True (dating service)
True (originally known as TrueBeginnings) was an
The company conducted a
Advertising
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/True_dating_service_ad.jpg/220px-True_dating_service_ad.jpg)
True advertised aggressively online and spent $52.2 million in
On September 14, 2007, the New York Times' "Bits" blog reported that an executive at a major Internet company said that True is delinquent on its advertising payments on his and other websites and has had to cut back on advertising as a result.[4] On April 1, 2007, LiveJournal parodied the True ad campaign on their website.[5] In 2008 they boosted marketing spending 70 percent to $75 million.[6]
Lobbying efforts
True has lobbied state lawmakers in favor of legislation requiring online dating services to disclose whether or not they conduct background checks.[7]
Points of difference
True is known for requiring criminal background and marital screenings for all of its communicating members.[1] True will cancel the account of anyone found to be married, separated or having a pending divorce without warning, and also reports them to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Convicted felons will not only have their accounts canceled, but are reported to the IC3 and to local authorities.
The company has filed lawsuits against individuals for misrepresenting themselves on its site, under the premise that doing so is
Criticism
Blogger David Evans is quoted in The New York Times as saying True's competitors were upset with True's sex-themed ad campaign, saying that "they worked hard to overcome the stigma of providing these services, [a]nd True comes in, grabs the lead in page views and drives up the cost of dating keywords on the search engines for everyone else."[10]
The New York Times and Online Dating Magazine have noted examples of customers having frustrating experiences trying to cancel their service, including the service failing to honor their cancellation request and charging them for several more months.[10][11]
True employed an optional, automatic "wink" to its members which seemed to come from other members, without the latter's knowledge. The feature could be disabled at any time, and True maintained that this feature encouraged communication between members. It was the subject of controversy, as members had no way of knowing whether the wink was automatic or manual, and thus created confusion. Some people asked in their profiles not to be winked at for this exact reason.[10][11]
A lawsuit seeking class action status was filed against True.com in 2007 alleging fraudulent billing practices, particularly charging members after they have cancelled their service.[12] The lawsuit was settled in 2009.[13]
During bankruptcy proceedings in 2013, the company tried to sell its customer database, but the sale was stopped by the courts.[14]
Lay offs
According to Dallas CEO, "True ran into early financial troubles, which included layoffs in 2004, about the same time Match.com cut its own workforce." True has had two more rounds of layoffs since 2004. In 2013, the domain was sold to
See also
- List of online dating websites
References
- ^ a b "Dinner, Movie -- and a Background Check -- for Online Daters". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ "Naughty is Nice". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
- ^ Stone, Brad (19 March 2007). "Hot but Virtuous Is an Unlikely Match for an Online Dating Service". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ Stone, Brad (September 14, 2007). "Is True.com Being Untrue to Advertising Partners?". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ "Upcoming changes: news". News.livejournal.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ "Matchmaking Sites Work Harder to Attract Clients in Slump". Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
- ISBN 978-1-56870-547-7.
- ^ "Online Dating Service TRUE(R) Sues Convicted Sex Offender; Convicted Felon Caught Misrepresenting Self to Online Daters". Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
- ^ Raby, Mark (2007-03-29). "Matchmaking site sues felon over misrepresentation". TG Daily. Archived from the original on 2008-09-25. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ a b c Stone, Brad (March 19, 2007). "Hot but Virtuous Is an Unlikely Match for an Online Dating Service". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
- ^ a b "More True.com Complaints". Onlinedatingmagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ "Lawsuit Against True.com Exposes Problems with Service". Online Dating Magazine. June 14, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- ^ "Dating Website True.com Agrees to Settle Class Action". PRNewswire. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-09-26.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-15.