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May 24, 2005

Lemontonic Acquired by Pioneering Technology Inc.

I am personally not sure of how the cross over works between online dating and electric grill systems - but there must be
something to it..

TORONTO, ONTARIO -
MAY 24, 2005 - Lemontonic Inc.(Lemontonic or the "Corporation") (TSX Venture: LEM-X) today announced details concerning its proposed business combination with Pioneering Technology Inc. ("Pioneering").

About Pioneering
Pioneering is an "Energy-Smart" product
innovation company based in Mississauga, Ontario that creates platform and derivative technologies that manage, control and transform heat into useful forms of energy. Pioneering engineers and brings to market energy smart solutions for consumer products making them safer, smarter and/or more efficient. Pioneering's business to business model is focused on developing innovative solutions for existing industry problems and licensing its proprietary product components to leading Original Equipment Manufacturer's
("OEM's") and other established distribution channels.
Pioneering's Current Products and Markets
Pioneering has to date taken three products from concept to commercialization: the Battery EliminatorTM, the
Safe-T-element™ and the PowergrillTM Ignition System. Pioneering has three more derivative product applications currently in development: the PowerpakTM, a hydro free furnace fan and a battery- less remote control.

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May 23, 2005

Spark Networks Announces Acquisition of MingleMatch

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Spark Networks plc, a leading provider of online personals services, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of MingleMatch, Inc., a company that operates religious, ethnic, special interest and geographically targeted online singles communities.

MingleMatch's brands, which include, among others, Black Singles Connection, Christian Mingle, LDS Mingle,
BBW Personals Plus, Military Singles Connection and Single Parents Mingle, will join Spark Networks' roster of online communities led by AmericanSingles and JDate.

"Singles identify with communities which revolve around specific needs and interests," stated David Siminoff, president and chief
executive officer of Spark Networks. "This acquisition reflects our commitment to creating affinity-focused online personals that provide the highest quality experience for our members."
About Spark Networks plc:
Spark Networks plc's Global Depositary Shares trade on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE) under the symbol "MHJG". The Spark Networks portfolio of consumer Web sites includes AmericanSingles.com, JDate.com, JDate.co.il, MatchNet.de, MatchNet.co.uk, MatchNet.com.au, Glimpse.com, SilverSingles(TM).com, CollegeLuv(TM).com, Date.ca(TM), and FaceLink.com. The
company was formed in England in 1998.
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May 18, 2005

Jdate Spawns "Powered By" Website

Jewish online dating
http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/620_jewish_online_dating.htm
Something Jewish - UK
... Then visit JewishDating.co.uk for online Jewish dating and discover the best place on the web to connect with other Jewish singles. ...

States: Powered by JDate in the footer!

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Report from IDate Hong Kong, 2005

iDate Hong Kong has been a great conference so far. Many of Asia's largest dating sites are in attendance as well as sites from the surrounding regions. Pierre Wuu from Click2Asia presented an excellent keynote. Bharat Matrimony presented a review of online dating and India and many of the other speakers addressed specific regional reports on online dating, payment processing, marketing and the general state of the industry.

Overall the conference has been a success - a solid group of established and successful community site operators networking and discussing the future growth of online dating outside of the US.

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May 03, 2005

Another dating site for sale on EBAY!

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April 29, 2005

myEMatch looking for a partner (or buyer!)

Our friends at MyEMatch are seeking capital or a potential partner or buyer. If you would like more information - just email blog@userplane.com .

http://www.myematch.com/

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April 28, 2005

Multiply Introduces First Search Engine That Finds What's Been Published in Your Social Network

Previous
attempts at "social search" showed what friends are searching for; Multiply's
search engine finds content - such as photos, blogs and movie reviews -
published by people connected to the
user.


BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, APRIL 25, 2005
-- Multiply Inc. ( href="http://multiply.com/">http://multiply.com) has introduced the
first search engine that finds information that's been published in one's social
network. Conventional search engines attempt to catalog the Internet at large
and display search results purely in order of content relevance. Multiply's
search returns content published by people that have a relationship with the
person searching, and relevance is based not just on the content, but also on
the social relationship of the content owner to the searcher.


"If you are planning a vacation to Rome,
a search on Multiply may yield a photo album taken by your cousin's neighbor
during his vacation, and a blog entry written by your co-worker's nephew when he
was backpacking through Europe," according to Peter Pezaris, Multiply's founder
and CEO. "People often turn to Multiply first as an information resource because
search results are more personal, trusted, and interesting than what one would
find in a generic web-search on sites such as Google and Yahoo!. Multiply is the
only place you can find these types of personal search
results."


The search algorithm uses
Multiply's proprietary proximity index, as well as traditional ranking systems,
when sorting results. Rather than measure how socially close people are only by
"degrees of separation," as many other social networks do, Multiply takes into
consideration numerous real-world dynamics such as the real relationship between
people (wife, roommate, co-worker, etc.) and the number of mutual relationships
two people may share.


"On Multiply my
spouse is considered socially closer than an acquaintance that I've only
associated with on-line, and somebody that five of my friends know is closer
than someone that only one friend knows," says Pezaris. "Because relationships
actually mean something on Multiply, search results do,
too."


Since search results are presented
with a description of the relationship between the content producer and the
searcher, a comfortable forum for discussion is created. With Multiply's
technology, search has evolved from being a stand-alone task to being a catalyst
for social communication, and it's the follow-up communication that often
increases the chance of the searcher finding the information they need.


According to an August 2004 study by the
Pew Internet & American Life Project, "the use of search engines usually
rank only second to e-mail as the most popular on-line activity." Pezaris says
Multiply has combined those two
activities.


About Multiply
Inc.

Multiply Inc., based in Boca Raton, FL, is
privately owned and operated. The company's flagship product, Multiply
(http://multiply.com), is at the forefront of the growing field of social
communications.


# # #

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Cupid Aims for Background Checks

Privacy advocates decry a campaign to require criminal screenings by dating websites.

By David Colker, Times Staff Writer

Dating has always been a delicate dance of information swapping: What to reveal
when?

Now some lawmakers want to regulate it by requiring online dating services to conduct background checks on their
clients.

The push runs counter to the prevailing sentiment about privacy. In the wake of high-profile breaches at
information brokers ChoicePoint Inc. and Reed Elsevier's LexisNexis, state and federal legislators called for tighter control of personal information, with less, rather than more, disclosure.

Most online dating sites, including IAC/InterActiveCorp's Match.com and Yahoo Inc.'s Yahoo Personals, oppose background-check bills in key statehouses around the country. But competitor True supports them ? and, in fact, is bankrolling the campaign.

True's founder and chief executive, Herb Vest, believes that every online dating service should conduct
background checks, as True does.

"The primary motivation is to protect people from criminal predation online," Vest said. "I can't imagine anyone with a hatful of brains being against that."

Vest said he spent $200,000 last year on lobbyists around the country. Although opponents charge that his goal is
to gain publicity for his site, the legislation has met with at least some success in four states.

