OmniDate Virtual Dating

Recently I had an interesting conversation with someone about why it makes sense to bring certain “virtual world” elements into the online dating space. We talked about how in virtual worlds there is much to do, but little purpose for being there … while in the online dating space, the opposite is true: a clear purpose for being there (i.e., to find a mate), but little to do (other than flipping through profiles and sending emails). So, giving users with a purpose a better virtual experience should keep them engaged longer … and, thus, should result in longer “time on site.”

So, today, I wanted to see if real-world data would lend support to this thinking. I pulled up Alexa (an online analytics tool) and compared “time on site” for several “virtual world” sites and OmniDate, which is a proxy for a “virtual dating” site. (more…)

We won the Red Herring Top 100 Global Companies Award, recognizing most promising technology companies in the world that will lead the next wave of disruption and innovation.  Past winners of this prestigious award included Google, Yahoo!, Skype, Salesforce.com, and YouTube.  This is a terrific validation of our technology and business concept.

Just came across this funny video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ8fLA53W6A&feature=related.  It manages to capture the bizarre reality of online dating in 2 minutes.

It appears virtual dating gets people to stay on the site MUCH longer than webcam dating. Here are some stats on how the two compare in terms of Avg Stay Per Visit (min): (more…)

OmniDate has been invited to speak at iDate, an online dating conference, in London!

As the popularity of 3D virtual experiences is heating up, the online dating industry is turning its attention to virtual dating. (more…)

Few weeks ago, I posted a blog where I compared virtual dating and webcam dating. A couple of days ago I came across some interesting stats on the use of webcam dating, which strongly coincide with my earlier assertions.

According to a survey by MakeFriendsOnline.com, while men are open to webcam dating, women are not. (more…)

We originally designed virtual dating to help singles get to know each other in the comfort and safety of a virtual environment before meeting in person.

We periodically collect aggregated stats on how people are using the application and I am thrilled to share with you that (more…)

According to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive, adults worldwide go online for several reasons: 23 percent of respondents say they go online for dating, (more…)

We’ve got a couple new big players on the field: Vivaty and Google’s Lively. What makes these virtual worlds different is that they can be accessed from other sites - very cool!

My guess is, there are very few implications for online dating in the short run, other than increased awareness of the “virtual dating” concept. However down the road, we will likely see many new exciting online dating applications. (more…)

Have you ever wondered to yourself: How charming am I?  Now you can find out!  We have recently added a feature to our online dating site that lets you learn what others really think of you. (more…)