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plentyoffish does not fall into the established / founded in the early web category. What all these sites have in common is that they provide the visitor with

by prs 16y ago

plentyoffish does not fall into the established / founded in the early web category. What all these sites have in common is that they provide the visitor with something they want. No need for fancy graphics if you have something to offer that they cannot get elsewhere (for free).

PaulJoslin 16y ago
While I agree with the author's points of keeping things simple and the importance of a good product / functionality underneath the aesthetics. Plentyoffish was one of the first / earliest online dating site which went free, when all competitors charged a fee. Thus making it the first / earliest in that category. These days the internet is saturated with free dating services. I just felt, that the author mistakenly picked a bunch of sites which had an edge (of being in the early web) and therefore aesthetics didn't matter to get a following. I feel there are plenty of examples of modern sites / services that are new and demonstrate the keeping it simple / clean design perfectly well! There was also the fact that he says Google's biggest selling point was its simple design. Yes Google's simple design was a breath of fresh air compared to the cluttered yahoo portals of the world. However Google's biggest selling point was that it's search algorithms were undeniably brilliant. The quality of the searches you got in Google beat any competitor and that's why many (including myself) made the switch!.
akamaka 16y ago
Actually, Plenty of Fish is the best example of success due to being early. The site lacks any kind of special features that distinguished it from its competitors. Success came from being an early entrant into the SEO game and recognizing ahead of others that AdWords could support a totally free site.
- zephyrfalcon 16y ago
  How was PlentyOfFish "early"? According to Wikipedia, it was founded in 2003. Similar sites had been around long before that, e.g. eHarmony (2000) and match.com (1994).
  - PaulJoslin 16y ago
    As has been said. Match / eHarmony were not free services. That was what made PlentyOfFish unique at the time. If you go and find the founders blog you can track the entire process of the site (like BingoCreator), including his girlfriend holding a (2 month) paycheck from google adsense for $450,000
- notahacker 16y ago
  Also, Adwords-based business models probably do work better due to being ugly - the ads are both more likely to blend with the rest of the site content and more likely to be clicked by users actively wanting to leave the website for a better one. Where Plenty of Fish succeeds more than thousands of similarly ugly ad-based sites is by being big enough, useful enough and famous enough for people to come back.

by prs 16y ago

PaulJoslin 16y ago

While I agree with the author's points of keeping things simple and the importance of a good product / functionality underneath the aesthetics. Plentyoffish was one of the first / earliest online dating site which went free, when all competitors charged a fee. Thus making it the first / earliest in that category. These days the internet is saturated with free dating services. I just felt, that the author mistakenly picked a bunch of sites which had an edge (of being in the early web) and therefore aesthetics didn't matter to get a following. I feel there are plenty of examples of modern sites / services that are new and demonstrate the keeping it simple / clean design perfectly well! There was also the fact that he says Google's biggest selling point was its simple design. Yes Google's simple design was a breath of fresh air compared to the cluttered yahoo portals of the world. However Google's biggest selling point was that it's search algorithms were undeniably brilliant. The quality of the searches you got in Google beat any competitor and that's why many (including myself) made the switch!.

akamaka 16y ago

Actually, Plenty of Fish is the best example of success due to being early. The site lacks any kind of special features that distinguished it from its competitors. Success came from being an early entrant into the SEO game and recognizing ahead of others that AdWords could support a totally free site.

zephyrfalcon 16y ago
How was PlentyOfFish "early"? According to Wikipedia, it was founded in 2003. Similar sites had been around long before that, e.g. eHarmony (2000) and match.com (1994).
- PaulJoslin 16y ago
  As has been said. Match / eHarmony were not free services. That was what made PlentyOfFish unique at the time. If you go and find the founders blog you can track the entire process of the site (like BingoCreator), including his girlfriend holding a (2 month) paycheck from google adsense for $450,000
notahacker 16y ago
Also, Adwords-based business models probably do work better due to being ugly - the ads are both more likely to blend with the rest of the site content and more likely to be clicked by users actively wanting to leave the website for a better one. Where Plenty of Fish succeeds more than thousands of similarly ugly ad-based sites is by being big enough, useful enough and famous enough for people to come back.