Online Dating Industry Journal

Swedish Site - No Online Dating Stigma Here

(Online Dating Industry Journal) One country where online dating is big (and getting bigger) is Sweden where there are few inhibitions. Swedes have embraced online dating and as one Swedish news site puts it, the popularity of online dating goes beyond singles.

The Local - a Swedish news site published in English - recently published an article titled "Internet Dating Goes to The Movies". The article talks about the popularity of Internet dating in Sweden and how some online dating services are reaching out via popular singles events. And unlike the United States, in Sweden there is virtually no "online dating stigma".

From the article:

"There is absolutely no stigma attached to internet dating in this country as almost everyone knows somebody who actually hooked up for good with someone they met online. However, even the virtual meat market can be tough going, especially if you are a reserved Swede who is a teeny bit scared of actually meeting up in the flesh..."

Click here to read the entire article.

Joe's Comments
Part of the perception of the online dating stigma in different countries is created by how the media covers the topic. In the United States there is still a lot of press that stereotypes online dating and puts forth that it is still for "desperate people".

City Official Resigns After Flap with Girl He Met Online

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Richard Mulligan, a top city official in Chandler, Arizona, has resigned after ongoing legal battles stemming from a woman he met on Match.com who later became his girlfriend, then ex-girlfriend. According to the Arizona Republic, the girl Mulligan met online filed reports against him for assault and stalking, resulting in his arrest.

From the article:

"On Monday, the day after his arrest, Mulligan sought an injunction against Banna, claiming the former girlfriend's unannounced visits to his home and "loud screaming or throwing up" in his front yard disturbs his two teen-age sons and neighbors. He said in his petition that Banna collaborated with his ex-wife to get the earlier injunction..."

Click here to read the full article.

Joe's Comments
While online dating is, by far, the best medium to meet people to date, be careful with the type of person you decide to enter into a relationship with. Early warning signs should be your red flag to get out of a potentially disastrous relationship earlier, versus later.

Promotion Codes - Offer Yours to Online Daters

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Services like eHarmony have found a new way to reach online daters - through Online Dating Magazine's Online Dating Promotions section. The section, which opened this year, publishes promotions and promotion codes that dating services are offering to Online Dating Magazine readers.

For example, eHarmony is offering Online Dating Magazine readers 20% off a six-month membership by using the promotion code CJSPRINGPROMOAAB. Readers visit the site, sign up for a six-month subscription, then use the code to receive the instant discount.

If you run an online dating service and would like to be considered for a listing in the Online Dating Promotions section of Online Dating Magazine, then you need to do the following:

1) Contact jtracy@onlinedatingmagazine.com with the name of your service, a link to it, and what kind of promotions you can offer Online Dating Magazine readers.

2) Be prepared to offer new codes regularly. Requirements for keeping your listing active is by providing fresh codes for readers and not allowing any old codes to expire without being replaced. Once a service is removed from the listing, it is not allowed back on for six months.

3) This service is only available to online dating services, niche services, and relationship services that do not allow any adult content (i.e. nudity) on their sites. Online Dating Magazine is a "family-friendly" publication.

Right now the Online Dating Promotions section offers promotions for eHarmony, PerfectMatch, Match.com, and Date.com. The service is free and an excellent way of promoting/marketing your service to Online Dating Magazine readers.

Bone Fish Rebranding Image

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Bone Fish, a company that provides co-branded online dating services that share the same database (White Label Dating), has announced that it is re-branding its corporate image.

“To commemorate our first decade in the online dating and adult sector – and to prepare ourselves for the journey ahead – the team at Bone Fish Ltd made the decision to modernize and completely re-brand the company image to take on a more contemporary, upbeat and proficient standing in the white label dating marketplace," says Michael Fitzgerald, Director of Bone Fish. "Because although we have surpassed the targets set-out in our 1999 ten-year plan, in a sector as competitive as ours it is important to continually innovate and change to ensure success for the future.”

Bone fish has more than 14,000 clients who run their own dating services using the white label dating solutions provided to them. The company was founded in 1999 by Fitzgerald and Graham Hampson.

Phase One of the re-branding effort was a complete redesign of the company's Website. The re-branding  effort will continue later this year when Bone Fish launches a completely revamped service it claims will be "bigger and better" and "unparalleled in the marketplace".

Joe's Comments
Branding is one of the most important and overlooked aspects of public relations and marketing. But it goes well beyond the scope and depth of what Bone Fish says it is doing. I'd recommend the book Brand Aid for those interested in learning more about corporate branding.

Little League Treasurer Stole Money for Online Dating

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Richard Dunlap, a little league treasurer in Oakfield, New York, is trying to work out a plea agreement in his case of embezzling money to pay for online dating services (mostly adult-oriented ones) and family vacations. Dunlap is accused of stealing nearly $30,000, completely depleting Oakfield-Alabama's little league savings account. He did it by using the league's credit card to buy vacations, pornography, and online dating memberships. He'd then falsify reports that were sent to the league administrators.

