????現在，巴里?迪勒的IAC公司掌控著41%的市場份額，這主要得歸功于旗下兩家網站Match.com和OkCupid.com。eHarmony公司緊隨其后，份額達到了23.5%。排在第三位是Zoosk，份額為7.7%。最后是Spark Networks（擁有JDate、Christian Mingle、LDS Mingle等網站），份額為4.9%。

????每家公司的網站背后都是大體相似的神奇算法在發揮威力。IAC稱其所有網站的后臺技術并不完全相同，但每收購一家網站，它就會修改這些技術，把它發揮到極致。Spark Networks的很多網站也是這種情況。在JDate和ChristianMingle上，個人資料可能有所不同，但實際產品和流程卻是相似的。

????盡管Spark Networks規定下屬網站之間不可共用用戶資料，但首席執行官格雷格?利伯曼稱，他發現那些規模較小的山寨網站經常這么干。他說：“這類網站層出不窮。進入一家針對基督教徒的網站主頁，居然能搜索出50種不同宗教信仰的用戶資料。”和Spark Networks一樣，IAC也不會混用下屬各家網站的個人資料，為此它采用了一個名為“貼白標”（white labeling）的流程。不過它卻為自己龐大的用戶數據庫開發了其他用途。創建了專為50歲以上的單身人士服務的新網站之后，它將其推介給下屬網站SeniorPeopleMeet.com和SeniorsMeet.com的現有會員。

????就算是專為極小眾的“鯔魚頭”人群約會服務的網站實際上也屬于大型集團Passions Network。這個集團的成員網站還包括專為《宋飛正傳》（Seinfeld）劇迷服務的FestivusPassions.com和專為美髯公服務的StachePassions.com。這家公司的絕大多數用戶在加盟時都號稱自己擁有幾項癡迷的嗜好。盡管目前還享有細分市場所帶來的競爭優勢，但靠數據驅動的大型資料交換中心可能才是絕大多數在線交友企業的未來發展出路。《在線交友觀察》（Online Personals Watch）的行業分析師兼編輯布魯克斯稱：“從戰略上說，公司規模越大越好。如果你想知道在線交友網站的最佳運營模式是什么，從理論上說，答案就是：這家網站擁有全球所有單身人士的資料，用戶可以在一天之內就找到自己的如意伴侶。”他還表示，一家大型的美國公司控制超過50%的市場份額將是“不可避免的”。理論上說，更大的用戶人群意味著能結成更多佳偶，就算他們的背景可能不適合結合。相關資料也證明了這一點：“去問人們他們到底想要什么，這么干就是在浪費時間，因為他們確實不知道，”布魯克斯說。（財富中文網）

????譯者：清遠

????Right now, Barry Diller's IAC (IACI) controls 41% of the market, thanks in large part to its properties Match.com and OkCupid.com. eHarmony is next, with 23.5% of the market. In third place is Zoosk at 7.7%, followed by Spark Networks (owner of JDate, Christian Mingle, LDS Mingle, and more) at 4.9%.

????Much of the same algorithmic magic is at work across each company's sites. IAC says its back-end engineering is not identical for all its properties, but that it does revise and tweak them with each new acquisition. It's a similar story with, Spark Networks' many properties. The profiles might be different on JDate and ChristianMingle, but the actual product and process are similar.

????While Spark Networks has a policy of not mixing profiles between sites, CEO Greg Liberman says he sees smaller, copycat sites try that often. "They pop up all the time," he says. "You go through a Christian front door, and then you can do a search for 50 different religions." Like Spark Networks, IAC also does not mix the profiles between its sites, a process known as "white labeling." It does find other uses for its massive user base, though. When it created the new site for singles ages 50 and up, OurTime.com, it populated it with existing members from its sitesSeniorPeopleMeet.com and SeniorsMeet.com.

????Even the super-specialized mullet dating website is part of a much larger group, the Passions Network. Member sites also include FestivusPassions.com for Seinfeld fans andStachePassions.com for the mustachioed. The majority of the company's users who join declare several passions.

????Despite the competitive advantage conferred by niche markets, big data-driven dating clearinghouses may be the way of the future for much of the online dating industry. "Strategically, bigger is best," says Brooks, industry analyst and editor of Online Personals Watch. "If you consider what would be the perfect model for an Internet dating site, in theory it would have all the people in the world who are single on it, and you could find your perfect match within a day's work." A single major U.S. service that controls more than 50% of market share is "inevitable," Brooks says. In theory at least, a bigger pool means more happy matches, even if they're from unlikely sources. Data confirms: "It's kind of a waste of time anyway asking people what they want anyway," Brooks says. "Because they don't really know."