Nikol: “Life is short, have an affair”- encourage cheaters and take their money

When Ashley Madison, a social networking site for married people looking to have affairs, put up a billboard in Times Square, the owners of the building across the way threatened to burn it down. Soon major news teams like Fox were reporting on the complaints the advertisement stirred up among offended passersbys. By Thursday, July 24, only three days after it went up, the billboard was removed.

According to CEO Noel Biderman, who spoke from his office in Toronto, Ashley Madison's users have more than doubled in the last year. He admits that's due in part to media fodder from PR stunts like the Times Square billboard, which he says has aroused massive interest.

Was Biderman angry his billboard got taken down? His response: “Disappointed but not deterred.” He’s also quick to point out, “There’s absolutely nothing illegal in what we do. We offer freedom of choice.” Biderman has a point: “I don’t think a billboard is going to convince you to commit adultery. It just makes you aware of our service. People come to us because we offer them a lack of judgment. Step back and look at marriage and divorce rates. Monogamy is obviously up for debate.”

“This isn’t a question of race, or socio-economic class, or even gender,” he says. “Monogamy isn’t in people’s DNA, even if it’s still best for raising a family.” By Biderman’s calculations, the average man on Ashley Madison is in his late 30s or early 40s and has been married seven years, while the average woman is in her late 20s or early 30s and has only been married two. “The wedding passes, the bubble bursts, and women have fewer options,” he speculates for why female users turn more quickly to cheating. In general, the site tries hard to attract women, who only make up 30% of its user base.

Payment of $249 entitles the customer to participation in the "affair guarantee program," which pledges you to find "someone" within three months or your money back. To ensure that you keep up your end of the bargain, you must set up an attractive profile with photo, send at the very least 60 priority mail messages to different members, send five Ashley gifts, and engage in at least 180 minutes of instant messaging during that timeframe.