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BlackPeopleMeet.com's DatingData Poll Finds More African-American Men than Women Looking for Love on Valentine's Day

According to the latest DatingData poll from BlackPeopleMeet.com, nearly two-thirds of all Black singles -- 63 percent -- go about their normal routine on February 14th, eschewing heart-related hoopla. A minority, however, does take the holiday to heart, scrambling for any date at all (15 percent) or seeking the comfort of a favorite vice (12 percent). And that's especially true for Black men, who are more than twice as likely as women to see Valentine's Day as a fine reason to go on a date.

BlackPeopleMeet.com, the leading online dating site for Black singles, and its parent company, People Media, Inc. (www.peoplemedia.com), the No. 1 provider of targeted online dating communities, monitor the status of single Americans through an ongoing DatingData poll series. Each month, the DatingData poll poses a timely question on many of the company's targeted relationship sites, capturing the sentiments and opinions of a broad cross-section of the single population in America today.

This month's poll asked members at BlackPeopleMeet.com how they respond to the annual Valentine's Day romantic holiday. More than 1,700 single African-Americans answered as follows:

"Valentine's Day is a reason to:"

• 63 percent -- Go about my normal routine
• 15 percent -- Get a date, any date
• 12 percent -- Indulge in my favorite vice
• 5 percent -- Hide in a concrete bunker
• 4 percent -- Work overtime

"It looks like Valentine's Day is a case where perception is not reality, at least for single Black folks," said Ron Worthy, Executive Director of BlackPeopleMeet.com and Vice President of People Media. "Counter to the conventional wisdom, the BlackPeopleMeet poll shows that Valentine's Day is less of a time to go on yet another holiday-inspired shopping binge than to carry on with business as usual. Still, it's telling that black men are out there looking for love at twice the rate of black women.

"As our poll suggests, singles live with being single every day, and that this fascination with cupid in the culture actually seems to bypass many singles," Worthy said. "In many respects, every day -- or any day -- could be Valentine's Day for singles who know what they want and know how to get it. And many of them are online, looking to make a relationship connection. That's one of the main reasons we find the first quarter of the year is traditionally the busiest for online dating sites like ours. At BlackPeopleMeet.com, we're again seeing a solid spike in new memberships."

Dissecting the Data: Valentine's Day and Black Singles

In addition to top-line results from the more than 1,700 poll respondents in total, the data reveals some intriguing differences between male and female respondents at BlackPeopleMeet.com. Among the findings:

• Female respondents were far more likely than male respondents to report going about their normal routine for Valentine's Day: 69% of all women vs. 52% of all men.
• Male respondents, on the other hand, were more than twice as likely as women to say Valentine's Day is a reason to get a date, any date: 24% of all men vs. 11% of all women.
• Indulging in a favorite vice for comfort appeals to both sexes about equally: 13% of all men vs. 12% of all women.
• Taking cover to avoid the pressure of Valentine's Day is something males are slightly more likely to do than females: 6% of all men would like to hide in a concrete bunker, vs. 5% of all women; 5% of all men would work overtime as a way to escape the day, vs. 3% of all women.

About People Media, Inc.

People Media (www.PeopleMedia.com) is the No. 1 provider of targeted online dating communities for attractive singles seeking meaningful relationships. The company operates 27 individual web properties - including www.BlackPeopleMeet.com and www.SeniorPeopleMeet.com - reaching nearly 4 million unique users per month. Its portfolio includes six of the Top 50-ranked personals websites, as reported by comScore Media Metrix - more than any other company. People Media has been a past partner with the Steve Harvey Morning Show and exclusively powers multiple AOL Personals communities. People Media is a rapidly growing innovator in the online personals space, which is expected to reach $1.2 billion in worldwide revenues by 2009 (Jupiter Research). People Media is based in Hollywood, Calif., and is a unit of Match.com, an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI).

About Match.com

Match.com pioneered online personals when it launched on the Web in 1995 and continues to lead this exciting and evolving category after more than a decade. Throughout its 14-year history, Match.com has helped redefine the way people meet and fall in love. Match.com provides a rich tapestry of ethnicities, interests, goals, ambitions, quirks, looks and personalities from which to choose. Match.com operates some of the leading subscription-based online dating sites in 25 countries, in 8 languages and spanning five continents, as well as oversees its ongoing investment in Meetic. Match.com also powers online dating on MSN across Asia, Australia, the United States and Latin America. Match.com is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ:IACI).

Edge Communications, Inc.
Ken Greenberg, 818-990-5001
ken@edgecommunicationsinc.com