The Michigan House of Representatives late last year passed legislation based on a model bill written by True; it wasn't approved by the state's Senate but was reintroduced in both houses this year. Similar measures are being considered in Florida and Texas, and an Ohio lawmaker plans to introduce one this month. A California version was pulled before a committee could vote on it this year.

"This is one of those feel-good kind of legislations that politicians can get behind," said analyst Charlene Li of Forrester Research Inc.

Privacy advocates are alarmed.

"The notion that we should be requiring yet another industry to do background checks is chilling," said Barry Steinhart, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Technology and Liberty Program.

"It hurtles us further into a surveillance society in which every action is going to be investigated by an
entity with no accountability."

Raising the stakes for both sides is that a law in any one state could effectively create a national standard because of the difficulties in applying different local standards to Internet commerce.

"I
think every lobbyist in town is involved in this one, one way or the other," said Michigan state Sen. Alan Cropsey, a Republican, who is a sponsor of the bill being considered in his state.

Internet daters themselves are divided. John Knowlton, 52, who teaches journalism at a community college in Auburn, Wash., said he was uncomfortable with government taking a role in the matter. And he found it unfair that online dating was being singled
out.

"Every day, thousands of personal ads appear in print," Knowlton said. "Why wouldn't they be subjected to the same
thing?"

Elana Luber, 35, a lawyer in the Los Angeles area, is generally in favor of background checks, saying: "Who wouldn't want to have people screened for something so basic as whether or not they're a criminal?"

The bills generally would mandate that online dating services find out whether clients have been convicted of felonies and post that information or ban convicted felons from their sites.

Texas state Rep. Will Hartnett, a Republican, put opponents in the same category as those who would "defend child molesters who prey on people on the Internet." He dismissed the worries about privacy being compromised.

"As far as I am concerned," he said, "anyone convicted of a felony loses the right of privacy."

Ohio state Rep. Tom Patton, a Republican, said he planned to introduce a version of the bill because of the dangers women in particular face online. "They are more trusting," he said.

In promoting mandatory background checks, Vest cites several incidents of violence and fraud he says people suffered at the hands of ne'er-do-wells they met on the Internet.

But Vest acknowledges that it's not clear whether a search of criminal records would have prevented any of those incidents. And in California, Assemblywoman Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) said she withdrew a background-check bill she had introduced after True's lobbyists couldn't give her concrete examples of anything untoward an online dater had endured that a check might have derailed.

That's a key problem, said Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego. Givens said
her objections centered on shortcomings in the records culled by background-checking companies.

"Because these sites don't cover every jurisdiction in the country, it could give a false
sense of security," Givens said.

The
background-check service that True uses is Rapsheets Criminal Records, which is
owned by ChoicePoint. The service's coverage is spotty in some states. In
California, Rapsheets can search Superior Court records in only four of the
state's 58 counties.

"The privacy laws in
California are stricter than just about anywhere else," said Camille Gamble,
director of marketing at Rapsheets, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. She said the
only statewide record the company was able to access for California was a
sex-offender list.

"We think we do a good
job in covering the country," Gamble said. "But no nongovernment database can be
100%."

Background checks could eat into
the bottom lines of dating services or increase the costs to clients. Most are
privately held or owned by corporations that don't break out the results. The
big exceptions: Match.com and Udate.com, which are part of Barry Diller's IAC.

Last year IAC's online dating sites
generated $198 million in revenue for the company, according to a Securities and
Exchange Commission filing. That was up $12.7 million, or 7%, from 2003,
underscoring the popularity of Internet dating. About 8.4 million people were
paid subscribers of dating sites in 2004, according to Jupiter Research.

Match.com has about 1 million paid
subscribers, said spokeswoman Kristin Kelly. She defended the safety of the
sites, saying that clients get to know one another online before they mutually
decide to meet. She added that there had been fewer than 10 reported violent
crimes in connection with people who met at Match.com in a decade of operation.

"We are not a chat room; we are an
online community where you get the chance to communicate with someone as long as
you want without letting them even know your real name," she said. "We think
it's even safer than in a traditional meeting place like a bar, where you meet
someone and might give your information
sooner.

"As far as we are concerned," she
said of Vest's background-check campaign, "this is a ploy to force one site's
business plan on the entire
industry."

Vest, 60, defended his plan,
saying that it was born less of business interests than a personal crusade
against violence.

Shortly before his
second birthday in 1946, he said, his mother found his father dead at his
cabinetry business. The death was judged a suicide, but recently, Vest said, he
uncovered evidence that it was a homicide. (The case was featured on CBS-TV's
"48 Hours" news program this year.)

"The
murder of my father certainly left its mark on me," Vest said. "I believe that I
perhaps have a great deal more compassion about these matters. Deep down, I want
to protect people from criminals."

There
could be long-term economic benefits from standardized background checks for the
entire industry, said Vest, who founded a financial-services company that was
sold to Wells Fargo & Co. in 2001 for $127.5
million.

"If we gain the overall public
acceptance of online dating, we can more than double the number of people coming
to us," Vest said. "The other sites are being myopic; they are only interested
in short-term gain."

Li, the Forrester
Research analyst, said she didn't have any indication that criminal background
checks would be a boost to the industry. But she said there was a common
deception plaguing Internet daters.

"The
fraud comes when someone says, "I'm a 6-foot-2 athlete and weigh 180 pounds,"
she said.

"Then they show up at the door
and the reality is that they are 5-foot-8, 240 pounds and have not run a mile in
years. A background check is not going to help you with
that."

Meeting
online

Number of unique visitors to
top Internet dating sites in March (in
millions)

Yahoo Personals:
5.93

Match.com sites:
3.96

Spark Networks:
3.37

EHarmony.com:
2.73

True.com:
2.54

IMatchup sites:
2.54

Love@AOL:
1.72

Tickle personals:
1.37

HotMatchup.com:
1.13

DateCam.com: 0.94

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April 26, 2005

The ACLU Speaks out on Background Checks

From Steve Winkler: Here's a great quote from the
ACLU.

This push for securer sites has
privacy advocates alarmed. "The notion that we should be requiring yet another
industry to do background checks is chilling," said Barry Steinhart, director of
the American Civil Liberties Union's Technology and Liberty Program. "It hurtles
us further into a surveillance society in which every action is going to be
investigated by an entity with no accountability."

See, people who know what they are
talking about are looking out for the better part of society that doesn't see
this as a step in the right direction for
anyone.

Those pushing this legislation
can't get their story straight. The story changes depending on who they are
talking to, there is no congruent message being delivered and that is the part
which makes me and most doubt the real intentions. It is a push for legislation
and disclosure but giving businesses the right to choose either. Additionally,
as history shows those pushing this through have used legislation in the past to
get rich.

They proponents have also
taken the stance that if you're not with us you're against us AND YOUR
CUSTOMER'S SAFETY. That is ridiculous and not conducive to growing an industry
which genuinely has value to all single Americans.

