Spark Networks

When online dating first came along, everyone was horrified. "Meeting someone? Online? Sounds like a service for freaks and losers and axe murderers."

Then we all warmed up to the idea. "Online dating? It's awesome. You can meet people from all over the world without leaving your couch and you don't have to spend every Saturday night deflecting losers at the bar."

Now online dating seems almost...old-fashioned. Dating algorithms and static profiles nearly feel like a thing of the past, while low-key social networking is all the rage.

Zoosk, from day one, has managed to take the best of online dating and merge it with social networking, creating a site that's always ahead of the curve and stands a real chance of becoming the future of modern romance. Shayan Zadeh, co-founder and co-CEO of Zoosk, recently had a chat with The Washington Times about where online dating is heading and what Zoosk is doing to stay on top of the game.

Zoosk's strategy is about one thing and one thing only: staying competitive. Zoosk began on the Facebook platform in 2007, then expanded into a website and mobile dating as the market changed. "We've focused on bringing together the best aspects of social networking (like news feed, live chat and video conversations) to the world of online romance," said Zadeh, ensuring that Zoosk is always relevant.

Now the market is changing again, and Zoosk is adapting to keep up. The question Zadeh and Zoosk are currently working to answer is "How could we keep Zoosk members engaged with the site, even after they found love?

Their solution - Couple Profiles - was launched in April. Couple Profiles give couples - whether or not they originally met on Zoosk - a "dedicated place to celebrate their relationship online" where they can "share photos and relationship milestones, like anniversaries, vacations and special events, with family and friends." Zoosk is aiming to turn itself into a "romantic social network," not just a dating site.

"We really see social networking for couples as being the next evolution of modern romance," explained Zadeh. A survey found that 77% of Zoosk members use technology to connect with their partners throughout the day (the majority interacted with their significant others 3 or more times each day). That's a massive market that Zoosk intends to conquer, with the new Couple Profiles feature and its mobile services.

The days of romantic social networking may have just begun, but I like the idea already. Can't wait to see where it goes.

To find out more about this popular dating site you can read our Zoosk.com review.

The social dating site Zoosk announced the other day that they have reached a number of mobile milestones. As part of their mobile strategy Zoosk has released a HTML5 version of the site that makes it much more easily accessible via a mobile phone when using the phone’s browser.

Zoosks daily mobile users now account for 15 percent of the site’s traffic. In the past 12 months mobile traffic on the Zoosk dating apps and HTML5 have increased 148 percent. Android phones make up 55 percent of app usage while the Apple iOS phones account for the other 45 percent. For mobile traffic as a whole from members, 61 percent comes from the apps themselves while 55 percent is done via the phones internet browser. This means that 16 percent of members use both the app and the mobile web. On Sundays and Mondays mobile traffic reaches its peak usually and is on average 10 percent higher. Thursday and Fridays are the low point in the week and mobile traffic can see a drop of 5 percent.

Zoosk also quotes a few mobile online dating statistics from a 2011 Juniper Research finding. They state that the mobile dating market is expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2011 to $2.3 billion by 2016. User will jump from 650 million in 2011 to 1.3 billion by 2016 (fueled largely by China and then North America).

To find out more about this dating site please read our review of Zoosk.com.

Spark Networks just released their first quarter financial results for 2012. Their revenue of $14.6 million for the quarter is up 25 percent when compared to last year. Unfortunately they still had a net loss which was $1.7 million (due to marketing costs). Jewish Networks posted $6.6 million in revenue with for the first time the Christian Networks beating them by having almost $6.9 million in revenue.

The average paying subscriber as a whole was up 36 percent when compared to Q1 in 2010. Spark Networks in quarter 1, 2011 had 240,706 subscribers. Jewish Networks was down 6 percent with 86,433 subscribers and Christian Networks was up 163 percent with 124,158 subscribers. The Other Networks saw subscribers decline by 23 percent to 30,115.

For the full 2012 Q1 release visit the Spark Networks News Room.

