April, 2007
I was really disappointed with this article that asks whether marriages following online dating hook-ups are more likely to end in divorce. When the headline asks a question like that, I expect it to deliver some sort of hard-hitting research. The answer in this case, however, is “probably not, but we have no way of knowing”. Add that to some PR plant blurb about eHarmony and Mary.com and all you get is a giant yawn. Did we really need to know that “it’s too soon to tell” whether relationship that stem from online dating are better or worse than “standard” relationships? Does having no formal data warrant a whole article dedicated to discussing this non-topic? Poor. Very poor.
Personally, I don’t think there is much of a difference between the results of either of these dating methods. I would be grossly surprised if either turned out to be more effective than the other on a large scale. Traditionalists and luddites will slate digital interaction until they’re blue in the face and online dating academics will claim to have reinvented the wheel, but in reality it’s all much of a muchness. Once you meet your match, the medium or method you used to facilitate that meeting is not really that important.
Some people have better luck meeting others online, while others do better in bars. It’s as simple as that.
April 29th, 2007
After 2 years and a few months, I am leaving Allegran. Things have been getting too busy and I forsee a couple of busy months ahead where I will need to concentrate on some serious self-promotion. After that, I will most likely be looking for part time/freelance work so that I can continue working on my writing. I’ve had some great times at Allegran and learned a hell of a lot. I never would have written the book if it weren’t for some of the great people there. It’s hard to leave all my friends behind, but I am quite excited about being able to take the time to do my own thing. Onwards and upwards!
April 25th, 2007
Amora, a new themed interactive tourist attraction has opened in London this week. The theme is love, dating and sex.
We are in the process of arranging a partnership with them, so I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of Amora while they were still putting the final touches on the place. I must say I was pretty impressed, although the site of rugged builders putting the final touches on the “orgasm tunnel” and the likes was rather amusing, to say the least.
Amora manages to be very explicit, but stylish at the same time while maintaining mass-market appeal, which is pretty impressive in itself.
The hi-tech interactive displays are very inspired. My personal favourite was the “find the G-spot” game with life-size body casts (male and female) that light up and moan when you hit the right spot. The “kissing mirror” was not operational when I visited, but promises to be very educational as well. I wonder what the tourists will make of it.
April 21st, 2007
It’s official, you can die of a broken heart.
The term “love doctor” has just gained an entirely new meaning.
April 21st, 2007
A new report published in the UK, has shown that most British Internet users do not trust online services, but use them anyway because they believe the benefits outweigh the risks. Add that to the fact that many UK users are simply not safety aware and it’s no surprise that people keep getting scammed. Are dating sites doing enough to ensure their users’ online dating safety?
Many dating sites employ moderators to weed out the scammers, but that is not always enough to stop all of them from getting through. Nasty, unethical sites lull their users into a false sense of security, but really what we need is some serious online dating safety education.
How much information is available on your site to educate people about potential dangers? Is it available somewhere obvious, or is it hidden somewhere at the back of the site? The potential existence of scammers on the site is not something any site owner would like to talk about, but really, it’s something that has to be done as part of our responsibility to our customers. Like everything else that is not a positive feature, it should be handled delicately, but it should definitely be handled, rather than swept under the carpet.
Continue Reading April 21st, 2007
Two things caught my eye today. One is the development of 3-D maps for the blind by Greek scientists (thank you SmartMobs) and the other is a Danish invention for turning web pages into Braille. Regina Lynn comments on how 3-D mapping could be applied to sexual exploration and it got me thinking about how these two new pieces of technology could be applied to the online dating world. Could turning people’s photographs into 3-d maps be possible at some point soon? Could blind people be reading dating profiles in Braille? I’m sure there’s a dating service waiting to happen right there.
April 15th, 2007
From the BBC:
Man proposes after four minutes
A single father-of-two proposed to an American woman he met on the internet four minutes after flying 4,000 miles to see her for the first time.
Sometimes the face to face meeting is only needed for a final confirmation.
