Online video transformed the Web from an information and ecommerce platform to an entertainment medium. Today, new online dating service SayHeyHey.com shakes things up by introducing the first free all-video dating and entertainment site, as well as its plans to introduce a pay-for-placement model, allowing daters to advertise themselves by appearing more prominently.
“SayHeyHey is the online dating destination built for the YouTube generation — where people come for entertainment, but with the bonus of finding others they want to connect with through video, and ultimately in real life,” said Alex Gurevich, co-founder of SayHeyHey. “Our audience loves to watch, create and share videos, and we’ve built SayHeyHey to help these people vent about their single life, showcase their personalities, and date or hook-up with others.”
More than 500 people have created amateur videos, which flicker across the screen at SayHeyHey, and are sorted by “featured,” “popular,” and “newest.” The site also enables tag-based and iconographic searches (e.g. “funny,” “artistic,” “well dressed,” or “Jewish), which helps users find people with similar interests without the long questionnaires common to existing online dating sites.
SayHeyHey founders Alex Gurevich and Soudy Khan, two single guys from Palo Alto, started the free video site after several unfortunate and embarrassing online dating encounters. Their intention is to provide a more entertaining approach to online dating. Individuals share what they’re looking for in a person at SayHeyHey, but they also are encouraged to share dating stories, tips and tricks and any form of personal expression that lets other viewers get a glimpse of their true personality.
Because the site uses video-only profiles, it strips away the old-line standard practices — static photos, boring text profiles and monthly membership fees — of existing online dating services. SayHeyHey delivers a far more accurate view of its members because each profile is purely video-based, not just listing the individual’s interests, but showcasing a far more realistic sense of that person.
“SayHeyHey is launching just in time to give singles a chance at combating the lonely holiday blues,” said Vanae Tran who hosts her own videoblog about dating. “SayHeyHey offers a place for single people to find that special someone with which to keep company under the mistletoe, attend holiday parties and ring in the New Year.”
SayHeyHey is also planning to roll out the first pay-for-placement model for online dating sites in early 2008. This model will allow for singles to advertise themselves by paying to be placed more prominently on the site.
With the new free service, SayHeyHey users can:
Record videos directly from the browser with a webcam or uploaded from desktop,
Leave comments, rate videos, and send public or private video introductions,
Search for other users in a variety of ways (by “featured,” “popular,” “newest,” or by tag-based iconographic searches),
Simply watch and enjoy the entertainment value (without registering) of seeing people riff on what it’s like to be single — all for free.
Visitors will be entertained for hours watching what other like-minded people their age have to say about an extremely relevant topic to young adults — sex, dating and singlehood.
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For More Information Visit:
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For sample profile video, go to:
http://www.sayheyhey.com/player.php?id=449039bdecb644cf89bc3ceb0e021211
