The Academy Awards have come and gone for another year, and as always the Oscars created all sorts of buzz and publicity. But what you might not realize is that the world of online dating had an important role to play in this year’s Oscar telecast. Well, okay, actually it’s more accurate to say that online dating didn’t play an important role in this year’s Oscar telecast.

It all has to do with the online dating site AshleyMadison.com and a commercial they wanted to run during the Oscar show. In case you haven’t heard of AshleyMadison.com, it is perhaps the most famous online dating services specially targeted at people who want to engage in extra-marital activities. It’s all about cheating. And this year for the first time ever AshleyMadison.com tried to run a television commercial during the Academy Awards television show.

The key word here is “tried”; the producers of the Oscars telecast turned down the ad as being inappropriate for Hollywood’s biggest night of the year. Why? Because it depicts infidelity and promotes AshleyMadison.com as a resource for those who want to engage in infidelity. Of course, the folks at AshleyMadison.com are quick to point out that Hollywood is hardly a place of virtue when it comes to monogamy and marital fidelity so it doesn’t make sense to them that their admittedly steamy but not vulgar ad has been declined.

What do you think? Is this a case of hypocrisy in action? Or is it an acceptable decision intended to keep the Academy Awards telecast appropriate for all ages to view?

News & Views Ashley Madison, Cheating, Infidelity

It’s a well known phenomenon that during the cold winter months, people tend to have sex more often; just take a look at the number of babies typically born in August, September, and October, and you’ll see how true this is. But what about all of those singles out there who aren’t involved in a relationship? What do they do when a raging snowstorm keeps them inside for days on end?

Turns out, they go online and join online dating sites. From Australia to the United Kingdom to the United States, online dating services report significant surges in website visitors and new members during the winter months. This has been especially true during the winter of 2009/2010 so far because it has been such a tremendously cold and wintry season.

For instance, in the UK there are reports from MySingleFriend.com and Singles365.com that their visitor tallies were up from 27% to as much as 55% during the recent plunge in temperatures and piles of snow. And it’s not just the snowbound in the UK turning to online dating sites, either; in the United States the adultery online website AshleyMadison.com reports it gained as many as 10,000 new members each day during the recent spate of snowstorms and frigid temperatures.

So the next time you’re trapped inside by cold temperatures, snow, ice, or the like, why not take a look at an online dating site? With all of those new members signing up you’re more likely than ever to find someone special online!

News & Views Ashley Madison, Cold, Dating Websites, Winter

I’ve written before about the dating site AshleyMadison.com, where people can search for and connect with others like themselves who are looking to cheat on a spouse, long-term boyfriend/girlfriend, or significant other.

While the morality of such a site is questionable, what is not questionable is just how much money they are making by providing this kind of service. According to the company’s most recent financial reporting, it now has 4.6 million members around the world and is pulling in revenue well above tens of millions of dollars each year. And all of this without much, if any, traditional advertising! Imagine how much more they would make if they had access to normal marketing and advertising channels.

The surging popularity (and profitability) of AshleyMadison.com has been created in part because the conservative Christian movement has mobilized against the site and what it stands for. The more these kinds of groups protest the website, the more publicity it gets and the more members it attracts. The irony of this is not lost on those who have a financial interest in AshleyMadison.com; they are quite open about embracing conservative protests and using them as a way to attract more attention and market to potential members.

Ironic, isn’t it? I guess this is a good illustration of the old cliché that there’s no such thing as bad publicity!

Dating Essentials Ashley Madison, Cheating, Christians, Money