Match.com to Screen for Sexual Predators

Match.com has announced that they are going to begin screening all of their users against the national sex offender registry.  The reason for this new cause is because they are being sued after a woman claims she was raped by a man she met on their site.  The woman claims that the man raped her on the second date, but the man is pleading not guilty because he says it was consensual.  

I find it interesting that Match.com has agreed to start implementing this process, but they seem very nonchalant about the case and even hesitant to screen users.  The article on Mashable.com said, "although the site’s officials still don’t think that screening is the best option to prevent cases such as this one.  We want to stress that while these checks may help in certain instances, they remain highly flawed, and it is critical that this effort does not provide a false sense of security to our members."  It seems as though they are making excuses for future incidents.  As if they are saying, "We will implement this process, but if it happens again it's not our fault because we're doing what you wanted."  

I understand that Match.com wants it's users to understand that screening won't prevent everything that could ever happen.  However, I feel that screening users will make those who were hesitant to join before comfortable with joining, and even make current users feel more comfortable.  It could even increase their traffic on their website and usage - which is beneficial for Match.com.

My question is: do you think it's a good idea for dating sites to screen their users?  And although we understand it might not prevent all incidents, would it make you more comfortable about joining a dating site knowing they screen for sexual predators?

Viral Video

A few months ago I received an email from my dad and the title had something to do with "You have to watch this video!"  I'm not to into the Youtube craze and rarely watch many videos online so I put it off for a while.  Well, finally the other day I was emptying out my Inbox and saw the email so I decided to finally open it up and watch the video.  Along with the link came an article discussing these twin babies having their own conversation in their own language.  In the video it is clear that these two toddlers are discussing something in their own "baby talk" language.  They giggle at each other and give hand signals just like an adult would do to interact during a typical conversation.

My thoughts after watching this video, and now while taking our Social Media Marketing class, is how often do we or our close family members participate in viral marketing or making videos go viral and not even realize it?  Many people have a bad connotation associated with the word "marketing" or "advertising" and claim not to fall for the "scams" laid out by these people.  However, when they forward emails containing videos associated with a brand or product they are doing exactly what marketers wanted to happen with that video.  I just find it interesting that marketing has such a bad rep when millions of people participate in it daily without even knowing it.

ABC News: Viral Video

Facebook Places

For those of you who have an iPhone I'm sure you have the Facebook App.  Well today Facebook updated their Iphone App with some changes made to Facebook Places.  Now instead of just checking in to where you are at you can actually check into events or check in to what you are doing at certain place.  You can check into parties so that people can see who's there and check into events like trivia at restaurants.  The other new feature is viewing a map and all of the people who have checked in around you show up on the map.  Apparently, there are some issues with the map feature and certain events showing up in the middle of the ocean, but those will be fixed in time.

But think about how beneficial this can be for marketers to see, not only everyone who was potentially invited to an event but also see who actually showed up.  This will give them age ranges, interests, and other useful information for marketers to more accurately define their target market.  I think Facebook has the upper-hand on the new fad of "checking in."  Most people use Facebook anyways making checking in very convenient as opposed to having a separate account with something like FourSquare.  Although you don't get the perks from Facebook Places like you do with FourSquare, checking in on Facebook does let all of your friends know what you are doing and where you are.

The question comes to mind after reading more about the details of Facebook Places: "are we giving marketers too much information and making it too easy for them to "sucker" consumers into making purchases?"