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April 18, 2005

Accel Faces Social Networking


Constance
Loizos

AprÊ15,
2005


Thefacebook.com, a popular online
social networking directory that has taken college campuses by storm in the 14
months since it launched, has raised a Series A round of funding from Accel
Partners.

The deal was hotly contested in
Silicon Valley, and sources estimate the funding was between $10 million and $12
million.

"A lot of firms were clamoring for
that deal. I'm disappointed it wasn't us," says one Menlo Park, Calif., VC.
Sources familiar with the situation say that Accel is Thefacebook's only
institutional investor. PayPal.com co-founder and former
CEO


href="http://www.privateequityweek.com/pew/freearticles/1110466012792.html"
target="NewWindow">Read more..

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April 15, 2005

Userplane Aggregated Advertising

Our friends at Corante posted this today:
Excerpt from Corante Dating
Posted by Dave Evans

Buying advertising on dating sites used to be an expensive proposition. It wasn't long ago that impressions on a medium-sized site could run you $10,000 per month. Most of the graphics looked poorly integrated and un-targeted because the low-budget ad networks offered up 3.9% APR, ED pills or mortgages. Portal-sized pricing for poor CTR.

If Userplane has their way, it appears those days may be a thing of the past. They have come up with the Aggregated Social Software ad run. A single buy, with a $2,000 minimum that will spread your ad buys across 2 of the top social networks, MySpace and Friendster. [Disclaimer- I'm an Intermix shareholder.]

General parameters:
- US and Canadian Traffic Only
- Generally targeted toward singles
- Banner advertisements will be displayed equally between MySpace and Friendster (with additional properties in the near future)
This is something I've been talking about for some time now and I'm glad to see Userplane taking the lead on this one. Joe Tracy has had a dating site ad network for some time now although I don't hear much about that. Chat, search and now advertising, Userplane is certainly broadening their base with their recent partnerships.

---------------------------------------
If you are interested - please contact advertising@userplane.com

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April 14, 2005

Approval of True.com Legislation to Provide Criminal Background Check Disclosure for Online Dating Consumers in Florida

Florida Is Part of Nationwide Public Safety Campaign to Require Online Dating Services to Fully Disclose Whether They Conduct Criminal Background Checks on Their Members

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Advocates of legislation that would enhance the level of public safety in the world of online dating today applauded Florida lawmakers for recognizing the need to better protect the health and safety of consumers who choose to engage in online dating services.

The House Criminal Justice Committee voted 5-to-2 in favor of HB 1035, and members of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Services Committee voted 6-to-2 in support of SB 1768. The bills would require providers of online dating services to disclose if they do or do not conduct criminal background checks on their clients. Background checks have proven effective in screening out potential users of online dating services with criminal records such as sexual assault, injury to a child, murder, and theft.
Supporters of the legislation include the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, online dating participants and businesses such as True.com, an online dating service that currently conducts criminal background checks on its consumers.

"As an internet dater and internet dating coach, I can tell you that this bill makes great strides to inform and protect internet daters better than we can on our own without this legislation," said St. Petersburg resident Melanie Dodson.

Internet dating is a rapidly growing phenomenon in Florida and across the country. Many companies in this field provide a valuable service to millions of customers. However, these services also provide easy access for those who would prey on potential victims. One recent study found that one-in-five users of Internet dating services mistakenly assumed that criminal background checks were being conducted by their online dating company.

Senator Victor Crist who sponsors the measure in the Senate said "I believe that stopping even one of these predators from easy access to potential victims justifies the disclosure requirements we are proposing. This good legislation will give Florida's online dating consumers one extra measure of protection, along with other common-sense precautions they take when dealing with individuals they meet online."

Data compiled by True.com paints a compelling picture of the value in conducting criminal background checks to better protect the safety of online daters. When the company first applied the background checks to their database, True.com screened out 11 percent of its site applicants. In Florida alone, there were more than 475 instances where site applicants were found to have sexual offenses felony convictions or provided false or inaccurate information.

"We have an opportunity to help Florida's users of online dating services. They have a right to know if criminal background checks are or are not being conducted on members they are talking to online and possibly meeting," said HB1035's sponsor Representative Kevin Ambler. "This disclosure requirement is an important public safety measure that will help safeguard honest Floridians from dangerous sexual predators and convicted felons looking for potential victims."

The full disclosure requirements of this legislation require online dating services that do not run criminal background checks to disclose this information to their customers. To further protect the health and safety of online daters and to encourage them not to overly-rely on background screenings, the legislation further requires firms who do run criminal background checks to disclose that the screening is not fool-proof and also to provide consumers with safer dating tips.

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IAC/Match - Peripatetic Diller

Reference:

IAC/Match - Peripatetic Diller

DAILY RECORD / BUSINESS WEEK -- Apr 13 -- Diller was born in San Francisco, the son of a wealthy real-estate developer, and he was not a good student. At Beverly Hills High, he was fired from the newspaper for...

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Bolt.com

Reference:

Bolt.com

boltdotcom

Right now there are 17, 827 people online over at the Bolt.com ?hang out?. Where categories range from Movies & TV to Sex & Dating, Gaming, Music, Style, Sports, American Idol, AIM Icons, Quotes, Ringtones, Game Revolution, Quizzes, Horoscopes, and TAG.


According to their about: ?...  Bolt is the #1 youth hangout on the Web, bringing together 4.5 million young
people each month to exchange ideas about everything from final exams to the war in Iraq. Bolt is the basement, park,
college dorm, sidewalk café or the 7-11 parking lot – it?s a place where young people come to meet others and talk
about everything. Authenticity is at the core of all that we do??


Bolt is located in Soho, NYC and is led by Aaron Cohen, CEO. They recently released a study on
?Youth Happiness? (pdf file link) with the subtext
that it ?Turns out High School and College Kids Are Actually Pretty Happy? with 67% of 15-22 year olds counting
themselves as happy to very happy. Who knew?




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April 13, 2005

Research and Markets: In 2005, the Online Dating Industry Will Grow By Just 9%, to $516 Million

Wednesday April 13, 6:00 am ET

DUBLIN, Ireland, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- For years, online dating sites saw large numbers of new users flowing into the market every year, as a result, the industry grew by 73% in 2002 and 77% in 2003. But in 2004, as the number of users actually started to decline, the market grew by only 19%. In 2005, the industry will grow by just 9%, to $516 million.

With fewer users browsing online personals, dating sites have focused on increasing conversions of viewers into paying subscribers in order to keep growing. Industry-wide conversion rates have increased approximately 25% in the last year. Many dating sites are also looking to serious daters, those users hoping to find long-term relationships or marriage, to increase revenues.

Serious daters present an attractive opportunity for personals sites, these users convert 20% more often, are twice as likely to purchase long-term subscriptions and pay up to twice as much per month as casual daters.

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April 12, 2005

MSNBC Reports on Felony Data Validity

This
was sent to us by a loyal reader this morning. MSNBC reports:


"But experts say the nationwide tallies are often full
of holes, and contain as few as 70 percent of all felony conviction records,
leading in turn to a false sense of security.

