Former executives a co-founder of Match.com are launching a new dating Website next week that combines elements of Pinterest and other social networking sites.
Among the features the group is implementing in the theComplete.me is the ability for users to quickly create dating profiles by accessing information from their existing Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ profiles. The site will also undercut competitors like Match.com and eHarmony by allowing users to communicate for free.
Instead of charging for users for subscriptions, the site will instead charge users for premium placement in search results, or to sponsor a category so they’ll appear higher in search results to users with similar interests. A spokeswoman also said the company plans to ad video services and would offer users unlimited video services if they were willing to pay a premium over the free service.
The site is the brainchild of former Match.com vice president Brian Bowman and Shashikant Joshi, former founder and former CTO of Perfode. Trish McDermott, former VP Public Relations Match.com and Match.com co-founder Fran Maier are also part of the startup.
Perhaps the biggest change from traditional dating sites, according to company marketing materials, is that by utilizing social networking profiles, theComplete.me removes the layers of anonymity. The company is banking on the notion that people are over the stigma of online dating and will want dating sites “which often leads to inappropriate behavior.”
Our best guess at the inappropriate behavior is married people posing as single people.
Online dating revenue fell during the recession but rebounded last year, rising 1% to $1.9 billion. Approximately 1,500 dating sites serve the U.S. market, with analysts projecting industry-wide revenue of $2.1 billion this year.
theComplete.me, according to a press release, is trying to stand out in the crowded field by using data users submit to other social networks to better match users.
“While anyone can check a box on a dating site that says they have a great sense of humor, it doesn’t mean that other singles will find them funny,” McDermott said. “With interest matching, singles can connect with someone who enjoys ‘nice’ funny like Ellen DeGeneres, ‘ice’ funny like Ann Coulter, ‘class-clown’ funny like Jim Belushi, or ‘edgy’ funny like Chris Rock.”
McDermott said theComplete.me gives members “Pinterest-like control over profile personalization with images and videos framed from around the Web,” while also giving the increased privacy controls. The site is also designed to let members browse profiles and communicate with members of other dating sites being used by people in the Me Networ, including Match.com, Zoosk, eHarmony and Badoo.