Related Story: Spark Networks Fourth Quarter 2011 Financials

It looks like Zoosk is planning to move their headquarters to a larger office space in Central Market located in San Francisco. Their new location is 52,000 square feet and will become Zoosk's global headquarters. This location of San Francisco is becoming a hub of technology companies. Zoosk will be sharing the building with Zendesk and the neighbourhood with companies like Call Socket and Twitter.

This move will more than double Zoosk's space for their 102 employees. Zoosk also plans to expand to 160 employees by the end of 2012. It is estimated that the office space could hold up to 340 employees.

For more information on this story you can check out the press release. To find out what makes this company such a popular dating site you can read our review of Zoosk.

Spark Networks fourth quarter and full year end results were released on March 1st. For the last quarter revenue was $12.9 million and for the entire 2011 year it was $48.5 million. The net loss for the reported quarter was $1.1 million which gave the year 2011 a total net loss of $1.6 million. As a whole revenue was up 19 percent when compared to 2010 and up 27 percent when quarter 4 in 2011 is compared to quarter 4 in 2010. This is in large part thanks to the Other Affinity Networks which saw revenue increase by 78 percent throughout the year.

Subscribers also grew 21 percent for the year and 32 percent in quarter 4 (when compared to the same quarter in 2010). Average paying subscribers for the entire company for quarter 4 2011 was 212,850. For the year the number of average paying subscriber was 196,850.

Spark Networks 2 big sites are JDate (which is part of the Jewish Networks) and Christian Mingle (which is part of the Other Affinity Networks). Subscriber and revenue remand flat for the Jewish Networks. Revenue for quarter 4 was $6.9 million with 87,101 subscribers. The Other Affinity Networks saw revenue of $5.9 million and 123,139 average paying subscribers for quarter 4, 2011. When compared to last year's quarter revenue increased by 114 percent and subscribers increased by 89 percent.

For the full 2011 Q4 release visit the Spark Networks News Room.

Related Story: Spark Networks Third Quarter 2011 Financials

With over 5 million registered members, Christian Mingle has become the largest and fastest-growing online community for love-seeking Christian singles.

"Gone are the days when online dating was considered taboo - even in the Christian community," says Ashley Reccord, Christian community manager for ChristianMingle's owner Spark Networks. "One of the amazing gifts of our age is that the internet can virtually erase many of the barriers to finding new relationships with people who share your interests and values."

ChristianMingle believes that one's faith is a deeply important part of who a person is, and that religious beliefs are a driving force behind what Christians look for in potential partners. The site is free to join, but don't let the low price tag fool you - it offers a fully featured dating service that is secure, private, and highly interactive. Members meet via email, chat rooms, message boards, and instant messenger which encourages a sense of community and creates an engaging social atmosphere.

Users can also connect and discuss their faith on Believe.com, ChristianMingle's faith-best content destination. Believe includes video and audio resources for the Christian community, as well as a "Verse of the Day" and a "Bible Study of the Day." Users can also browse a searchable Bible, prayer requests, and a church directory.

Nearly two million singles joined ChristianMingle in 2011, the site's most successful year yet. To celebrate their expansion, increase awareness of the site within the Christian community, and share members' success stories, ChristianMingle has launched the "Good News!" campaign, a series of online videos and television commercials that highlight the personal stories of couples who met on the site. "Every day, ChristianMingle members send over 100,000 messages," said Tre, one of the men featured in the advertisements. "I sent one of those messages and met my beautiful wife."

The "Good News!" campaign also reaches out to churches across the nation, to provide resources for group leaders and pastors. ChristianMingle hopes that their outreach efforts will do more than bring Christian singles together on the site - they hope to create a safe and active faith-based community for members with shared values that goes well beyond dating and marriage.

"ChristianMingle believes that marriage is important, but also that relationships and community are important," says Matthew Barnett, a pastor and ChristianMingle Advisory Board member. "ChristianMingle serves as a great resource for singles looking for companionship in like-minded Christians who share the same belief system and interests."

To find out about this dating site, please read our ChristianMingle.com review.