Posts filed under 'Online Dating News'
I don’t normally pick up on other people’s press releases when they’re advertising new sites unless I have a specific point to make about their workmanship (see earlier post), but this one made me laugh so much when I saw the headline in Google News, I had to blog it:
Free Online Poker & Dating Site Goes Live Poker-Online-Dating.com is on the air
Poker-Online-Dating (www.Poker-Online-Dating.com) launches its new and exciting free dating site for online poker players. It matches poker players together from around the world who are looking for true love.
Our site provides a safe environment where people of similar interests and hobbies can meet. Imagine meeting someone online who loves playing poker as much as you. You can discuss the latest poker tournaments you’ve entered, your best poker hands, or your highest winnings without boring your date. Even better, your date understands you!
(and the rest)
Of all the niche fusion ideas in the world this one’s right up there with the Korean Pizza.
“Are you ready to combine online poker with online dating?”
I’m not sure I am, really!
June 23rd, 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
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
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
Dr David Voas from The University of Manchester said that zodiac ‘love signs’ have no impact on our chances of marrying - and staying married.
The Senior Research Fellow at the University’s Centre for Census and Survey Research analysed the birthdays of all 20 million husbands and wives in England and Wales.
The investigation - using 2001 census data - failed to reveal any evidence of attraction between star signs.
(Full article here)
The research takes into account the fact that professional astrologers view the complete birth charts, rather than rely solely on sun sign, but assumes that sun signs would account for a level of measurable influence, if it existed.
There is no shortage of dating sites out there that offer astrological matching but somehow I doubt any of them will suffer too greatly from the publication of this report. Astrology is still a highly popular way for people to measure their supposed “compatibility”.
Astrology has different trends in it, much like psychology. Astrological compatibility tests are used to measure particular compatibility factors and ignore others (much like trends in psychology ).
The important thing people should keep in mind following this survey is not to take astrological compatibility too seriously and, in particular, not to write off any supposedly “incompatible” matches.
Anything that pigeon-holes people based on factors they cannot control is limited at best.
March 27th, 2007
I’m surprised hotenough.org is the first site in the US to vet people based on looks. The UK’s Gorgeous Dating has been doing it for years and attracting some pretty well-off members who often say they’d never dream of dating on a “normal” site.
With online dating having now become so big, there’s gotta be a way for people to weed out those potentials they’re not likely to ever want to date. Regardless of what qualities you choose to vet people by, the mere act of making a site exclusive only to some daters is always going to be somewhat controversial. By the same token, there will always be a demand for it. The more people discover the fact that online dating usually involves a lengthy process of browsing, searching and physically dating a multitude of unsuitables, the more they will require market niching to make their lives easier. Clubs and bars reserve the right of admission to ensure the right atmosphere, so it was only a matter of time till dating sites started doing it too.
March 22nd, 2007
* That’s the London Underground, for you non-Brits
Just saw this ad today:
Crappy pic, I know, but I didn’t have a proper camera on me. Click on the image for the bigger version.
It’s a bit unclear in the pic, but the woman is said to be a model into “modern art and boxing” and the guy is a “businessman” who likes Stallone and wildlife. The man is 5′11″ and 29, the woman is 5′4″ and 25. Seems like some very traditional, stereotypical assumptions are being made about the preferences of the target audience. Then again, The Asian community is often quite traditional so maybe they’ll all be flocking to Shaadi.com to find their own businessmen and models.
I noted there aren’t any calls to action, nor are there any promotional codes, mobile shortcodes or any other method of tracking conversions from this campaign. Pure branding? I hope they have money to burn. I know how much these campaigns cost…
March 15th, 2007
A recent report has shown that 20% of British Internet users used dating sites in December last year compared to only 13% in America . The French, however, beat everyone, with 22% of their Internet users logging on for love.
December is traditionally a busy month on the sites, because the holiday season can make people feel pretty lonely. I wonder whether the figures would have been significantly different if the research had been done in a different month. Either way, if you account for the fact that not all Internet users are single, it emerges that online dating has now become pretty much standard in the UK. About time, too.
February 23rd, 2007
