Online Dating vs Social Networking
Some industry insiders see the Social Networking wave as the big tsunami that will wash away the online dating business. The question is: are online dating companies able to continue to make money using the same business model? My answer is NO. Is the dating business going to collapse? My answer is NO. Can dating companies make money in the future? I say YES.
The time where you could make millions of $ in the dating business with only a staff of 10 IT guys is over. To succeed in this business one needs to be specialized and to understand marital, romantic and sexual relations. The service has to be highly customized for dating purposes. The distinction online/offline dating has to fade away, as these two types of services must be integrated into a product that responds to the needs of real people, looking for real relationships.
The dating industry is loosing a big chunk of its market to social networking. This is a fact. Some people attribute the fall of Lavalife in Canada to this phenomenon. They foresee that online dating will go free in the future. This conclusion relies on the hypothesis that the business model in the dating industry will remain the same. Comparing what a common dating site and a social networking site offer to singles and looking, we don’t see much of a difference. In theory, whatever Yahoo! Personals can come up with in terms of technology to support individuals in their quest for love, a social networking site can mirror. A couple of articles on how to improve you image, on the psychology of human relationships, and the face of Doctor Phil on the front page, they can mirror that too. So there is no surprise to see people opting for the free services. If nothing is done, only the niche dating sites will be able to charge for their services in the future. Put online dating in a broader perspective, think in terms of dating. What is that this guy and girl needs in order to improve their chances to find the write one for them, and to have fun in this process? What is that they would even pay for?
I believe that we should consider dating as a niche market of social networking. Dating will never be dissolved into a generic social networking service. At a different scale, a generic dating service like Yahoo! Personals and Match.com can never put out of business a niche dating service such as Planetout or DateAGolfer.com. In order to survive, dating companies must integrate online and offline dating activities, to define their identity and their specificity within the whole spectrum of social networking. Dating will not be washed nor diluted by the social networking wave. It will always remain identifiable, and it will respond to a very specific need. People will continue to pay for dating services, if they get something that corresponds to their needs. Those who understand that dating, by its nature, extends into real life activities, and find a profitable way to integrate that aspect, will always retain value. At the opposite side, those that are trapped into thinking that a dating service is run by the IT guy, and that it is not more then an Internet business, will offer a product of a lesser value to the person that is desperately looking love, and they will be forced to charge less, or nothing.
The dating industry has not stabilized yet. It went from brick and mortar dating companies, newspapers ads, phone dating, and life singles events (speed dating, singles parties, etc), to Internet dating, as the technology made it possible. Online dating has matured and has almost implemented all the new possibilities introduced by the Internet technology (harvesting various forms of expression and presentation, and means of communication). The good times are over. We are now seeing the integration of online dating and the old dating models. A dating website, in person advice and support from specialists, life singles events, a blend of everything that takes into consideration all aspects of this very complex activity that we call DATING.
