Flirting and fornicating in France - online.
This French company has, in only six years,
spread its cupid wings to 17 countries.
“Forty-one encounters, 39 penetrations,” stated an elegant Parisian art dealer when asked by a journalist from Marie Claire about his gallivanting on Meetic, the first European dating website.
This French company has, in only six years, spread its cupid wings to 17 countries, including China and Brazil; made online dating available in 12 different languages; boasted 22 million users; and is now No 2 in the world just behind the US match.com. Last January it bought DatingDirect, Britain’s No 1 dating website, and on Valentine’s Day announced a rise in profits of 70%, to £18m.
It’s a simple issue of supply and demand: pre-select candidates, test sales pitch, draw a shortlist, have a face-to-face interview, hire on the spot, dismiss without notice, voilà - a case of ultra-liberalism meets romance. And low-cost sex.
The irony is that Meetic’s founder, Marc Simoncini, insists that the site’s success lies in its being distinctively “European and Latin”. “People can meet freely on Meetic, they can talk to each other directly across Europe.”
Unlike Match.com, which does the matching for you. Americans would be horrified at the idea of married people dating freely, but making adultery and sex as easy as buying a croissant shouldn’t necessarily be France’s only gift to online dating.
Of course, if a website encouraging adultery became really popular in the U.S., Congress would try to make it illegal and every presidential candidate would include opposition in their platform.
Posted: Mon - July 23, 2007 at 09:37 AM