Online Dating

There is more bad news for FriendFinder Networks regarding their IPO (see Story). FriendFinder was suppose to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange this Thursday under the symbol FNN. They now plan to launch sometime the following week. The dip in the market last week is said to take partial blame as well as some last-minute questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission. These questions are not uncommon and can delay the process of launching a deal.

For more information, read the Wall Street Journal.

eHarmony has been in business for over 10 years now and to help celebrate, Dan, eHarmony's first Customer Care agent released a few fun facts. The most interesting fact I found was that on average, eHarmony members submit 24,000 photos per day to the dating site.

The other facts deal more with just Customer Care. Did you know, every day eHarmony's Customer Care team handle thousands of requests for help and information via emails and phone calls. This large and dedicated staff performs their job well and has been recognized by the industry. In 2009 eHarmony received 3 awards of excellence for customer service. You can see one example here.

For the full story, read The Official eHarmony Blog and to find out more about this dating site, check out our eHarmony review.

Avid Life Media Inc. is the parent company of several online dating sites. This includes the popular affairs site AsheleyMadison.com, as well as EstablishedMen.com and CougarLife.com. Avid Life Media is looking to raise $60 million with its possible debut on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) in the coming months. In 2009 Avid Life Media earned $30 million in revenue and $8 million in EBITDA. The dating site Ashley Madison, currently accounts for only 15 percent of the total revenue earned by Avid Life Media.

Avid Life Media plans to use some of the money raised to buy an online advertising sales company called Moxy Media.

MillionaireMatch.com has added a few updates to their dating service. Searching has seen the most changes with some of them being, the ability to search for new members and, searching for members whose birthday is coming up. You can also now specify a lot more information about your ideal match. This makes the "My Match" search much more useful. Along with "My Match" members can now also specify a few questions that members can answer when first contacting you. This not only gives you the information you want (without asking directly) it also acts as an ice breaker and helps get the conversation started.

When replying to emails now, Gold Members can now select from 8 prewritten replies. This makes it easy if you have a quick question to ask the member or if you want to let the person know that you currently are not interested.

Customer email support at Millionaire Match is good with most members only waiting an hour or so for a response. The dating sites Help and FAQ section is only okay. This section could still contain a lot more useful information. What MillionaireMatch.com did add (for Gold Members only) was live chat customer support. This means no more wait times for messages since you now can ask someone directly.

For more information on this dating site, read our updated review of MillionaireMatch.com.

We're back to dissect the remaining two myths in OkCupid's "4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures". While their conclusions are unquestionably food for thought, it's important to remember that OkCupid is just one dating site, with its own personality and etiquette. These results might not apply at any other dating site. Still, let's figure out the basic tips we can learn from these last two myths:

Myth 3 - Guys should keep their shirts on Though shirtless "ab shots" are somewhat of a cliché, apparently it's a cliché that works: people respond to a good set of abs. Interestingly, the effectiveness of the "ab shot" decreases with age. Unclear whether that's because the abs themselves are less impressive, or whether those who are older are looking for more than just a pretty package. Conversely, posting a cleavage shot if you're a woman can apparently help keep the messages flowing even as you age. There's no doubt that cleavage will bring you attention at any stage in life, and probably men of all ages will always appreciate a busty woman, but is it the "right" kind of attention? Considering that women tend to post more outdoor shots of themselves as they age, and respond less to the "ab shot," it sure seems like they're looking for more. A related study determined that the skin might bring attention, but actual conversations tend to occur more for people who are doing "something interesting" in their picture.

• What we can take away: If you want attention, flaunting your body will bring it - online or in the real world. It's up to you to decide if it's the kind of attention you want.

Myth 4 - Make sure your face is showing Essentially, it's okay to have a picture that doesn't clearly show your face, as long as it's an interesting photo - enticing or artistic, something that draws the viewer in regardless. This is probably an ultimate example of, "It's okay to break the rules, as long as you really know what you're doing."

• What we can take away: It's definitely a gamble to use an unusual picture. If you're new at this, it's best to stick to the simple and effective, and mix it up later.

And thus, we come to the end of the OkCupid study. Have our perceptions of online photos been dramatically altered? Maybe not - but they've certainly given us more to think about.

For part 1 of this story, read this article and for more about this dating site, read our review of OKCupid.com.

The folks from OkCupid are back again to blow our minds - and the lids off some of the common, as they call it, "Myths of Profile Pictures". While, of course, it's best to view any set of data with a critical eye and place it in the proper context (uhoh, I'm channeling my Statistics professor), let's see what we can take away from this study. One thing I'd like you to bear in mind, before we begin: OkCupid is just one dating site, and might have a different ratio of people looking for "hookups" or relationships. Also, success is measured in messages - no clue if those messages were worthwhile, or simply leering. You might get attention, but there's no guarantee it's the kind of attention you want. Now, the "Myths of Profile Pictures":

Myth 1 - It's better to smile This "myth" is somewhat misleading. In general, you can't really go wrong with smiling; what is supposedly shocking is that women also get positive responses by "flirting" directly into the camera, and men get positive responses by brooding at something off-camera. Now, is this really all that surprising? That men respond to a bit of pouty eye contact and women like that tall, dark and mysterious persona?

• What we can take away: Smiling is a still a safe bet. If you really think your best pictures fall into one of the other two categories, you can gamble and see how it pans out. Also remember that smiling sends a host of other messages, like honesty, openness, kindness, that are harder to convey in other types of photos.

Myth 2 - You shouldn't take a picture with your phone or webcam The study found that self-shot photos are marginally more successful, possibly due to the "intimate" feel these pictures have. I say this makes sense; "casual" or "natural" is almost always better than stilted and posed. And today, webcams and phones are much better than they were even five years ago.

A related find in this "myth" is that the "Myspace" shot (taken from above) is incredibly successful for women (even when you remove shots that include cleavage). While this is more surprising, it hints at how we've been changed by social media. OkCupid has a pretty large late-teen, early-twenties demographic, thanks to their quizzes, and these are kids who came of age with Myspace and digital cameras. Undoubtedly their perception of what they find attractive has been shaped by the prevalence of social media. Perhaps in days past, pinups and magazines shaped the most "alluring" poses; now, it's the Internet.

• What we can take away: Go for natural rather than posed pictures, and if you have to do the Myspace thing, you'll be just as successful without featuring the cleavage.

Join me next time to dissect the last two myths, Guys should keep their shirts on and Make sure your face is showing (see Story) .

For more about this dating site, read our review of OKCupid.com.