The league was able to start its 50th season thanks to donations from the public to keep it going after the scandal.

Joe's Comments
I know online dating services are expensive, but "ouch" - let's not embezzle to pay for them!

New Ad Space Listed on Online Dating Advertising

(Online Dating Industry Journal) A new ad package has been added to the Online Dating Advertising Website. The package, called ODM05, includes ads on five online dating sites, including the skyscraper (120X600) space on Online Dating Magazine.

Online Dating Advertising is a Website that lists advertising space available for online dating services or companies trying to reach online daters.

The Science Behind eHarmony

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Every day, eHarmony Labs is researching body language of people while doing research into what makes them click with members of the opposite sex. eHarmony's goal is to help find that "spark" that leads to great relationships and work it into their relationship dating service.

A couple of months ago, Good Morning America cameras were the first to be allowed into eHarmony Labs to see what the team was doing to increase the effectiveness of eHarmony's compatibility test and algorithm for true love.

Click here to see the video.

Joe's Comment
eHarmony was always the most successful dating service that I personally used. I consistently met people where there was a mutual attraction and a lot in common. I didn't always find that with other services. But Online Dating Magazine readers have a strongly mixed feeling of eHarmony. Many complain about billing practices, some about lack of matches, and some about receiving no matches at all. So like with any service, your mileage may vary.

Online Dating - Male Call Misses the Boat

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Recently, the San Jose Mercury News advice column, Male Call, completely missed the boat on an online dating answer. A reader submitted a question asking why women never respond to his emails. The answer basically said that women were "inundated with emails" and that's why they don't respond. The columnist then recommended that the guy "quit whining".

You  can read the Q&A here.

I feel for the guy - he asks a simple question and instead of getting an insightful and researched answer, he gets whatever comes off the top of the head of the columnist; something not well thought out.

So I respectfully submit an answer that would have been much more appropriate in answer to his question:

There are many reasons a woman may not respond to your email. Some of the top reasons are:

1) She is not a paying member of the service and therefore cannot respond. This is the most popular reason for a lack of response. Most online dating services fail to tell you which people are members and which aren't, therefore you never know who can respond to your emails and who can't.

2) She is no longer a member. Many people forget to completely delete their profiles and simply never log back on. Many services don't tell you when the last login time was, so you may not realize you emailed someone who last logged on two years ago.

3) Your email was not personal enough. You will get more responses when you take the time to read the person's profile and ask questions based on things you read. This let's them know that you read the profile and that you are a perceptive person.

4) You're too old or too young. Many men will email women that are much younger than them. Most of these emails get deleted quite quickly.

5) The ratio of men to women is too high. Many general online dating services have many more men than they do women.

One thing you can do to "change the tide" is join a service that generally has more women than men. Relationship services like eHarmony and Chemistry.com generally have more women than men and therefore may be more successful for you.

If you stay on a general online dating service, only email women who are "online now" (most services show this status) and make sure the email is personal, well thought-out, and not too long. Do not talk about yourself in the first email.

Best of success to you.

Cheers,

Joe Tracy, Publisher
Online Dating Magazine
http://www.onlinedatingmagazine.com

Rabbi Promotes Online Dating

(Online Dating Industry Journal) A Rabbi is playing cupid to his congregation by handing out free memberships to the Jewish online dating service, JDate. The Arizona Republic wrote an article about the Rabbi's new matchmaking skills. As the article points out, he's not the first Rabbi to do so.

From the article:

"In October, a New Jersey rabbi was the first to order JDate memberships in bulk. He was concerned about the rate of intermarriage and wanted to make sure his single followers were able to meet other Jewish singles. Then another rabbi in Oregon did the same thing. Seven months later, 10 rabbis have joined the trend..."

Click here to read the entire article.

Deceipt by Online Daters on the Rise

(Online Dating Industry Journal) A year ago, a study published in the Proceedings of Computer/Human Interaction journal found that the majority of online daters lie about at least one thing in their online dating profile. For women, more than 60% lied about their weight. For men, more than 50% lied about their height. The research suggested that the lies were "strategic" (in order to get dates).

As online daters become more comfortable with lying online, the length they go to in order to deceive others is also growing.

New services that touch up  photos are reporting that one of the growing segments of their clientèle are online daters who have the services remove moles, freckles, whiten teeth, and even remove "love handles" or weight from a photo. The photo is then posted online as a true representation of the person.

Several months ago, the New York Times took the street, via their Freakanomics column, to ask people what they would lie about on their online dating profile. The answers ranged from the obvious (age, weight) to the not-so-obvious (intentions, profession). It seems some people are more honest to a reporter than to someone they might eventually marry.

As people become more comfortable with lying online, the deception methods are likely to become more bold. 

Joe's Comments
The industry needs to come together to help discourage this practice. It only contributes to the negative online dating stigma. The importance of honesty needs to be stressed to online daters. Do we really live in a world where the majority of people think it is OK to outright lie and deceive others? I sure hope not.