Spotty participation by the nation's 3,100 county
courts, along with a hodgepodge of data formats, make national crime databases
vastly incomplete, said Rhonda Taylor, CEO of Intellisense Corp., a Bothell,
Wash.-based boutique background check firm."

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Monetizing the Social Network

Online
social networks are hot. Those who participate in them belong to two, three,
four, maybe even more than 10 or 20 different ones. They enjoy their features,
upload photos, request business contacts and talk with friends.

href="http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/5335.asp"
target="NewWindow">Read More...

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April 05, 2005

Sitras Postponed

We received this notice this morning regarding next week's SITRAS conference:

It has become necessary for us to re-schedule our conference for a later date. We apologize for the late notice and and any inconvenience caused. We will provide details for the new conference dates as soon as they are set.

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March 25, 2005

For Sale: SinglesOnline.comÊand 300 Local Domain Dating WebSites For Sale

Reader submitted:

"We own the trademarked brands of SinglesOnline.com, SolterosEnlinea.com and UniversitySingles.com as well as a network of three hundred excellent local Internet dating domain websites with great .com local domain names like AkronSingles.com, SanfrancisoSingles.com and LondonSingles.com (see all our local sites @ www.TheSinglesNetwork.com) Our member base is roughly 100,000 members and our local model includes membership subscriptions, local merchant advertisers and organizing local events.Ê If you are looking for an outstanding opportunity to grow, we believe we have a great foundation and a uniquely different Internet business model which can effective compete with the largest competitors. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about the Company's operation and assets and how this business can be scaled."

I am happy to introduce you to them if you wish!
Mike

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March 22, 2005

IN WAKE OF MAJOR SECURITY BREACHES AT DATA PROVIDERS, DATING SITE/SOCIAL NETWORKING TRADE GROUP ANNOUNCES OPPOSITION TO STATE LEGISLATION AIMED AT REGULATING ONLINE DATING

IDEA-OASIS Calls Legislation a Threat
To Personal Safety, Individual Privacy, E-Commerce
LOS ANGELES (March 21, 2005) ? IDEA-OASIS, the Internet Dating Executive Alliance/Online Association for Social Industry Standards (www.ideaoasis.org), today announced its formal opposition to various state legislative efforts that would require personals companies to conduct background checks on all users of Internet dating and online matchmaking services. The organization also warned of security concerns surrounding the data providers that would potentially provide the proposed mandated checks.
Recently, several large, well-respected companies have been hit by security breaches involving tens of thousands of consumers. Even more seriously, certain data providers are alleged to have sold personal information on hundreds of thousands of consumers to criminals who posed as legitimate businesses to gain access to these information databases.
The ongoing legislative effort to regulate online dating began in Michigan several months ago and has spread to other states, including California, Ohio, Florida and Texas. Although the language varies from state to state, all of the pending bills require service providers to conduct searches for felony and sexual offense convictions from a national database containing at least 170 million criminal and sexual offender records. If the service provider does not perform criminal background checks, the company must post a warning on the website's home page, along with all member profiles and e-mail communications accessible to residents of that state. Virginia rejected the similar legislation in January.
?The proposed legislative remedy here strikes at the very heart of legislative overkill versus self-regulation through better business models and policies,? said Michael Jones, president of IDEA OASIS. ?In addition to damaging individual privacy, this kind of misguided effort may ultimately undermine e-commerce ? from giants such as eBay and Amazon down to the small business and start-ups. In the end, the supposed cure is worse than the disease, which is why we believe this will simply force the hand of online businesses and impair the rights of free speech and free communication online.?
Comprised of such companies as Date.com, FriendFinder, Inc., Cupid.com, and RelationshipExchange, IDEA-OASIS serves both the online dating and social networking sectors. Jones is president and co-founder of Userplane (www.userplane.com), a pioneer in providing enterprise social software for online communities.
?The fact is, meeting online is already safe ? and vastly safer than encountering someone in a bar,? said Jones. ?Online, members do the screening, read the profiles, use secure channels, and converse through video if they wish.? Proponents of government regulation have been able to gather support from legislators by falsely suggesting that consumers are unduly at risk without new state laws. But industry leaders such as Match.com (www.match.com) and Yahoo! Personals maintain that precisely the opposite is true.
?Unfortunately, the proposed legislation will not only give consumers a dangerous and false sense of security, but it will also compromise the security of their personal information by requiring them to repeatedly submit to identity checks by companies that have proven to be unreliable,? said Kristin Kelly, senior director of public relations for Match.com ?Simply put, the proposed legislation is a bad solution in search of a problem. It?s not good for consumers, nor is it good for an industry whose sole purpose is to help single people find love in the 21st century.?
These measures, often struck down by federal courts as unreasonable limits on interstate commerce, have a greater chance of passage when linked to issues like safety. "Consumers who carefully examine the proposed legislation will realize that mandating background checks will only benefit the company employed to perform these tasks" said Meir Strahlberg, CEO, Date.com. "Rather than risk giving consumers a false sense of security with criminal checks that are not 100 percent accurate, responsible companies in the industry should continue to promote safety guidelines to those in the online dating community."

Mandated Criminal Checks a Threat to Privacy
Members of the verification and background-check industry are also opposed to the legislation. Drew Green, a vice president with Verified Person (www.verifiedperson.com), a provider of self-initiated profile verification, suggested that mandated criminal checks will needlessly stifle online community interaction and growth.
?The online dating community is an extremely large and diverse group,? Green said. ?While some people are genuinely concerned about verifying various background details of potential dates, others are worried about preserving privacy and maintaining anonymity. Online daters should be given the choice.?
Trufina focuses their company on consumer-controlled online identity verification and management. ?Regulation will promote a false sense of security for the consumer, further compounding the abuse of anonymity across the Internet,? said Chris Bradley, co-founder of Trufina (www.trufina.com). ?What?s needed are consumer-centric solutions based on reciprocity?a mutual exchange allowing consumers to both manage their own privacy while challenging the identity and credentials of others they meet online.?
?Background check services are already readily available to consumers, as are online personals companies that conduct background checks. The Proposed legislation could jeopardize the safety of their constituents and the security of their personal data to disrupt natural market forces to the benefit of one or two companies,? Jones stated.
Early this month, the California legislature started considering just such a bill, which would fine dating services $250 per day for failing to comply.

About IDEA OASIS?
Based in New York, IDEA-OASIS (www.ideaoasis.org) -- the Internet Dating Executive Alliance/Online Association for Social Industry Standards -- includes individuals involved with web-based businesses for online dating, social networking, niche-community and common interest sites, weblogs, face-to-face meeting sites, social analysis sites, social network sharing sites and business social network sites. IDEA-OASIS promotes ethical social networking and online dating management for members and to the online community at large.

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March 18, 2005

We invite you join us at SITRACon III in Palm Springs, CA on April 11-13, 2005.

