Online Dating Industry Journal

"New" Online Dating Background Check Service Launches

(Online Dating Industry Journal) National Background Data has announced, in a press release, an online dating background check service called Registry CrimSAFE that provides quick background check options for online dating services. According to National Background Data, Registry CrimSAFE "automates the evaluation of criminal records and quickly delivers concise, criminal screening decisions."

""Registry CrimSAFE is an exciting addition to our suit of services." exclaims Bill Bollinger executive vice president at National Background Data, which runs Registry CrimSAFE. "Using criminal background screening to prevent criminals from joining an organization is a safeguard that helps protect clientele and reduces the liability associated with criminal activity. By increasing the effectiveness of criminal screening and streamlining the decision process, Registry CrimSAFE makes it easy for an organization to manage and enforce screening as a precautionary defense."

National Background Data also offers "Screen a Date" services for online dating companies.

Joe's Comments
If online dating services aren't going to continue fighting state legislation about background checks, then perhaps they might want to consider starting to do background checks. This will take away True.com's unique selling proposition and bring more positive publicity about doing background checks to multiple online dating services, not just True.com. If True.com loses its unique selling point, then it takes away a reason for online daters to use their service over others.

Researching these stories is always fun and this story is a prime example. We first noticed a press release from National Background Data about Registry CrimSAFE. After reading the release, we went to their Website and found no mention of Registry CrimSAFE whatsoever. So then we started researching the Registry CrimSAFE program only to find out that it isn't so new. It has been associated with a company called First Advantage. So next we researched First Advantage and found out that they acquired National Background Data LLC way back in 2004. There is information about Registry CrimSAFE here (at First Advantage's site), but not at National Background Data's site (as of this posting) and they are the ones that put out the release. So we have a message in to National Background Data for clarification. It is our goal at Online Dating Industry Journal to always provide you with top quality information that has been researched before we write about it.

Update (4/1/08 1:45PM PST): I received a response back from William J Bollinger, Executive Vice President of National Background Data that they, indeed, had not updated their Website with the Registry CrimSAFE information prior to putting out a press release about it! The information should be up shortly. His email stated that the Website was being updated...

Chemistry.com to Launch $40 Million Advertising Campaign

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Beginning on April 14, Chemistry.com will launch a new $40 million advertising campaign aimed at increasing its brand awareness as a all-inclusive online dating relationship service. This is according to an article in Brandweek. The article also mentions this interesting tidbit about online dating services seeing fewer visitors:

"MySpace and Facebook are to blame for the drop in visitors, said ComScore analyst Andrew Lipsman..."

Click here to read the full article.

Joe's Comments
The last major ad campaign that Chemistry.com did was attack ads against eHarmony. But for their efforts, eHarmony saw a growth in members.  However, eHarmony has been widely targeted for being so selective, therefore a campaign about being all-inclusive may be what Chemistry.com needs to improve its standing as an online relationship service.

Related Links
Match.com Launches Chemistry.com
eHarmony Releases Membership Numbers

Online Dating Services Handing Victories to True.com

(Online Dating Industry Journal - Commentary and Opinion) Earlier this year, New Jersey passed legislation requiring online dating services to do background checks or prominently post that they don't. The bill faced virtually no opposition from dating services. Now Florida is (again) looking to pass an online dating background check law (this is their fourth attempt) and once again, there seems to be little opposition. And that's just what True.com wants, in my opinion.

Herb Vest is the CEO of True.com and he outlined his business strategies and philosophies in a book that he published in 2004 titled "Instructions to my Officers". In the book he says things like:

"Employ lobbyists to protect your regulatory flank. Although distasteful to some people, companies often use laws and regulations to control competition." (page 63)

"What you need is success  --- any success. That is why, in the beginning, you will only fight battles you can win. Many political revolutions begin with terrorism. If successful in getting media attention and converts, the terrorists' movement evolves into a more organized insurgency or uprising..." (pages 84, 85)

"State legislatures are particularly vulnerable to influence from special interest groups because they are less in the media spotlight than the national  Congress..." (page 119)

True.com's motives in pushing background check laws appear to be focused on making themselves look like the "good guys" because they do background checks and other services look like the "bad guys" because they don't do background checks. Yet, behind the scenes they tie up suppliers (another thing he says to do in his book) with exclusive contracts with background check companies like RapSheets.

