Back from iDate
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010I just got back from iDate Miami and want to share a few thoughts with you:
There are some very interesting changes occurring in the Dating industry right now. It’s almost like the ground is shifting, with many people able to sense the shift, but few understanding where it is going or how to handle it. Look for yourself:
- Paid websites open Free portals;
- Free websites add Paid services;
- Payment gateway companies, which avoided working with dating sites before - now actively look for them;
- Established dating companies are more open to new marketing opportunities, JVs and partnerships which they didn’t consider before;
- Great potential and opportunities are opening for new dating projects.
In another words: while some established sites may see challenges, new sites see opportunities.
In fact, many new dating projects already successfully use the situation in their favor:
- There is a new site which recognizes psychological differences between men’ and women’s approach to dating, - and presents them with different interfaces;
- A dating site which leverages existing profiles from social sites - instead of asking you to create new profiles from scratch;
- A project which matches people by DNA samples;
- Niche projects: sites for pet lovers, for people who love tattoos, etc.
So, what allows these new projects to grow right next to the old and established sites? What keeps the bigger sites from holding the ground better?
Several reasons:
- smaller sites usually can move faster due to their light infrastructure. So, when a market situation changes they can act faster. Larger corporate projects need to go through their routines and boardroom meetings, etc. Their larger size and complex internal connections can significantly slow down the response time;
- For established projects it is harder to tweak their old business models because it means a greater risk. It takes guts to change something what worked well for you for years. The result might not be as expected. Start-ups are free from this predicament because they don’t have any old business models to cling to;
- small start-up projects are often run by enthusiasts, people who really love and believe in what they do, to the point where they are literally ready to get to work without anyone guaranteeing their pay… This alone amounts to something. Such level of dedication is not always found in larger projects.
It is exciting to see new projects emerging, and I believe we’ll see more new sites in the near future.
Andrey Malygin - Founder, DatingAdNetwork
P.S. Stay tuned for more interviews with leading Dating companies!