Go to http://www.sitras.com and register online via links on the SITRACon III Agenda. When prompted, enter the following Promotion Code: UP3599 ? and you will receive a special 50% saving off of the registration fee.

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March 04, 2005

ConnectU can import all your MySpace, Friendster and Hi5 Profiles!

We received this email this morning to our ConnectU account - I am not 100% sure it is legal - but it sure is smart:

Message:
Hey ,

I wanted to let you know that you can now import your profile information, as well as your friends list, from other social networks into ConnectU.

All you have to do is go here:
http://www.connectu.com/importer/index.php?return=edit

Let me know if you have any questions.

All the best,

Cameron

Co-Founder of ConnectU


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March 03, 2005

Dating Network for Sale

This was submitted to the blog today:

For Sale: SinglesOnline and a Network of 300 Local Personals WebSites
#1 - Money Making Content -Internet Personals
South East

Asking: Ê
$750,000
Gross: Ê
Not Disclosed
Cash Flow: Ê
Not Disclosed

https://www.bizbuysell.com/cgi-bin/addetail?J=bbs&p=0&i=YF&ss=1&tab=eb&q=139638

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February 23, 2005

Lycos - Pay per inclusion dating search engine

Lycos to Launch Dating Search
ClickZ, February 23, 2005

Lycos is expected Wednesday to launch a niche search product -- a dating search engine -- with a paid inclusion model, in which dating sites pay per-click, per-acquisition or via another model when they get referrals. - Read the whole story...
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&forwarddg=1&art_aid=27514&Nid=12296&p=248745

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February 15, 2005

MySpace Gets 5M!

MySpace Gets $5M
----
Los Angeles-based Intermix Media said today that it has completed its financing of MySpace.com, its independent social networking service. MySpace.com has received $5M from Redpoint Ventures after a series of financial exchanges with publicly listed Intermix. MySpace.com provides an online social networking service which competes against social networking services like Ryze and Friendster, and is focused on common interests like music. Geoffrey Yang of Redpoint will sit on the company's board.

http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showco&id=1735

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January 21, 2005

Back from iDate2005 Miami

The conference was a hit - large attendance, great debate and good information exchanged. More updates to come as we process all the new information.

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January 06, 2005

Who owns Christian dating sites?

Dave Evans has a nice post on this - pretty keen:

[Source: Online Dating http://www.corante.com/dating/]

On the heels of Mike Jones writing about the corporate parent of WebDate operating a network of adult sites, I received this: Out of the top sites targeting the Christian dating niche, only Christian Cafe is actually owned and operated...

Read More...

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December 29, 2004

MySpace.com out ranks Match.com on Alexa

MySpace.com has reached 88 in the Alexa ranking - with Match.com at 95.

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December 27, 2004

Flickr as a Social Networking Service

Interesting article today on Flickr - this quote I found funny - old-style social networking:

Unlike old-style social networks like Friendster.com or orkut.com, Flickr brings a simple pleasure that a lot of people enjoy: sharing photos.

Read More...

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December 21, 2004

SingleandActive.com, a unique dating web site dedicated to athletes and outdoor sports enthusiasts.

A new niche sports-enthusiasts dating websites:

?Finally, there is a site dedicated to people who share a passion for outdoor sports and finding a partner to play with,? said Greg Prosl, CEO of Katabak.

Read More...

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Matchmaker EHarmony.com Attracts Nearly $110 Million in Venture ...

Their new raise is rumored to be the 4th largest capital raise of the year.

More info.

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December 14, 2004

Meetic launches 4 new countries in Europe and strengthens its position as European N¡ 1 for on-line dating

MEETIC will open its site for Poland, Ireland, Greece and Portugal with the support of its new shareholder AGF Allianz, thus strengthening its leadership before its listing on the stock market, planned for 2005.

Paris, December 14, 2004 - ÊÊ

Meetic, the specialist in on-line dating, is completing its tour of Europe even before its third birthday, thus consolidating its position as European N¡1 for on-line dating (source Nielsen October 2004*).
Ê
The French dating site launched in early 2002 by Marc Simoncini will open up to 4 additional countries in the coming weeks: Poland, Ireland, Greece and Portugal.

After achieving the same success in 11 European countries, the dating site meetic thus continues to develop with the same resources and the same strategy and will now be present in 15 European countries.

Ê"Over the past 3 years Meetic has proved its ability to develop its model both via the web and the mobile, and to form strategic alliances with numerous major European players in these sectors (Free.fr, Virgilio.it, France Telecom (Voila.fr), M6.fr, TF1.fr, Web.de, Lycos Europe, Yahoo Spain and Yahoo Italy, Bluewin.ch, SFR, Vodafone Germany, Bouygues Telecom, Telefonica (i-mode ©), Lastminute Europe, Eurosport Europe, etc). The advertising campaign launched in mid-November reinforces our strategy and enables us to envisage a 2005 which will meet our objectives and our ambitions " stated CŽcile Moulard, Europe Marketing Manager.

Meetic thus confirms its desire for global expansion and its place as European leader in this market, one of the most dynamic on the internet.

Once these 4 new countries are on-line, meetic will prepare for its listing on the stock market, planned for 2005.

* Source: MŽdiamŽtrieÊ / NetRatings ? NielsenÊ / NetRatings ? all rights reserved by MŽdiamŽtrie / NetRatings

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December 07, 2004

3rd Internet Dating Conference to be Held January 19-20 in Miami, Florida

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Ticonderoga Ventures, Inc. announces the third Internet Dating Conference, to be held on January 19-20, 2005 in Miami at the Wyndham Miami Beach Resort.
Internet personals, which includes both online dating and social networking, continues to be one of the fastest growing online businesses.
The 3rd Conference and expo will focus on management, technology and marketing for the industry. Mobile dating, cultural marketing, television advertising to attract online singles will also be discussed. The Miami event will also have a panel session with several market analysts to discuss and debate the actual market size of the industry.
Attending the event will be senior executives from all aspects of the internet dating industry and social networking industry, as well as marketing firms, telecommunication firms, software companies, affiliate managers, affiliates of singles related sites and entrepreneurs.
Speakers at this event include executives from companies such as: Love.com, America Online, Cupid.com, Friendfinder, MingleMatch, True.com, Weblogs Inc, Userplane, Korea Datahouse, Trilibis, Keynote, Market Data Enterprises, ComScore Networks, Hitwise, Relationship Exchange, DatingRev, Spring Street Networks, One Real World, Online Personals Watch, Look Better Online, Did-It.com, SoHo Digital, Trufina, Boehm-Ritter, Donat Wald and RevShare Corporation.
MatchNet plc is the online personals sponsor of the Miami event. MatchNet, a leader in online personals both in the U.S. and internationally, operates a variety of Web sites serving this market, including AmericanSingles.com and
JDate.com. The company will host a booth in Miami and is also available for one-on-one meetings to discuss opportunities in marketing, technology and M&A.
The company projects this to be the largest gathering of social networking executives ever. Exhibit space for the event is sold out.

