| Online
Dating Magazine > Interviews > Patrick
Perrine
Interview
- Patrick Perrine of MyPartnerPerfect
Interview conducted
by James Houran,
Ph.D.
I’m
delighted to introduce you to Patrick Perrine,
the President of the newly launched myPartnerPerfect.com.
He’s perhaps best described as a “man
on a mission” – someone who’s
passionate about filling a void that many feel
has long existed in the online dating industry.
All
of the media hype currently surrounding eHarmony and Chemistry.com and the issue of exclusionary practices
has brought an immediate spotlight onto this new
service. It’s my pleasure to present
an interview with Patrick about this new service.
Please send me your comments at: drjim@onlinedatingmagazine.com.
Dr. Jim: Congratulations
on your launch, Patrick. Tell us why now... why did
it take so long for someone to establish a site that
catered to gays?
Patrick: Thank
you. I don’t know why it has taken so long
for the industry to identify this tremendous opportunity.
It was partially because of the eHarmony policy
and other ‘relationship sites’ lack of
service to the gay segment that I founded myPartnerPerfect.
For far too long the industry has neglected the gay
community and their pursuit for life-partners. Instead,
the dating service industry has been flooded with
gay sites that only promote hook-ups and short-term
encounters. I don’t object to sites with that
goal, but a very large segment of the gay community
is looking for something deeper, that can last a
lifetime. That’s exactly what the myPartnerPerfect system
was designed to do.
Dr. Jim: Do
you think all of the recent, negative press around
eHarmony is fair, or are these just cheap shots from
competitors and a few dissatisfied customers?
Patrick: It
appears to me that the larger issue being drawn out
in the press isn’t with the niche focus of
eHarmony's services
(this niche being a large population of people in
the United States ), but the underlying premise of
that niche focus. Sites like eHarmony will always
have a place in the world of online dating and relationships,
but it is my hope that myPartnerPerfect can help
fill the void in the market and foster many happy
and healthy relationships for gay men.
Dr. Jim: What's the difference between
a niche site that caters to a specific audience versus
a site that is accused of being discriminatory?
Patrick: Wikipedia
describes a niche the following way:
A
niche market is a focused, targetable portion (subset)
of a market sector.
By
definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche
market is addressing a need for a product or service
that is not being addressed by mainstream providers.
A niche market may be thought of as a narrowly defined
group of potential customers.
A
distinct niche market usually evolves out of a market
niche, where potential demand is not met by any supply.
eHarmony,
in my opinion, essentially started out as a niche
site for marriage-oriented heterosexual Christians.
Dr. Warren himself attributes much of eHarmony's success
to its ties to Focus on the Family, a conservative
Christian community. Only recently had Dr. Warren
and eHarmony began distancing themselves from that “niche” market
as the site began growing rapidly and they began
positioning itself for the masses.
myPartnerPerfect
is completely forthwith about the segmented “niche” market
we cater to due to the demand in the market that
is not being met.
Dr. Jim: In what ways does the culture
of your service and site differ significantly from the
large sites like Match.com or Yahoo!
Personals, which try to address
the dating needs of everyone?
Patrick: myPartnerPerfect
is an exclusively gay site that has been designed
to cater to gay men. Much like any other niche site,
myPartnerPerfect addresses the areas of partner selection
that are not only important to our community, but
unique to our community. Although there are many
similarities between heterosexual and homosexual
relationships, there are also many differences in
partner selection. Our Partner Perfect Compatibility™ matching
system was designed because of the many differences
of gay partner selection in the areas of relationship
styling, characteristics of partner selection, partner
qualities and personalities, and above all else…cultural
and sexual lifestyle considerations.
We
also have a monthly newsletter called Partnering,
which will focus specifically on gay dating issues,
Q & A’s,
Relationship Guidance tools, and much more that again,
is specific to the lifestyle of gay men. Along with
advice on the secrets to developing a successful
relationship on my Dr. Patrick pages, members use
guided communication tools to start connecting with
truly compatible partners. Members seeking even more
hands-on guidance can sign-up for our personal and
private matchmaking services.
Dr.
Jim: From your experience and research,
are gays more interested in compatibility testing
(and perhaps long-term relationships) than other
groups? If so, why might this be?
Patrick: I
wouldn’t say that gay men are more interested
or less interested in compatibility testing than
the general population. I think that gay men are
a very discerning population of consumers and demand
the very “best of breed” on anything
that they patron and that’s why myPartnerPerfect has developed the Partner Perfect Compatibility™ matching
system. In order to compete with the market space
and the demand by the savvy online dater, we have
assessed the desire and need by gay men to enter
into long-term relationships and thus developed a “best
of breed” system to help meet that demand.
Dr. Jim: What
does a customer really get for his money at your
site -- what are the compelling features that can't
be found elsewhere?
Patrick: In
addition to the unique Partner Perfect matches presented
to the user by our matching system, members can search
the database with 5 different customized browsing
tools (including our Deal Breaker Search, our Partner
Perfect Search, and our Custom Search). We also have
unique profile customization tools, a monthly gay-relationship
eNewsletter, one-on-one consultations, anonymous
phone calling, our myProfilePartner™ personal
profile advice and review services, monthly socials
and singles mixers, weDate!™ group dinners,
and our a la carte menu to select the features that
are most important to the user who is not yet ready
to commit to a full Premium Membership. For a further
description of our competitive advantages, please
see our Competitive Advantages page.
> Try Perfectmatch.com - The Best Approach to Finding the Right Person for You.
<
All
Online Dating Magazine content, including the content on this page,
is ©
copyright by Online Dating Magazine and may
not be
republished or reused in any form. You do have
full permission to link to this article.
Do you agree or disagree with this
article? Have
more to add? Submit a Letter
to the Editor today.
|
