As we get closer to Valentine's, IMVU has announced a partnership with dating site Zoosk, which it says is one of the largest and fastest growing dating sites around. (Zoosk says 8 million users log in just to its Facebook app every month.) The two are integrating Zoosk directly into IMVU, which I think makes for a particularly interesting combination.
Unlike the recently launched Weopia, which provides a pay-by-the-visit dating virtual world for users who meet online and want a more mediated fist date than an actual face-to-face conversation, IMVU and Zoosk have cut out the potential hurdles of switching between the dating site and the virtual world. Since IMVU is also a browser-based virtual world, the download barrier is also eliminated. (It's also free and in uses simplified controls that are usually a little easier for the casual user than those needed in a full 3D environment.)
All in all, the transition from the idea of meeting someone online to the practice of having a virtual world date can be almost instantaneous. IMVU users over 18 just click the "Dating" link under the Community tab in IMVU and create their dating profile. Then they're off.
If IMVU takes the extra steps that Weopia has and includes specific dating environments with icebreakers built in (something beyond the already present music, activities, avatar customization, etc.), the partnership could have what is essentially a new, competitive service on its hands that goes beyond the individual parties' primary businesses of virtual worlds and dating–the integration could be more than the sum of its parts.
“The majority of IMVU members are over 18 – in fact, the average age is 22 – and we wanted to partner with a leading dating service to give them a way to meet people offline,” said Kevin Dasch, VP of Finance and Business Development. “Our partnership with Zoosk affords both companies the opportunity to grow our membership bases and to increase the range of service we provide to our adults; however, we will not expose the dating service to our teen members.”