The company also announces its schedule of events for 2005:

May 12-13, 2005
Hong Kong
Republic of China
Internet Dating and Social Networking to the Far East.

September 22-23, 2005
Prague
Czech Republic
Internet Dating and Social Networking to the European Union.

The http://www.InternetDatingConference.com website also contains an industry message board for executives to discuss issues, contact both buyers and sellers, employment listings and entrepreneurs to seek new business
opportunities.

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December 02, 2004

SavvyInsider.com Breaks the Rules of Single Life

Take Social Networking. Add Hard-hitting Journalism and Stand-up Comedy. Stir.

(PRWEB) December 1, 2004 -- SavvyInsider Media Group, LLC, a startup media and entertainment company devoted to the lifestyle of today?s savvy singles, is about to revolutionize single life. The Company announced today the launch of its website, www.SavvyInsider.com , which offers original thinking, an edgy personality, and an experiential brand radically different from the status quo for singles.

Read More..

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November 30, 2004

eHarmony, Friendster Launch Online Matching System

eHarmony, Friendster Launch Online Matching System
----
Pasadena-based eHarmony and social networking site Friendster announced this morning that the two companies have launched an online personals
matching system for Friendster. The two companies are launching a co-branded matching service that uses eHarmony's computerized matching
service with Friendster's social networking service. Social networking sites like Friendster have been searching for a way to monetize their services, as the initial rush of enthusiasm for social networking has waned. eHarmony's services match up singles through a computerized online dating service.

From SoCalTec.com

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November 26, 2004

Lemontonic(TM) Announces Accelerated Growth and Q3 Fiscal 2004 Results

TORONTO, Nov. 25 /CNW/ - LEMONTONIC INC. ("Corporation") (TSX-VEN: LEM)
is pleased to announce that its growth continues to accelerate, with daily
membership acquisition over the past 30 days averaging over 600 members daily.
As of November 25th, the company had 91,500 members.
Lemontonic also announced today financial results for its third quarter
2004. The results have been posted on SEDAR and on the company's website at
www.lemontonic.com .
For the quarter ended September 30, 2004 revenue of $7,063 comprised
primarily of the sale of one Category 2 specialty license application compared
to $2,980 in 2003 which included nominal amounts of revenue generated by the
online dating royalties paid to PassionVillage.com by a third party online
dating site. The PassionVillage.com site was suspended in the fourth quarter
of 2003. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2004 revenue decreased
to $7,431 compared to $12,211 in the same period in 2003.
Operating costs for the quarter ended September 30, 2004 increased to
$2,066,385 from $82,052 in the same period in 2003 due to the costs related to
developing the application and web service, brand development and customer
acquisition costs, and website costs including hosting and ad serving. In
addition there were increased staffing requirements including the growth of
the customer care team, and the recognition of stock-based compensation
expenses. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2004, operating costs
increased to $4,676,810 compared to $290,430 in the same period in 2003.
The net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2004 was $2,059,322 or
$0.05 per share compared to a loss of $79,072, or $0.01 per share in the prior
year quarter. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2004, the net loss
was $4,669,379, or $0.14 per share compared to $278,219 or $0.01 per share in
the same period in 2003.
As at the end of September 30, 2004, the number of charter members
totaled 63,138. Canada represents 95% of the charter member base.
Cash and short term investments of $71,995 at the end of
September 30, 2004 have decreased from $440,803 as at December 31, 2003. The
Company utilized its cash raised through the financing activities to support
its development of the Lemontonic Dating Messenger application and launch of
its web services. Including the financing that was announced in November 2004,
the Company forecasts that it will have sufficient cash on hand to continue
its current operation until the company is cashflow positive.
Pursuant to the agreement announced on November 2, 2004 with Canaccord
Capital (Europe) Limited (the "Agent") to act as the exclusive agent on a
reasonable endeavors basis in connection with a private placement of Class A
shares of the Corporation (the "Class A Shares"), the Agent may exercise an
over allotment option of up to 4,500,000 Class A shares to be exercised in
whole or in part at the sole discretion of the Agent.
"The investment in v1.0 of our online dating messenger and website is now
completed. In the quarter we launched the dating messenger to complement the
website which was launched in the second quarter. Our acquisition marketing
activities have also been further refined with our key partners Toronto.com
and sympatico.msn.ca," stated Mark Pavan, CEO of Lemontonic. "Our product is
now fully deployed and our non charter members are now being converted to
paying subscribers so that they may utilize the full features of Lemontonic
v1.0."

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November 17, 2004

Yahoo Releases New Premier Personals Service

"Yahoo! Personals Premier helps people like you looking for a long-term relationship find compatible people in a way that makes the most of their personal time. Offering more personal choice and smarter tools to help you find great matches, Yahoo! Personals Premier is the best way to meet other people with long-term relationship potential."

http://personals.yahoo.com/us/homepage/ypp_service_learn_more

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October 22, 2004

Judy's Book

We
came across Judy's Book today - a social networking website allowing friends to
review services with each other:


"And
Judy's Book, a social networking startup created by experienced entrepreneur
Andy Sack, landed $2.5 million to create a company that helps friends and
employees spread the word about what dentists, mechanics and other service
providers they use."


href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/venture/196280_vc22.html"
target="NewWindow">Read more...


target="NewWindow">http://www.judysbook.com/

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October 18, 2004

PlentyofFish Membership Grows

Plentyoffish.com has reached a new milestone by launching itself past the 200,000 member mark as of September 1, 2004. Singles cannot seem to resist the lure of a quality dating site that offers a positive, growing community and services that are completely free.

Read More...

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Online Dating & Politics (per Judith Meskill!)

Reference:

Love in the Time of Presidential Elections

Remember my August 16th post?Political Passions Power Partisan Pairing? As the presidential election draws ever nearer here in the United States, I guess it is timely to mention the group of services that cater to the politically passionate.


Jane Ganahl writes for the San Francisco
Chronicle?SINGLE-MINDED
Activism is romantic, and did you know that voting is sexy?

?on dating and/or social networking services
for:


liberals

www.demdates.com

www.democraticsingles.com

www.actforlove.org.


conservatives

www.catholicmatch.com

www.conservativematch.com

www.singlerepublican.com

www.conservativedates.com.


and activists of both persuasions

www.loveinwar.com


Sounds like a new dating category is in order?The Politics of Passion, or is that The Passion of Politics?… (-:=

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October 08, 2004

Zero Degrees - new version with MAC support!

ZeroDegrees
has released their upgraded application including full Macintosh Support - it is
very impressive with a very clean interface! href="http://www.zerodegrees.com"
target="NewWindow">www.zerodegrees.com

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September 28, 2004

Another Acquisition From Incode

This
I believe is the second release we posted on an Incode acquisition. We dont know
much about them - except their public relations email
bounces..


NEW YORK, Sept. 28
/PRNewswire/ -- Incode Corporation today announced its plans today to acquire
VanityDate, a special interest online dating service devoted to match-making for
exceptionally successful and attractive
singles.