The problem is that online dating services don't know how to fight this type of battle. And the reason they don't know is that they don't take the time to read Herb Vest's book to understand his mentality in fighting these battles. He has given a blueprint of how he thinks to all of his competitors, yet few have tried to understand the battle plan and thus fall victim to the legislative efforts.

There are several problems here:

1) Online dating services aren't united in striking down the push for background checks at a state-by-state level.

2) Online dating services seem to be putting off the battle until after laws are passed. An article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel talked to Emily Hacket of the Internet Alliance, and stated, "The alliance, which represents Internet providers such as AOL as well as dating sites such as Match.com and eHarmony.com, does not plan to oppose Florida's bill. But Hackett said the organization, which does not mandate background checks, is considering a constitutional challenge to New Jersey's law, on the grounds it violates First Amendment free speech rights..."

3) Online dating services keep waiting for someone else to do something, so no one does anything.

4) By not fighting the battle up front, online dating services are handing True.com the "success" and "publicity" that they are after in order to build a stronger foundation.

By not being pro-active, major online dating services are getting into a messy situation that will cost them a lot more in time and resources in the future. That is, unless, they all just start doing background checks and join True.com in its campaign. Then there would be no more battle for True.com to fight on this front.

My Take
I'm not against background checks. I applaud True.com and Herb Vest for doing them. I even think they are a good idea - when done right. I am against companies trying to use state legislation for their own publicity, power, and attempt at controlling competition. If True.com was genuine in their effort, I would think that they would drop any exclusive contracts they have with background check vendors then try to get one consistent Federal law, instead of many different state laws.

Because online dating services aren't taking the time to educate themselves, they are now losing this battle and that could catapult True.com forward at a time that they are facing many problems of their own.

My philosophy is to always be honorable and do the right thing. More people will respect you and not question your motives. True.com shows multiple faces. On one end they do online background checks and that's a major plus in their favor. In fact, at this point it is still a Unique Selling Proposition. But when a book is published, written by True.com's CEO, that makes radical statements about eliminating competition, using the media, and using legislatures, then it cancels out the good that they are doing. And in the end, Karma will always win.  Do the right thing for the right reasons and you'll never have to worry about failure, even if you don't succeed.

That's my take at least.

Best Wishes,

Joe Tracy

Related Links
The True Motives Behind Background Check Legislation
Review of "Instructions to My Officers" (offsite)

New Animal Lovers Dating Site Opens

(Online Dating Industry Journal) The Right Breed is a new online dating service targeting single pet owners and animal lovers.  For the months of April and May, the service will be free to everyone. After that, the cost will be $14.99 a month. A portion of the monthly fees will go towards an adoption program where the site will assist in costs to allow elderly people, seriously ill children, and disabled people to adopt a pet.

The service's slogan is "Find a friend for your pet. Find a love interest for you."

Joe's Comments
The Right Breed put out a press release (we edit press releases to remove bias statements and fluff) and the title of the press release was, "Animal Lovers Finally Have Their Own Dating Site". 

It's amazing how many times people put out misleading statements about their service. I see it all the time. In fact, nearly two years after Online Dating Magazine had launched, Match.com launched their own dating magazine saying it was the "first and only online magazine" to cover dating and relationships for singles. The fact is that there were already a handful of magazine's out there serving the same purpose, including Online Dating Magazine.

One reason the Online Dating Industry Journal exists is to cut through the fluff and get to the facts then deliver them to you. It takes us longer to create our posts because we take the time to edit and research and are honored to be of service to you in this manner.

In regards to dating services for animal lovers, there are dozens of them. The Right Breed is not the first, nor will they be the last. However, I do commend their charity adoption program and hope that it works the way they intend. One of the things I like about online dating service Romantic Planet is that  they give a portion of their earnings to charity.

20% Off Online Dating Advertising

3/31/08 2:01PM PST Note: The 20% off offer mentioned in this post has now expired.

(Online Dating Industry Journal) The new Online Dating Advertising site is offering 20% off of all advertising packages if booked by 2pm PST on Monday (March 31, 2008). The discount applies to all ad packages available and is being offered to clear April 2008 inventory. To quality, advertisers must express interest in what ad package they want by 2pm Monday then have payment (via PayPal) and creative complete by the end of the day Monday. The ad campaign will then launch on Tuesday for the entire month of April.

