Dating Site Encourages Members to Make the Most of Post-Christmas Activity.

The weeks after Christmas are always an important time of the year for online dating sites and this year agencies have reported a 350 per cent increase in activity for the period. The team at Relationship is excited about the increased activity and what it means for their members.

Relationship is a dating site that specialises in helping people find long-term relationships and the site has a particular focus on providing the sophisticated search technology and network of advice that make online dating such an exciting and useful experience.

However, the team behind the website are particular enthused by the fact that online dating appears to be growing even more popular than ever. The weeks after Christmas represent a time of year when more and more people are up for trying new things when it comes to love, while others are testing out the fruits of greater reflection on what they want from life.

The online dating community welcomes all with open arms and the spike in activity simply means that members of that community have more people to connect with and more possibilities when it comes to setting up dates, chatting online and getting what they want out of the internet dating industry.

The team at Relationship are encouraging members to take advantage of the activity and to extend the proper welcome to newcomers. After all, the weeks after Christmas also represent a time when more and more people sign up to online dating sites for the very first time. The better people’s experiences of online dating in the early stages of their membership, the more positive the environment for everyone.

Relationship is one of the leading dating agencies in the UK, offering the chance for single people of all ages and backgrounds to strike up a lasting connecting. As a member of Dating Factory, the website has access to one of the most popular and successful dating engines in the world.

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.

John Cusack coming to Syracuse? ‘Adult World’ movie adds more stars to cast.

Is John Cusack coming to Central New York?

The “Hot Tub Time Machine” actor has reportedly been added to the cast of “Adult World,” an independent movie being filmed in Syracuse over the next three weeks. The project, directed by Scott Coffey, stars “Nancy Drew” actress Emma Roberts, niece of Julia Roberts, as a recent college graduate who thinks she’s destined to be a great poet.

According to Deadline, Roberts’ character is 21-year-old Amy Anderson, whose unpaid student loans force her to move back home with her parents and take a job at an erotic bookstore called Adult World. Cusack will play a fictional writer named Rat Billings, “one of the greatest poets of the ’90s” and Amy’s hero.

Other additions to the cast include Shannon Woodward, who currently plays Sabrina on Fox’s “Raising Hope,” and Evan Peters, who’s perhaps best known for roles in “American Horror Story” and “Kick-Ass.”

Cusack’s credits include “Say Anything,” “Being John Malkovich,” “Serendipity,” “2012″ and “High Fidelity,” which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. The 45-year-old actor will appear on the big screen next in April as Edgar Allan Poe in “The Raven.”

“‘Adult World’ examines the contemporary state of post-graduate life in America,” Treehouse Pictures president Justin Nappi told Cinema Blend about the film. “This is a smart satirical comedy that will resonate with a lot of people.”

Treehouse is producing the “Adult World” movie, which will feature local resident stand-ins. The project is Coffey’s second turn at directing after 2005′s “Ellie Parker,” starring Naomi Watts.