6/2/2004
Silicon Alley's Most Date-Able Couple is Crowned; Newyorktoday.com Tallies 40,000 Online Votes from Alley Peers; Winners' "Date" Set for Tonight
Newyorktoday.com ( newyorktoday.com), the comprehensive online guide to everything New York from New York Times Digital, the Internet division of The New York Times Company, announced today that the votes are in for its "Silicon Alley's Most Date-able" contest. Syl Tang, CEO of HipGuide.com hipguide.com) and Marc Karasu, director of advertising for HotJobs.com ( hotjobs.com) are now officially the "Most Date-able" woman and man in Silicon Alley. After a very close race against eighteen other Alley contestants, Syl and Marc triumphed as the winners, collecting 33% and 26%, respectively, of the more than 40,000 votes cast online during the two-week promotion. The contest promoted Personals on newyorktoday.com, which was recently launched in conjunction with People2People.com.
"We are pleased at the outcome of this promotion," said Elliott Rebhun, editor of newyorktoday.com. "These contestants used every possible offline and online tool to promote themselves, their companies and the contest, showcasing the viral nature of the Web and New York's Silicon Alley community. Not only did we raise awareness about the new Personals section on our site, but we also helped other Silicon Alley singles find a date--more than 11,000 users visited the Personals during the contest."
In addition to the guerrilla marketing efforts by newyorktoday.com, which included sending a seven-foot "Heart Man" around Silicon Alley to promote the contest, finalists found creative ways to promote themselves. Some contestants distributed flyers in local hotspots, while others tapped their Rolodexes to email thousands of friends. Some created email autosignatures that asked people to visit newyorktoday.com and vote for them, and others got co-workers involved to spread the word and stuff the ballot box.
"In all honesty, this kind of started off as a joke, but then it took on a life of its own. People I hadn't talked to in years were calling, telling me they had voted. It was great to meet so many new people and also to witness the show of support from my company," said Marc Karasu of HotJobs.com.
"This contest was really all in fun, but in reality, who has time to date? New York is a big city and we do meet lots of people...but how often does it translate into a date?" said Syl Tang of HipGuide, a web and wireless digital service on hip places to go. "It was nice that so many people got involved and hysterical that I won!"
Tonight, Marc and Syl will enjoy a celebratory dinner together at AZ Restaurant in Silicon Alley. About newyorktoday.com from New York Times Digital
Newyorktoday.com seeks to set the standard for local, online city guides. The site is part of New York Times Digital, the Internet division of The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT). New York Times Digital serves a quality audience online by providing high-quality news, information and interaction through its own premier Web sites as well as affiliate partners. NYTD's family of sites includes NYTimes.com, Boston.com, newyorktoday.com, GolfDigest.com, WineToday.com and Abuzz, an online knowledge-sharing network. About People2People.com
With more than one million users worldwide, People2People.com, ( people2people.com/) is the Web's leading online relationship and dating community Since its launch in 1996, People2People.com has enabled singles to meet online to find dates, friends and long-term relationships. Users can augment their online profiles with a full range of media, including photographs, voice greetings and videos. The company has established the standard for online dating by enabling people to meet each other in a safe, respectful and dynamic environment. People2People.com is based in Boston, Massachusetts.
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