The New York Times
Monday, March 19th, 2007
pgs C1 & C2
The Story
The Summary: True.com, a relatively new online dating site has been critized by fellow sites and users alike for its advertising and other practices.
True’s rise has been controversial. The company has riled competitors like Match.com and Yahoo Personals, which say that True’s lowbrow advertisements clash with its high-minded lobbying and legal efforts. True, which conducts criminal background checks on its subscribers, is the primary force behind a two-year-old campaign to get state legislatures to require that social Web sites prominently disclose whether or not they perform such checks.
Honestly, the whole online dating thing kinda creeps me out. I mean, you really can't find decent people in your area? There's no one to date you unless you look online? It's kinda strange to me, but there are pleanty of people that have fallen in love and gotten married because of online dating sites. Maybe it's the whole eHarmony commercials, really. First off, the eHarmony dude is kinda creepy all by himself. Then there's the "we look so you don't have to" thing. I don't want some creepy dude to tell me who's good for me. There's one commerical that comes to mind where a couple says that they weren't looking correctly because they didn't know what to look for, and eHarmony showed them the way. CREEPY!!!! It's like some strange religion.
“True is the controversial child in the Internet dating industry. They are loathed by everybody,” said Joe Tracy, publisher of Online Dating Magazine, a Web site on the industry.
Mr. Vest, a Vietnam veteran with a Texas accent, brushes off the criticism. “If there was a popularity contest among the entire population of the United States, I most assuredly would come out at the very bottom of that,” he said. “But you are not going to stop me by calling me names.”
True joined the crowded online dating scene in 2004. To distinguish itself from the pack, it offered a range of personality and sexuality surveys. It also hired the data broker ChoicePoint to perform background checks on customers to ensure that they had no criminal record and were not married.
I like the idea of criminal background checks, but they only work if the person is being 100% honest. And we all know former criminals are known for being completely honest (yes, I know that a lot of people do their time and grow up and move on) As far as the company knows, it could be some guy with a stolen wallet. In theory, they're great.
Mr. Vest sold his company to Wells Fargo for $128 million in 2001, then gravitated to the online dating market, with the professed aim of restoring family values. “I looked at the divorce rate and said, ‘That’s a bunch of nonsense. I can do something about that,’ ” he said. He himself underwent what he called a painful divorce in 1991 and has remarried.
True.com grew too quickly in its first year and sailed into financial trouble. At the end of 2004, Mr. Vest, its primary investor, laid off 90 employees, more than half its staff.
Soon after, True became more aggressive, and sex-themed, in its advertising. While the site continued to pitch itself as a safe way to date, its ads now featured voluptuous women and slogans like “Come and get them while they’re hot.”
Really, isn't dating just about sex anyway? Who hasn't watched latenight TV and seen the ads for Tango Personals or RedHot DateLine? Those give me the creeps, too. First of all, you know the people on the other end of the like aren't anywhere near as attractive as the people in the commericals, and second, the "dates" the girl has on the phone will probably end up being creepy phone sex that she doesn't realize she's a part of until it's way too late. I've seen the True ads on Myspace, they are definately give off the same vibe. That hot guy is not waiting. for me.
The ad carpet-bombing has worked in one way: last year, True jumped to the top of several lists of the most visited personals sites. According to comScore Media Metrix, True.com’s 3.8 million visitors in February put it slightly behind Yahoo Personals and Match.com, but ahead of older rivals like eHarmony and Spark Networks, which owns JDate.com and other sites.
However, True still significantly trails those players in more important categories, like time spent on the site. That suggests that many users are either not signing up for paid memberships or are quickly dropping the service once they do.
So they can get people to their site, but not to use it. Makes sense. Who hasn't clicked errantly into blank space before a page loads, only finding the ad that will go there is already linked, and whoops, you're at true.com. (I've fallen victim to this several times while our internet is slow) All in all , True sounds almost worse than eHarmony (can you believe it?). They're really false advertising and bad business practices to boot.
Preston Roder, a 54-year-old liquor store manager in Mundelein, Ill., said he tried to quit True.com last September after an unfruitful yearlong membership but was still hit with an array of charges over the next four months.
“True is a big company, but they could care less when you try to cancel,” said Mr. Roder. “They got your money so they are through with you.”
My dating advice: don't look for "the one" If it's meant to be, they'll come to you. They're not using an online dating service. On the other hand, if you want a one-night stand (and possibly and STD) go ahead and check out Tango or RedHot.
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