Beware , online dating scams

An online dating scam is when a scammer, male or female, creates a false personal profile and makes contact with you via an online dating agency or even a specialized chat room. The scammer says that they are seeking romance or a soul mate but are really out to steal not only your heart but your cash too.Scammers can sign up to online dating agencies or chat rooms just like anyone else. Many online dating sites allow anyone to join for free, and they usually do not screen their members. Scammers take advantage of the anonymity of the internet to create the profile of your perfect match and make any number of promises to attract you and cause you to let your defenses down.
How do I know it is a scam?
The scammer will ask for your money! This will not happen immediately - however, before long the scammer will ask for financial help for any number of reasons. Almost always, they will ask you to send money using an untraceable source such as a telegraphic money transfer. Some of the most common reasons they give for why they need your help include:
• I want to meet you but I don't have enough money to travel to see you
• I have been robbed and beaten, I require urgent surgery or treatment for a serious illness or me or my family member has been a victim of a serious or fatal accident and you are the only person who can help
• I am stranded abroad and I don't have money for travel or visa costs. • I want to purchase a home or property with you
• I need your bank account for help in depositing cheques, money orders, drafts…
Other signs are:
• your new date looks like a model - this is probably because the scammer has used a stolen or a magazine picture
• your new date only gives you a post office address and/or a phone number which he or she never answers and which does not have voicemail
• your date talks a lot about herself or himself and does not answer your questions - probably because they are sending standard emails to hundreds of people. What can I do to protect myself?
• only use a reputable online dating or chat service and follow the basic safety tips for online dating
• be skeptical and ask yourself simple questions like, 'why am I the only person who can help them but I have just met them?'
• test your date - ask them lots of questions, try to phone them or post them something or possibly suggest meeting them. If all attempts fail, you are probably dealing with a scammer. What can I do if I have already lost money?If you have already sent money there is little chance of you ever recovering it from them. However what you can do is:
• report the scam to the dating or chat room site where you met the person.
• contact your local police and report the matter or to obtain more information
Source : soonews

More statistics - Consumer trends in social networking

ComScore analyst Gian Fulgoni has shared some interesting findings on social networking abroad. These findings were very surprising , at least for me , For example, it’s commonly thought that with the success of sites like MySpace and Facebook, the U.S. is the hub of social networking activity. However, Asia is not only the fastest-growing region for social networking, it is also the largest: By contrast, fewer Latin Americans visit social networking sites, but are much more engaged:

You can find more statistics regarding leading social networks share on each region here.

Copenda is just around the corner

As we promised Copenda will be ready very soon.

We finished the development of 95% of the modules planed for the beta and we already crawling profiles from 5 sites: Myspace,Match,Friendster,Plentyoffish and Hi5.

In the next few weeks I will update you with the Beta launch date.

In the meantime here are some screenshots:

More info here

More social networks are lunching new application platforms

More and more social networks are going the Facebook rout and lunching new application platforms.
Hi5 had also already announced on its blog the release of its API, which seemed to offer some additional tools for the developer community. According to VentureBeat, the full platform will be available to developers within the next 12 months.
Tagged, which has well over 40 million members, is building a platform that will exactly mimic the Facebook Platform API. In other words, if successfully implemented, Facebook apps will be able to run on Tagged without any significant code changes (developers will have to manage the different user communities, of course).

Source: Mashable

What is your Facebook strategy?

With the groundbreaking launch of the Facebook Platform this past spring, and the subsequent runaway growth of Facebook Apps adopted by millions of users this summer, the question on everyone’s lips (including Google and Microsoft) has been: “So what’s your Facebook strategy?”.

A very intersing post, writen by Dave McClure , was recently published on TechCrunch.
Dave write about seven major aspects of Facebook you can use to increase the visibility of your startup, business, product or service:
1. Set Up Your Graph: Profiles & Privacy
2. Make Connections: Networks, Groups & Events
3. The Need for Feed: Your [Shared] Social Activity Stream
4. Share Your Content: Share & People-Tag Your Stories & Media
5. App to the Future: The Facebook Platform, APIs, & Applications
6. Pay to Play: Ad Networks, Sponsored Stories, & Paid Distribution
7. Show Me The Bunny: Gifts, Points, & Virtual Currency

Read full post here

Top 10 Worst Pickup Lines

I have just found a funny post about the top 10 worst pickup lines:

10... You remind me so much of Pokemon that I just want to pick-at-choo.
9... I’m new in town. Can I have directions to your house?
8... I misplaced my Teddy Bear. Will you sleep with me?
7... Wow, your legs must be really tired because you have been running through my mind all night!
6... What's that in your eye? Oh, it must be a twinkle from when our eyes met!
5... Did you clean your pants with Windex, because I can totally see myself in them.
4... Those must be space pants, because your legs are outta this world.
3... Hi, my name is Justin… Justin Credible.
2... I may not be Fred Flinstone, but can still make your Bedrock.

And now for the worst pickup line of all time:
1... Is your name Visa, because you’re everywhere I want to be.

Source: Online dating magazine