? OPW - Feb 1 - Back in 2007, Courtland Brooks conducted a pioneering study that set out to compare the various white label dating providers and their service offerings. The online dating industry has grown rapidly since then. The concept of niche dating has proved very attractive to webmasters and affiliates who have warmed to the idea of setting up their own dating site. But how can you compete against Match.com or eHarmony? Unless you have very deep pockets the only viable alternative is to partner with a White Label provider. Which White Label provider should you choose? To make this task easier we decided to update our initial study. Download White Label Dating Provider Comparison Study The white label operator landscape has altered considerably. In terms of new entrants, the sector has seen the arrival of Dating Factory, whose primary focus is on non-English speaking markets. Cupid PLC successfully listed on the AIM market in the UK in 2010 and has subsequently focused primarily on growing its own in-house brand dating sites (Cupid.com, BeNaughty, Flirt.com, etc.). WhiteLabelDating.com (WLD) has grown rapidly since our first study from £3M to £30M annual revenues and was voted as the Best Dating...

PC MAG - Feb 2 - Facebook"s mobile apps are frequently among the most popular downloads in the Android Market and Apple App Store. Facebook"s Wednesday IPO filing revealed that the company had ~425M monthly active users during December 2011, or about half of its worldwide user base. But while that 425M number might be impressive, it"s not making Facebook any money at this point. "We currently do not show ads or directly generate any meaningful revenue from users accessing Facebook through our mobile products", Facebook said. by Chloe Albanesius See full article at PC Mag Mark Brooks: Same story with iDating companies. Jumptap.com may be able to help. There are a few mobile ad opportunities now. I"l be reviewing options at iDate Beverly Hills in June in my 3 hour presentation on mobile dating. This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch.

SEEKING ALPHA - Feb 2 - With Facebook going public in 2012, the mobile and social media revolution will come to the forefront of investors" attention. Snap Interactive is the leading provider of social dating and location-based apps built on Facebook. Their core dating brand "Are YOU Interested?" has ~55M user installations, 8M monthly active users. Since being founded in 2005, revenues have grown at a torrid pace. As of the last 12 months ended September 30, 2011, the company has recorded $16.5M in sales. Quarterly revenues hit $5.1M (+198% YoY) in September, which puts the company on pace for~$20M in sales for 2011. The total market size for online dating is now in excess of $1billion. by Ben Axler See full article at Seeking Alpha See all posts on SNAP Interactive This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch.

PRESS RELEASE ? Jan 24 ? mopay launched its new payment service customized specifically for the online dating industry at iDate 2012 in Miami. The company has adapted their fast, secure, easy-to-use payment method for online dating sites that can handle single or recurring payments of up to $50. mopay allows users to input either a landline or cell phone number, confirm the number by SMS, and then charge the payment to either of their phone bills to make payments fast and easy, thereby converting visitors to customers at a faster rate. This feature also allows customers without bank accounts to ?charge? their membership fees without having to worry about debit or credit cards. See full article at Market Watch

DAILYMAIL ? Jan 27 ? A recent poll of 2,000 singles in Britain?s major cities has found that Brits collectively go on 37M dates a year, spending an average of £47 each time, spending a national average of £1.3 billion on food and drink alone. The dating industry has made a major impact on the UK economy, the study found, revealing that £421M goes towards transportation and another £324M in grooming as people get their hair cut to look their best. The study was commissioned by Match.com and produced by the Centre of Economic Business Research. by Sadie Whitelocks See full article at DailyMail See all posts on Match.com

CHICAGO TRIBUNE ? Jan 26 ? Legislation has surfaced in Springfield, Illinois that would require any online dating site operating in or offering services to Illinois residents to announce prominently and repeatedly on their website whether or not they conduct background checks on members. Senator Ira Silverstein is taking a crack at passing the legislation. Though he acknowledges that the bill isn?t fool-proof, he believes it would set up a ?new level of consumer protection with dating sites.? Similar laws have passed in Texas and New Jersey. by Alissa Groeninger See full article at Chicago Tribune

MUMBRELLA ? Jan 27 ? Gay dating website Manhunt has launched a billboard campaign in the Paddington area advertising its new mobile product that helps gay men hook up. The campaign was devised by Pink Media Group, a gay media specialist that also works with gay hook-up app Grindr. Manhunt has 65k users in Australia. See full article at Mumbrella See all posts on Manhunt

OPW - Jan 25 - The 2012 iDate Awards took place at The Royal Palm Beach in Miami. We are proud to announce the following award winners. - Lifetime Achievement Award Gary Kremen - Best Dating Site OKCupid - Best Up and Coming Dating Site HowAboutWe.com - Best Marketing Campaign Match.com - Best Affiliate Program FriendFinder.com - Best Payment System PaymentWall.com - Best New Technology Grindr - Most Innovative Company OKCupid - Best Matchmaker Julie Ferman, eLove (Cupid"s Coach) - Best Dating Coach Evan Marc Katz - Best Mobile Dating Site Grindr - Best Dating Software Provider WhiteLabelDating.com - Best Dating Site Design OKCupid

PRESS RELEASE - Jan 22 - After 18 months of intensive development the Smooch White Label system (SWL) was launched by WooWise. The White Label system offers three different models: Subscription Free Freemium WooWise CEO Martin Bysh is speaking about supplementing subscription income with other services at iDate Miami. See full article at WooWise blog See all posts on Smooch

PRESS RELEASE - Jan 20 - Here is a list of the Internet?s biggest Google AdSense publishers. The information was compiled based on an audit by US Department of Labor and The Official Bureau of Labor Statistics. Markus Frind : PlentyOfFish.com : $300K per month Kevin Rose: Digg.com : $250K Jeremy Schoemaker : $140K Jason Calacanis : Weblogs, Inc. : $120K Mahmood Somani a Technology Entrepreneur from Vancouver, Canada quickly climbing to Top Adsense Earner really fast, and runs multiple classified websites sites earning him approximately $185,000.00 monthly. David Miles Jr. & Kato Leonard : FreeWebLayouts.net- $100K Tim Carter : AskTheBuilder.com : $30K Joel Comm : e-book : $24K Shawn Hogan : DigitalPoint.com : $10K This list only comprises of people who are earning from Adsense. See full article at Free Press Release See all posts on POF.com