General News

On Tuesday, November 23rd the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned Americans to watch out for scammers that sometimes use online dating and social networking websites. These scammers operate by convincing people they are in love with them and to send them money, typically to somewhere outside the United States. The US government consumer protection agency also warned that wiring money to someone is the same as cash and once sent there is no way to get it back.

Here is a list of warning signs posted by the FTC that indicate someone could be in an online relationship for the money:

• The person claims instant love
• They want to communicate using personal email addresses or instant messenger accounts
• Says they are from your country of origin but is currently working overseas
• Was going to visit but now can't due to some sort of problem or accident
• Asks for money. They may say the money is for travel, visas, hospital bills, medication, etc.
• Makes multiple requests for money

For the full article on this topic you can visit the FTC website.

Pauly Shore is the spokesman and judge for the new Mate1.com contest. The contest is called "Check Please!" and is designed to find the most awkward date experience. There is $5,000 in prizes and just a few steps required to enter.

• First, you will need a 1 to 2 minute video with you describing or re-enacting your awkward date
• Second, you will need to upload the video to YouTube. You will need to title and tag the video with "Mate1 Check Please! Contest"
• Third, you will need to register as a contestant at CheckPleaseContest.com
• Finally, you need to spread your video through your social channels. The top ten viewed and mentioned videos will be judged by Pauly Shore

Here is Pauly Shore giving more details on the contest as well as his most awkward dating experience:

To find out more about this story you can also read the press release. For more information on this dating site, please read our review of Mate1.com.

I notice on the eHarmony login page the other day that they now allow you to login using your Facebook account. New users can click on the Facebook login button and once they have given permission to eHarmony to access some Facebook information, they can go ahead and finish creating their new account by answering the Relationship Questionnaire.

Returning members of eHarmony can also login using the Facebook method. The first time they do it they will be asked if eHarmony has permission to access some Facebook information. Once that is given the member can then give their eHarmony login information and then the two accounts will be connected. It is that simple!

To find out more about this popular dating site you can check out our review of eHarmony.com.

If you are divorced and looking for advice, the popular politics and opinion blog The Huffington Post just launched a new "divorce" section to help people through this difficult and complex transition.

Founder Arianna Huffington said the new section is "aimed at providing insight, resources, community, and some comic relief to those impacted by divorce." She is divorced from former U.S. Congressman Michael Huffington.

With roughly 50% of all marriages in America ending in divorce according to the latest U.S. Census figures, this appears to be a much-needed resource for those looking to move on in a healthy and productive manner. Articles include legal and financial advice as well as tips on parenting.

Dating advice for the newly single is also featured, including articles like "Do you date age-appropriately?" and "My first date after divorce". For those who are considering dating a divorced man or woman, there's also advice on step-parenting.

Huffington states that, "Divorce affects so many lives, and so many myriad aspects of these lives, we want to put a spotlight on them." She introduces the site by saying: "I've always thought that, as a country, we do a lousy job of addressing how we can do divorce differently -- and better. Especially when there are children involved."

Exclusive excerpts from Nora Ephron's new book I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections will be featured this month for its launch. Ephron was also the inspiration for its creation.

Online dating may be on the rise, but so are sites which compete with eHarmony's stronghold on the market. CEO Greg Waldorf recently spoke to The Wall Street Journal about their plans for the future, including a thirty-million dollar ad campaign aimed at trying to increase growth in subscriptions.

In the article, Waldorf points out that the recession has actually increased consumer interest in eHarmony. In a study the company did in September and October of 2009, researchers found that when the Dow dropped 100 points, the site saw a 2% increase in the number of pages viewed on each site compared to days when the Dow rose.

However, subscriber growth has been slowing. Waldorf maintains that singles are still looking for long-term relationships, but they are likely exhausting other methods first, like trying to meet other singles on their own rather than through a dating website.

Spark Networks 2010 3rd quarter financials are in so let's see how they did. Overall revenue is down $1.2 million this quarter to $9.9 million when compared to the same quarter last year. Net income for quarter 3 was $1.2 million. This is up 20% over quarter 3, 2009.

The Jewish Networks revenue was $6.8 million for the 3rd quarter this year. This was 4 percent less when compared to last year. The other Affinity Networks revenue was down 14 percent to $2.7 million and the General Market Networks earned $264,000, a 54 percent decrease over last year.

Average paying subscribers for Spark Networks, as a whole, in the 3rd quarter of 2010 were 158,422. This is a decrease of 4 percent compared to 165,206 for the 3rd quarter of 2009. Subscribers for the Jewish Networks were at 89,792 for the 3rd quarter. This is up 4 percent when compared to the 3rd quarter of last year. The Other Affinity Networks subscribers were down 7 percent to 62,026 and the General Market Networks decrease was 49 percent to 5,888 subscribers.

For the full 2010 Q3 release visit Spark Networks News Room.

Related Story: Spark Networks Second Quarter 2010 Financials