General News

FriendFinder Networks just released their first quarter 2012 financial results. For the first 3 months of 2012 (ended March 31) FriendFinder earned $81.1 million in net revenue. This is a slight decrease when compared to the same time last year due to a decrease in overall traffic. From this quarter, FFN continued operations experienced a net loss of $13.4 million and from discontinued opertations a net loss of $8.1 million (closing of JigoCity) which is a total of almost $21 million.

As of March 31, 2012 FriendFinder Networks had a total of 9.5 million new members of their adult websites and just over 1 million new members of their general audience websites. This is about a 12 percent drop when compared to the same period last year. Conversion of members to subscribers is up though. For adult sites it is 4.6 percent (was 4.2) and for general audience sites it is 2.3 percent (was 1.3). This gave FFN a total of 840,984 subscribers to their adult services and 43,275 subscribers for their general services. On average FriendFinder Networks experiences about a 17 percent churn rate of their members during the first quarter of 2012.

For more information on the 2012 Q1 financial report please read the news release. For more information on some of FFN dating sites you can read our review of Asia FriendFinder and our review of FriendFinder.

Related Story: FriendFinder Networks Fourth Quarter 2011 Financials

Spreadsheets are boring, right? They're all just facts, figures, and formulas...soulless numbers that will bore all but the most dedicated of mathematicians...

Except for this spreadsheet, which is making quite a splash in cyberspace. This is the spreadsheet of David Merkur, a 28-year-old New Yorker who works for a real estate finance firm and dabbles in online dating. Well...more than dabbles, by the looks of it.

This cautionary tale of dating-gone-wrong began as a way for Merkur to keep track of his interactions with online dates. The detailed spreadsheet included each woman's name, a photo, his initial impression of her profile, the dates on which they'd exchanged winks and emails, and notes on their first date.

Then it gets even more complex. Merkur color-coded the entries to indicate which women he wanted to "monitor closely ASAP" and which women he planned to "monitor casually." Finally, each woman was awarded a numerical score based on her appearance.

On a date with one of these women - described in her entry as "very pretty; sweet & down to earth/great personality" - Merkur revealed the existence of his tracking system. Intrigued, his date asked to see the spreadsheet and he complied, sending it in an email that included the message "Well...this could be a mistake, but what the hell. I hope this e-mail doesn't backfire, because I really had a great time and hope to hang again soon :) ."

Backfire it certainly did. The woman forwarded it to a few friends, who then forwarded it to a few friends, who then forwarded it to a few friends, and....well...you can guess what happened from there. Pretty soon it was all over the Web, and cyberspace was abuzz with the story. Merkur apologized after becoming an accidental Internet celebrity, calling the Excel spreadsheet a "serious lapse in judgment" and saying he is "deeply remorseful."

Some have defended the spreadsheet, calling it an effective way to "break down a daunting problem (finding a partner) into a series of manageable steps" and noting that "There is nothing inherently creepy or misogynistic about using a tool to help remember what you did or didn't like about another person."

Others are firm in their criticism. "Here is why the spread-sheeting rubs me and so many others the wrong way," writes a Huffington Post contributor. "Love is not about comparison shopping. It's more like being a bowling pin with a marbleized ball careening toward you. It's easier to be knocked down if you don't have things propping you up."

Either way you look at it, I don't think Merkur will be going on more dates any time soon.

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 appears that online dating has become very popular in Brazil. There are currently 62 million singles living in Brazil and according to ComScore, 5.6 million of these singles visit online dating sites every month.

Plenty of Fish launched their dating service in Brazil last September and in 9 months they have grown to have about 80,000 Brazilian members logging in each day. This is a huge accomplishment and probably makes them the most popular dating site in Brazil. Since January of 2012 visits from Brazil to POF.com have increased by 64 percent.

To find out more about this dating site you can read our PlentyOfFish review.

A new couple is on the scene, but is it a match made in heaven?