Incode expects to close the
acquisition of VanityDate in line with the completion of Incode's proposed
acquisition by BIB Holdings, Ltd. ("BIB") (OTC Bulletin Board:
BIBO).


href="http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/09-28-2004/0002260171&EDATE"
target="NewWindow">http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/09-28-2004/0002260171&EDATE

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September 17, 2004

Psychologists & Online Dating

We have seen a rise recently in the online paring of Psychologists and Online Dating. With eHarmony's success, it seems that taking a more-intimate and relationship based approach can lead to better matches, and stronger marketing focus for an online property.
We have seen a rise recently in the online paring of Psychologists and Online Dating. With eHarmony's success, it seems that taking a more-intimate and relationship based approach can lead to better matches, and stronger marketing focus for an online property.

LDS Promise(TM), a new LDS online relationship service created and developed by A. Lynn Scoresby, Ph.D. (a well-known family and child psychologist), today announced the launch of the beta version of its service at www.LDSPromise.com.

Full Article...

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September 15, 2004

SoCalTECH: Interview with Ryan J. Blair

Interview: Ryan J. Blair, Founder, PathConnect

Link: http://www.socaltech.com/fullstory/0000955.html

----
My interview today is with Ryan J. Blair, the former CEO of SkyPipeline, a broadband wireless ISP. Ryan sold SkyPipeline to NextWeb last year for $25M, and is launching a new company in the social networking space.

BK: What's PathConnect, and how does it fit into the social networking world?

RJB: PathConnect is the world's only online community, designed to make goal setting and mentorship a fun and interactive experience for its members.

We fit into the social networking world because we employ social communication components and tools. Not only do we connect individuals via friends, relatives, and acquaintances, but we also connect people through common interests and similar goals. Our first release enables our community members to message each other based on publicly stated goals and interests. We purposefully designed our community for people that are passionate about individual growth and who seek to contribute to others.

BK: What's your own background, and why did you decide to found PathConnect?

RJB: I am a young entrepreneur (27), last year when I sold my company SkyPipeline.com I was asked if I would speak at local high-schools and universities to share with students my story. I spoke to our future leaders about the recipe I used to become successful....goal setting, great mentors, focus and empowering beliefs. To my surprise it turned out that the content that I spoke of was unique and exciting to them. I was inundated with requests for help and advice especially when they started airing my lectures on a local television station. A video of the lecture is on www.pathconnect.com/media.htm. From the lectures I started receiving 100s of emails from community leaders, educators, parents, students...you name it about how what I told them inspired them. Many asked if I would review their goals and provide them mentorship. I wanted to help them all, but I couldn't so I developed tools to make the process more efficient. Those tools got me thinking....maybe there's a business here? So I did my home work to see if there was anything like it on the market, I spoke to everyone in the industry about their current offerings and their future product plans. What I found in the process was the vast majority of the self-help educational industry was antiquated in their use of technology. So I pulled together 4 of my super-start engineers that I worked with at past companies and I founded the company.

BK: Can you describe the technology behind your concept, and what it does?

RJB: Our technology is more advanced than anything ever produced by the self-help educational industry. Our mission is to pioneer the fusion of technology with the psychology of human achievement. The self-help educational industry is behind the times. The tools we've created so far are just the start of our product development pipeline.

The company's community software enables users with similar goals and interests to collaborate with each other. Members have the ability to search other member's publicly stated goals and message each other. Many of our members are even using our portal for task management as well.

Our users are able to set due dates on their goals, get reminder emails and request mentorship on any of their goals. We have created a very unique process for facilitating our mentor program. We have two types of mentors. Peer and Certified. Peer Mentors are those people wanting to help their peers in an area that they have experience or advanced knowledge in. For example if a member is looking to build a classic car, a peer mentor in the network may have already achieved this goal or is in progress on it, so that member could provide valuable advice to their peer on how to accomplish such a goal in the shortest time possible with the least amount of obstacles in the process. This would connect the paths of these two individuals and the collaboration would accelerate the accomplishment process.

The concept of peer mentoring is foundation of PathConnect's mentoring program. In addition to "Peer" mentors PathConnect also has a Certified Mentor Category. These are expert mentors in a subject. They are super-star entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, and highly accomplished professionals that are wiling to contribute to others their experiences and gifts.

Generally, members must earn their way to a PathConnect Certified mentor by achieving both subjective and objective goals. The mentorship competitions will launch in our late September product release. For now if you are interested in either becoming a peer or a certified mentor please email mentors@pathconnect.com.

The mentorship is done online in the PathConnect community using the goal setting and goal commenting tools. The mentor process only takes a few minutes per month and will make a major difference in a person's life.

BK: How is PathConnect funded?

RJB: I have and will personally fund the company through its proof of concept phase. Having come from a venture backed company I decided to self fund until I could prove a significant valuation. We may seek VC at some point, but for now it's not necessary.

BK: What's the business model for PathConnect?

RJB: We work with advertisers, affiliates and sponsors to generate revenue. We do not charge our users anything for the tools that we provide. Our goal is to challenge the standard fee-based self-help industry, because I want our tools to be available to millions of users not just those that can afford it. We will make the fee-based "self-help" software programs, web portals and books obsolete.

BK: How receptive do you see people are in terms of "mentoring" people and helping others out?

RJB: Psychologically I believe every human being has a desire to contribute to the lives of others. Unfortunately in our busy work oriented society we don't have the time to fulfill that basic need (many parents can't even find the time to set goals with their own children). That's where PathConnect's community and tools provide a service to our society. Our tools make the traditionally time intensive and inconvenient process of goal setting and mentoring much more time efficient and much more fun and interactive.

Through word of mouth we have attracted about 100 mentors so far. These mentors range from professional athletes and artists to successful entrepreneurs and business people, but we need more! If any of your readers would like to contribute please have them email mentors@pathconnect.com.

BK: Finally, where are you in terms of launching your service?

RJB: The beta service launches tomorrow September 15th. We have several new features in the pipeline over the next few months. The root services, Goal setting, collaboration and mentorship are up and running now.

BK: Thanks!

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Posted by Michael Jones at 11:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

iDate 2005 - Just Around the Corner

We just received our invitation to iDate 2005 in Miami. Last years event had a strong showing of new and established dating sites - with larger attendance than other events we have attended. Founder and Userplane CCO Javier Hall will be presenting - we would love to see you all there!

...Its the Internet Dating Conference taking place at the Wyndham Miami Beach Resort ( http://www.idate2005.com ).

Special early registration for this event ends on September 30th (a USD $225 savings on the conference pass).

...It can be found at http://www.idate2005.com/forums/index.php . Feel free to discuss your products, services, post jobs and discuss the online dating industry.

The 3rd Internet Dating Conference will focus on management and internet marketing for the online dating and internet social networking industry.. Attending will be senior level executives from: internet dating/social networking business, marketing firms, software suppliers, affiliates and portal webmasters of singles related sites.