In other Online Dating Advertising news, the service is now offering three month packages. Before, packages could only be booked one month at a time.

Direct Links to Current Packages (and what sites they appear on):

ODM01 - Online Dating Magazine, DateLists.com, Online Dating News Blog, Online Dating Banner Exchange.

ODM02 - Online Dating Magazine, DateLists.com, Online Dating News Blog, Online Dating Banner Exchange, Online Dating Newsletter.

ODM03 - Online Dating Magazine, Online Dating Industry Journal  (this site), Online Dating Content,  DateLists.com, Online Dating Advertising.

ODM04 - Online Dating Magazine, DateLists.com, Online Dating News Blog, Online Dating Banner Exchange, Online Dating Newsletter.

WooMe Looking at Paid Model

(Online Dating Industry Journal) WooMe, an online speed dating service, will soon be moving from a free model base to a paid model base, using a credit system. The Website Real Business recently talked with one of the cofounders who told the Website:

“We’ve already introduced a credit system. It’s just that at the moment credits are free. Soon we’ll introduce premium services that you will have to pay for.”

WooMe launched on November 14, 2007 with a focus on the UK marketplace.  It is capitalizing on the increased interest from daters to do speed dating online.

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression," says Stephen Stokols, co-founder and CEO of WooMe, "but with WooMe you can make a lot of first impressions. WooMe can be used in any situation where real interactions matter: whether it be meeting a new friend, finding a new date, or simply meeting new and interesting people. In fact, we screen all our prospective employees using WooMe before bringing them in for face-to-face interviews."

WooMe now has about 200,000 users.

Related Links
Speed Date - 1 Million Speed Dates

Engage.com's State of the Date Report

(Online Dating Industry Journal) Last month, engage.com released its first annual "State of the Date" report that examines attitudes of singles when it comes to dating.

Findings from the report include the following:

Twenty-two percent of singles (there are 92 million single adults in the US) can't remember the last time they went on a date. Another 22 percent went dateless throughout 2007.

More than 50 percent of single women surveyed felt a man should pick the venue for a first date and do the driving, but only eight percent felt a man should bring a gift on a first date.

49% percent of women said they never pay for a date.

Almost one in three singles had a "friend with benefits" in 2007, and 33 percent reported "hooking up" with someone last year.

28% of singles who date online say a married person contacted them on an online dating service or social network for dating purposes.

10%  of singles admitted dating someone who was married, or who was in a committed relationship, last year.

68% of singles report they are interested in falling in love and getting married in the next five years.

30% of singles are not optimistic they will find the relationship they are seeking this year.

12% of singles believe it is appropriate to break up with someone via email or text message.

21% believe it is acceptable to first say "I love you" via email or text message.

30% of men said that "little white lies" are acceptable when dating online -- compared to 24 percent of women.

Engage.com did not release the methodology of its study.

Related Links
Engage.com to Unveil New Features
Engage.com Turns on its Publicity Machine

Engage.com to Unveil New Features

(Online Dating Industry Journal) engage.com will unveil several new features next month that will focus on allowing members to be more social while providing additional tools to let members "play matchmaker". Engage.com is different from most online dating services in that it uses friends of members to help determine who goes on dates with who.

Related Links
Engage.com Turns on its Publicity Machine

Pitt and Clooney in Movie Featuring Internet Dating

(Online Dating Industry Journal) The new upcoming Coen's movie, Burn After Reading, is a movie with a plot combining the CIA, fitness, and Internet dating. The movie features Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, and George Clooney. In the movie, Clooney plays the role of a CIA spy who meets another central character, McDormand, via an online dating service.

Burn After Reading is currently scheduled for release on September 12, 2008.

Headquarters Curse?

From an editorial in the New York Sun about a financial curse hitting companies that movie into new headquarters in New York:

"Take IAC Interactive, a company chaired by Barry Diller whose businesses include Ticketmaster, the online dating site match.com, evite, and LendingTree. Last summer, the company moved into fancy, Frank Gehry-designed headquarters at West 18th Street and 11th Avenue, a building subsidized by the federal taxpayers with $80 million in tax-exempt Liberty Bond financing from the New York City Industrial Development Agency. Over the past year, IAC's stock price has plummeted 50%, more than twice the decline in either the NASDAQ or the Standard & Poor's 500 Index."