The couple in question is the dating site and the daily deals site, which have come together as a new dating service called Coffee Meets Bagel (launched April 17 in New York). Arum Kang, founder and Harvard Business School graduate (along with her 2 sisters Dawoon and Soo), was inspired by three goals:

• Make online dating easier, because meeting new people doesn't have to be awkward or complicated.
• Make online dating less random, because your friends are the best way to vet your dates.
• Make online dating more private, because your dating life isn't anyone's business but your own.

Out of those objectives, Coffee Meets Bagel was born. The service takes the static profiles, matching algorithms, rating systems, random searching, and copy/pasted messages out of online dating by blending traditional dating services with the daily deal business model. Rather than searching through a database of potential dates, Coffee Meets Bagel users receive one date per day, delivered directly to their inboxes at noon on the dot. Simplicity? Check.

Coffee Meets Bagel matches users with friends of friends by linking through Facebook authentication, eliminating the worries of meeting strangers and - hopefully - increasing the quality of the dates you're matched with. "Make online dating less random?" Check.

After receiving the daily email, users can review their match's photos and basic profile information (like age, employment, and astrological sign), then "Like" the match or "Pass" on it. If you "Pass," you're asked to leave feedback for the person you passed on and the process begins again the following day. If you "Like" the match, you'll be set up with a private phone line for 7 days, which can be used to set up an in-person meetup. Give users stronger safety measures and increased privacy? Check.

On top of those basic features, Coffee Meets Bagel also includes elements of online shopping and gamification in the service. Users can accumulate "coffee beans" by performing certain actions, like leaving feedback for vetoed dates and referring new members. Those coffee beans can then be redeemed for products, beverages, events, and more.

And it gets even better. If you decide to take the plunge and go on a date, Coffee Meets Bagel will hook you up with free gifts, like champagne, chocolate, and oysters, at some of the city's hottest date spots. So far the service is only available in NYC, but Coffee Meets Bagel plans to expand their reach as soon as they receive 1,000 emails from users in a city who are interested in the service.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? In that case, NBC and its smash hit "The Voice" should be feeling very flattered, because FOX will be introducing a new dating show - cheekily called "The Choice" - this summer that's a clear homage to the musical reality competition.

"The Choice" will be hosted by Cat Deeley, who also hosts "So You Think You Can Dance," and blatantly takes its format from its NBC-based predecessor. "Four celebrities ... blind auditions ... spinning chairs ... but ... it's not what you think," said a promo that aired during a recent episode of American Idol. Like "The Voice," "The Choice" will feature four celebrities (whose names have not yet been announced) in spinning chairs. Only this time, the celebrities will be sizing up participants as potential dates.

Each chair comes equipped with a "love handle" (yeah, you read that right...but please try to keep your mind out of the gutter). When pulled, the love handle indicates interest in going on a "fantasy date" with the participant in question. If more than one celeb pulls the lever, they must compete for the woman. After each celebrity has three potential dates, there's a "Speed Choice" round in which each woman has just a few seconds to convince her famous suitor to take her to the final round. In the finals, Deeley poses a challenge question to the remaining two participants and the celebrities make their final choice for the "dream date."

The competition recalls the heyday of The Dating Game, as the celebrities will choose their dates without being able to see them "There hasn't been a new [dating show] hit since 'The Bachelor,' and there hasn't been an in-studio one that's worked since The Dating Game 30 years ago," Fox's Mike Darnell told EW.com. "I was thinking about how to do a blind-date show without using a wall or blindfolds, and the spinning chairs seemed like a great way to do it."

Darnell has a history of taking inspiration from competitors' creations. Take "Joe Millionaire," for example, a mischievous response to "The Bachelor," or "Temptation Island," a cheeky (and sexy!) version of "Survivor." "The Choice seems like an obvious title because you have to make a choice," he said to EW. "I'm just now realizing it rhymes [with The Voice]!"

I'm not sure I believe you, Darnell, but I'm all for poking fun at America's ridiculous obsession with reality television!

The Choice will debut on June 7, for a season of six one-hour episodes over the summer.