In addition to back-end software, website designs and other items important for running an online personals site, it will also discuss forms of marketing. This is a fast-paced event on cutting edge software, marketing and advertising techniques specifically designed for the dating/singles and social networking industry.

Some speakers include executives from: Love.com, Cupid.com, Friendfinder, Trilibis, Relationship Exchange, Useplane, DatingRev, Spring Street Networks, Look Better Online, True.com, Online Personals Watch, Korea Data House, One Real World, Vividence, MarketData Enterprises, ComScore Media Metrics, Did-It.com, Soho Digital.

The 2 day Internet Dating Conference consists of morning seminars and lectures, followed in the afternoon by 90 minute intensive workshops. They are designed to improve online dating and social networking business performance (many will focus on increasing web traffic and conversion rates). Dating industry executives, marketing representatives, affiliates and affiliate managers all stand to learn a great deal in these workshops and are welcome to interject their questions at anytime.

...Registration discounts apply for those who register early.

Whether you are an online dating service, social network site manager, an internet marketing firm, a dating software provider or an alternative online payment system, this event is an important event to network, gain customers and grow your business. (Photos from our last event can be seen at http://www.idate2005.com/eventphotos-miami-2004.php . Close to 200 internet dating executives attended this event ).

We
just received our invitation to iDate 2005 in Miami. Last years event had a
strong showing of new and established dating sites - with larger attendance than
other events we have attended. Founder and Userplane CCO Javier Hall will be
presenting - we would love to see you all
there!


iDate
2005


FYI, mark your calendars for
January 19-20, 2005 in Miami. Its the Internet Dating Conference taking place at
the Wyndham Miami Beach Resort (
http://www.idate2005.com
).


Special early registration for this
event ends on September 30th (a USD $225 savings on the conference pass). To
register early, click on the following
link:


http://www.idate2005.com/register-miami-2005.php

We
also now have **MESSAGE BOARDS** for Online Dating Industry Executives. It can
be found at
http://www.idate2005.com/forums/index.php
. Feel free to discuss your products, services, post jobs and discuss the
online dating industry.


The 3rd
Internet Dating Conference will focus on management and internet marketing for
the online dating and internet social networking industry.. Attending will be
senior level executives from: internet dating/social networking business,
marketing firms, software suppliers, affiliates and portal webmasters of singles
related sites.


In addition to back-end
software, website designs and other items important for running an online
personals site, it will also discuss forms of marketing. This is a fast-paced
event on cutting edge software, marketing and advertising techniques
specifically designed for the dating/singles and social networking industry.


Some speakers include executives from:
Love.com, Cupid.com, Friendfinder, Trilibis, Relationship Exchange, Useplane,
DatingRev, Spring Street Networks, Look Better Online, True.com, Online
Personals Watch, Korea Data House, One Real World, Vividence, MarketData
Enterprises, ComScore Media Metrics, Did-It.com, Soho
Digital.


SEMINARS

The
2 day Internet Dating Conference consists of morning seminars and lectures,
followed in the afternoon by 90 minute intensive workshops. They are designed
to improve online dating and social networking business performance (many will
focus on increasing web traffic and conversion rates). Dating industry
executives, marketing representatives, affiliates and affiliate managers all
stand to learn a great deal in these workshops and are welcome to interject
their questions at anytime.


Significant
time will exist for networking as well.


REGISTRATION

Registration
discounts apply for those who register early. To register, click on the
following
link:


http://www.idate2005.com/register-miami-2005.php

Whether
you are an online dating service, social network site manager, an internet
marketing firm, a dating software provider or an alternative

online payment system, this event is an
important event to network, gain customers and grow your business. (Photos from
our last event can be seen

at
http://www.idate2005.com/eventphotos-miami-2004.php
. Close to 200 internet dating executives attended this event ).

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Posted by Michael Jones at 11:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 26, 2004

Review of BlogON

As one of the featured speakers we presented our technology solutions to a panel and were grilled with questions.... As we move forward - we will be placing much emphasis on talking and supporting the Blogging community.

Many of the large Social Networking websites were represented, including: LinkedIn, Tribe, Craig from Craig's List and Ryze. We were fortunate enough to grab some time with the CEO of Tickle, who had a very interesting viewpoint on how the Tickle/Monster merger brings a new level of psychology and support to job-seekers, definitely made me a believer.
The BlogON conference was a great success. A wonderful gathering of individuals, all pioneers in Blogging and online community development. As one of the featured speakers we presented our technology solutions to a panel and were grilled with questions. Overall - Bloggers are now driving (within certain circles) more influence than traditional media. As we move forward - we will be placing much emphasis on talking and supporting the Blogging community.

Many of the large Social Networking websites were represented, including: LinkedIn, Tribe, Craig from Craig's List and Ryze. We were fortunate enough to grab some time with the CEO of Tickle, who had a very interesting viewpoint on how the Tickle/Monster merger brings a new level of psychology and support to job-seekers, definitely made me a believer.

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Posted by Michael Jones at 03:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 20, 2004

iDate 2004: Nice, France

Although the attendance was not as full as the Miami conference - the conference was still successful. The initial meeting of Idea Oasis formalized its initial board of directors, Meetic, Dating.dk, True.com and PlanetOut had a great discussion on the European Dating Market, and Stowe Boyd and Judith Meskill discussed new advances in the dating and SNS industry.

The
iDate conference in Nice has just concluded. Although the attendance was not as
full as the Miami conference - the conference was still successful. The initial
meeting of Idea Oasis formalized its initial board of directors, Meetic,
Dating.dk, True.com and PlanetOut had a great discussion on the European Dating
Market, and Stowe Boyd and Judith Meskill discussed new advances in the dating
and SNS industry.

Posted by Michael Jones at 10:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

BlogOn 2004

Userplane is scheduled to present at BlogOn 2004 this Friday, July 23rd. If you are in San Francisco and want to connect - just let us know!

Userplane
is scheduled to present at BlogOn 2004 this Friday, July 23rd. If you are in San
Francisco and want to connect - just let us know!

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Posted by Michael Jones at 10:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 22, 2004

iDate 2004 - Miami Follow Up

iDate 200 went off as a success. The event was covered by the WSJ, NPR and the Miami Herald. The industry has been overlooked in general for the past few years - but is slowly being recognized by analysts and the general business community.

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Posted by Michael Jones at 10:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 02, 2004

iDate 2004

Userplane will be attending iDate 2004, January 19-20 in Miami to review AV Messaging, IM systems and other online dating products. If you are in Miami - drop us a line!

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Posted by Michael Jones at 03:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 26, 2003

Instant Messaging Planet

I am a confirmed speaker at Instant Messaging Planet October 15 in San Francisco - if you wish to attend, please contact me.

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Posted by Michael Jones at 10:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 26, 2003

OFFF Photos


A
shot from the 2003 OFFF Conference prior to the Userplane & Media Temple
presentation.

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Posted by Michael Jones at 12:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

 
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