Archive for May, 2007
My usual scan of Google news brought up an article telling marketers why they should consider advertising on dating sites.
Online dating is an incredibly fast-growing segment of the Internet. Dating sites received more than 2 million unique visitors from the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in Q1 alone. But, is that a good enough reason to advertise within dating sites?
Yes. If the ad is targeted correctly.
Well duh! I’ve never heard of that site, so it might tbe one of those sites that group weak content around adverts, but come on.
I mean, I know some agencies have a hard time getting the idea into their heads that dating sites are good for brand association, because I’ve worked with some agencies that were meant to sell ads on our sites and just never bothered to actually try to sell the space. I also know that because of the long session times and the fact that there are a lot of page views per unique visitors then the amount of money you can get for the traffic is not as high as it could be.
But, with that said, any decent dating site could do some serious, serious targeting - more so than most types of sites out there - simply because of the amount of information they collect about the users (age, sex, location, ethnicity, income, children, education, etc.). People share all that information publicly on their profiles, where they normally wouldn’t put those details into any other website.
Apart from allowing advertisers to get a good idea of the demographics for branding, this is great for direct response stuff, as in actually getting people to click through and buy stuff. I find it hard to believe that there are still people out there who don’t get that. I’d much rather thing it’s just some of the people who write about the industry that are that backwards!
May 28th, 2007
Introducing: CheatNeutral :
Jealousy and heartbreak are a natural part of modern life. And sometimes, no matter how hard we try, it’s just not possible to be faithful.
At Cheatneutral, we believe that we should all try to reduce the amount we cheat on our partners, but we also realise that fidelity isn’t always possible.
That’s why we help you neutralise your cheating. Your actions are offset by a global network of fidelity, developed by us. By paying Cheatneutral, you’re funding monogamy-boosting offset projects - we simply invest the money you give us in monogamous, faithful or just plain single people, to encourage them to stay that way.
Will all the married guys lurking on dating sites please give generously and help make our world a better place!
OK, so it’s actually a joke to make a statement about how carbon offsetting is a joke, but I still love it 
(Thanks to Roy for this one)
May 27th, 2007
Internet lothario meets his match
A serial internet dater who was banned from one site for displaying a “lack of commitment” has finally met his Ms Right, it is reported.
(Full story here)
I totally missed out on this when the news came out, but just found it on the Pocado news section.
I remember this guy from my moderating days. It wasn’t our site that banned him, and looks like that was the right move
Maybe all he needed was the love of the right woman?
May 27th, 2007
In past posts in this blog, I sang the praises of social networking sites and talked about how much more natural the meeting process is on there.
Now, after reading the article linked to below, it’s time to talk about the Other Side
The early adopters of social networking technology were not only those separated from their friends and family by means of physical distance but also those who didn’t quite fit in with their immediate, real life environment. Sites like livejournal and Myspace are notorious for being the haunt of teenage (and older) goths who make use of the exhibitionist nature of those sites in order to finally live out their fantasies of having an active social circle and look mysterious and cool. While the ability to network with others via a mutual friend is very handy, having your friends’ list displayed in a prominent location can make the whole thing turn into a massive popularity contest, a fact which is now much abused by PR companies. People wear their friends and favourite artists like badges of honour, becoming “better people” by having a busy profile. Even the interaction is done publicly, to create the feel of being very socially involved.
Continue Reading May 25th, 2007
Different people have different ideas of how soon people should meet up after becoming acquainted via online dating.
As a general rule, it’s women who usually tend to be a bit more cautious (for obvious reasons) but you may well find some men who prefer to take their time, as well as women who like to move faster.
Some dating sites are more likely to appeal to those who want to take their time (such as those sites that cater to those seeking serious relationships) while others will have a larger concentration of fast paced daters. So how do you decide on the bes time?
Continue Reading May 23rd, 2007
It’s actually more exciting than I thought it would be. It’s an actual book, with my name on it
I guess you don’t quite realise it’s real until you are holding the actual product in your hand.
May 20th, 2007
Please ignore the weirdness.
May 19th, 2007
The BBC is reporting the results of a few interesting pieces of research about UK Internet use demographics. Apaprently, The heaviest online users in the UK are not young men, as previously taught, but 18-34 women and men over 50. Interestingly, the most visited websites are said to be those to do with parenting and childcare, as well as high street shop sites and “social networking sites like Facebook”. I’d have thought Myspace was far more popular in the UK. PR plant? Or maybe I’m just wrong?
I wonder if this trend is an indication of a predominance of stay at home moms who spend a lot of time online? when I was at Allegran, our fastest-growing site was DatingForParents and I’ve always felt it fulfiled an actual need, rather than a mere niche.
As for the men over 50, I’m at a loss. It looks like if you’re a guy over 50, looking for a much younger woman, you may actually be in with a chance. Statistically, at least
That aside, it’s always good to get a glimpse at the demographics of your market (tapped or otherwise). New product ideas anyone?
May 17th, 2007
Copies should be with the retailers within a week or so. The Amazon buying links on the right should actually work now
I am back from holiday and am trying to sort out things such as press releases and publicity.
Hopefully, things are about to get busy!
May 16th, 2007
I’m going away on holiday. Service will resume when I return.
May 6th, 2007
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