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

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

It was inevitable, I guess. Online dating is a huge, huge industry, providing singles of all backgrounds and preferences the opportunity to connect with each other for the purpose of dating and having a relationship. It shouldn’t surprise anyone, then, that online dating sites for married people are rapidly growing in size and popularity.

Regardless of where you come down on the moral side of this issue, there’s no denying the power of the internet to make it fast and easy for married people to find willing partners outside of their marriage relationship. The most famous of these sites is probably AshleyMadison.com, a website that has become huge since its launch in 2001.

These kinds of sites cater to the “special needs” of married people, offering services such as anonymous messaging, identity protection, discreet credit card billing, and the like. They also talk very frankly about the risks associated with using their website to connect with a potential lover, not the least of which is the damage such activity can do to an existing relationship and the unintended consequences it can create. Most include suggestions about seeking relationship counseling before considering using their services, but I think that’s mostly to cover themselves from a liability standpoint.

Right or wrong, websites like AshleyMadison.com do exist and continue to thrive. While individuals have to make the personal choice about whether or not to use them, the online dating industry as a whole needs to be very cautious about “accepting” these sites as legitimate because they have the potential to damage the reputation of online dating overall.

Affairs and Cheating Affairs, Ashley Madison, Cheating, Married