Warms your heart, doesn’t it? 
April 15th, 2007
According to the UK’s office for national statistics, more than seven million people in Britain live alone now, compared with three million in 1971. Single parent families are also on the rise, especially those with lone mothers. Not only are more people living alone or without a partner, people are also getting married later, especially the men. (Full BBC article here).
Add this to the fact over half of the UK’s adult population now have access to broadband and you’ll realise that not only is there a real need in this country for online dating services, the infrastructure exists to make it relatively easy for comapnies to fulfil that need.
April 11th, 2007
The book is almost ready and one of the final touches is getting some incentives in to add value to the book. I’ve already got a couple of companies giving me some promo codes/coupons, but there’s room for a few more if you’re quick. If you’re looking for what is basically free exposure to a load of target demographic, talk to me. I’m mostly interested in UK companies, but would also accept foreign ones who have a good UK membership base.
April 9th, 2007
There’s been much debate recently about the shift in the US online dating market. I’ve been following the discussions with interest. It looks like the market is slowing, social networking sites are taking a chunk of the audience and site owners are sniffing the trends and trying to combat the problem. Some sites are going from a free model to a paid model, others are going from a paid model to a free model and there’s some sites popping up that try to bring together social networking and dating to create something that will appeal to both audiences.
I think that if you’re sold on the idea that social networking is stealing your customers you gotta take more than a superficial view at what social networking sites do that dating sites don’t.
I gather that there’s lots of operators out there who went “oh, social networking is free and we’re trying to charge our users money, so no wonder they’re going away”. I think this is a rather simplistic way of looking at what your customers want or need. If you’re free, and Myspace is free, then what is your site giving your users that they can’t already get for free on Myspace? Are they going to have to spend months on your site filtering out the freaks? Time is money.
Continue Reading April 9th, 2007
Looks like Plentyoffish is going to do more stuff in the UK, with the launch of a new affiliate programme. The UK market still has a lot of scope for growth. I would say much more than the US market right now. We’ll see how big a chunk of that growth Plentyoffish can get.
I’d just like to point out the happy fact that 3 of the 7 sites mentioned in the Hitwise report are ours. Dating For Parents took a lot less than a year to hit the top 10. I’m not sure where our latest site stands, but it’s growing pretty fast so if it’s not there already it will be soon.
Oh, and our affiliate programmes (via Webgains or Tradedoubler) pay better. Just saying
Let the games begin.
April 8th, 2007
A while ago, the BBC quoted a report stating that many cases of use of date rape drugs like rohypnol in rape cases were unfounded. The report claimed that in most cases the women had simply drunk too much.
Now, apparently, there is another report from the Government’s Advisory Council on the misuse of drugs showing the exact opposite.
Not only are there two commonly used date rape drugs that are entirely legal, apparently all of those substances leave the body quite quickly, so unless the drug test is performed very quickly, there is nothing left to test and the impression is that only alcohol was involved.
The council analysed this research in its own report and found that in some cases there were clear delays between an incident and attempts to detect samples.
And in 41 of the 62 instances where alcohol was detected, one or more controlled drugs were also present.
Obviously, I think it’s pretty fair to assume that the majority of these cases were not a result of online dating, but this is as good a time as any to reiterate how important it is to follow the standard online dating safety rules when meeting people. They are available on every decent dating site, as well as in my book (obviously!) and on this blog. These rules may seem paranoid and over the top but, personally, I’d rather be paranoid than a victim. When pubs and drinking are concerned, you’re better off not letting your guard down. By all means, drink and be merry, but don’t overdo it and don’t ever leave your drink unattended around strangers.
April 2nd, 2007
I held off writing about this for a few days, but enough is enough. Sooner or later it was bound to come out.
Durex are looking for condom testers. No money, but plenty of perks. Obviously.
Closing date for applications is 30th of April so there’s still time!
Just remember: saying you have a whole load of free condoms and a contract with Durex is not as good a chat up line as it may first seem
April 1st, 2007
