Markus doesn’t get the point about dating sites opening up their database to third parties. He’s worried legal headaches and privacy issues.
The point is that dating sites can make more money by opening up their member database to third parties who share revenue based on new value-added features, signups, conversions and membership extensions.
In fact, I just got off the phone with someone who has a service, that if implemented properly, would greatly increase incoming cash flow to dating sites facing dwindling cash flows and stagnating member databases.
I agree there are spam and legal issues to be addressed, but we should not let them get in the way of innovation. This obviously needs to be thought out a lot more than the current ramblings about data privacy.
Some people like to labor through their bookmark list, others appreciate the ability to read their news and view sites through an RSS reader. Dating and social networking sites need to realize this and provide interoperability that facilitates open profiles and the ability to find a date through any service they choose.
How many amazing dating service ideas will never get off the ground due to the increasingly high barriers to entry, mainly acquiring enough traffic to make the service worthwhile to new members?
I don’t expect everyone to buy into this model, but I will continue to defend and refine it because there is clearly a need that isn’t being met for the millions of singles who haven’t tried online dating yet. More ad spend is not going to do it.
Clearly, social networking is the new porn in terms of leading the way for new business models on the internet.
Technorati Tags: private+label, open+profiles, people+aggregator, partnerships
