Free Dating MW

Online dating brands couple-up to safeguard industry reputation.

Leading online dating brands including eHarmony, Match.com and MySingleFriend are holding preliminary talks to establish a code of conduct to distance themselves from less reputable operators in the sector, valued at £170m in the UK last year by Metaflake.
Marketing Week has learned of the pan-industry effort which includes the company behind The Times and The Daily Telegraph’s dating sites – The Dating Lab – and aims to establish an agreed code of conduct, as well as potentially leading to the formation of a new industry working group for the sector.

Also involved in the process are Lovestruck and Christian Connection, other online dating brands are also in discussions but have declined to be publicly associated with the talks at present. Those involved in the discussion aim to address potential concerns over a raft of consumer protection issues highlighted in a November 2012 Channel 4 News investigation into white label dating site Global Personals, which made a host of allegations of duping consumers based on the testimony of former employees.

Global Personals, which powers dating sites including Dating Republic, Love2Meet and FlirtNaughty, claimed it stopped practices such as setting up false profiles prior to the investigation, and the above parties involved in the talks claim they were in discussion prior to its broadcast.

Presently, the talks aim to address how the industry should set standards around specific issues. These include: ensuring the authenticity of user profiles and issues around the removal of online profiles as well as subscription cancellation. Other areas of discussion include protecting members’ data and ensuring appropriate levels of customer service.

A statement issued jointly on behalf of dating sites involved in the process reads: “Online dating has come into its own and is now an entirely normal way for couples to meet.

“As the industry grows and expands, we want to make it as easy as possible for consumers to make informed choices and to identify the providers that are committed to the highest standards.”

It is also understood the long-established Association of British Introduction Agencies (ABIA), whose membership includes Lovestruck and Christian Connection, is also involved in the talks.

The ABIA itself has proposed a code of practice for online introduction service providers, which is scheduled to come into effect this year but was unable to provide comment by time of publication when contacted by Marketing Week.

However, the parties involved have not ruled out the possibility of cooperation and the possible formation of a new working group. “It is too early to get into any details about whether discussion amongst the industry may lead to the formation of a new association with expertise in online dating versus traditional matchmaking agencies, as we first need to ratify what the code should say,” reads the brands’ joint statement.

The discussions are ongoing and no set time frame for an outcome has been established yet.

His profile lists many conventional hobbies and interests like hiking, camping and eating Mexican food. But it also mentions his “extensive background with firearms for defense and hunting.” And that he has an alternative water source, likes to go to thrift stores to find gadgets that don’t use electricity, and cans venison so he’ll have meat “if the grid goes down and there are no freezers.”

His idea of an attractive woman is someone who is physically fit and loves the outdoors. “I’m not looking for someone wearing a designer dress and purse — I want someone who looks wholesome, and a woman wearing a backpack in her profile picture is an automatic 10,” he said.

Because he lives in the mountains of Montana, distance has been a problem. He has met only one woman face-to-face out of more than 20 he has corresponded with on the site. After she visited him in Montana, they decided to just remain friends.

Distance is one of several issues cited by another member, Larissa Kama, 42, who goes by the screenname nwredhead. Kama has a “bug-out bag” full of gear near her front door in case disaster strikes, but she considers herself less “hardcore” than many of the men she has encountered on the site.

“I’ve come across a lot of freaks who live in a hole in the ground, who message me and say, ‘Run, run to me — I’m a mile underground in the middle of Nebraska,” said Kama, who lives in Portland, Ore. “I don’t want to hide down in a bunker for the rest of my life. I’m really okay with the outside world — we’re not facing any end-of-world scenario yet, so I want to live in this moment.”