Psychic Friends Network

Last updated

Psychic Friends Network
Psychic Friends Network infomercial logo (1992).png
Logo from 1992 infomercial
URL psychicfriendsnetwork.com
Current statusOnline

The Psychic Friends Network(PFN) was a telephone psychic service operating in the United States in the 1990s. The company's infomercials were aired frequently on late night television at that time. In 2012, the business began to migrate to online services.

Contents

Mark Edward, who worked as a telephone "psychic" for the network, has become a vocal critic of the PFN, and all psychics, saying that "the psychic business is built on lies". His book Psychic Blues details what it was like to work for PFN.

History

Infomercial and telephone network business model

The Psychic Friends Network was launched in 1991. It relied on infomercials to attract clients, and used a call distributing system to forward calls to a network of "psychics" working in shifts from their homes. This technology allowed the customers to build personal relationships with individual "psychics".[ citation needed ]

According to the Slate article What Psychic Friends Failed to Foresee, "Psychic Friends infomercials had been among the most popular in history. Between 1993 and 1994, they aired more than 12,000 times, and at one point Inphomation was shelling out half a million dollars a week to buy air time on cable stations. It was money well spent: At its peak, Psychic Friends was bringing in as much as $125 million a year, most of it through infomercials." Slate reported that "the psychic business has tried to focus on establishing continuing relationships between individual psychics and their customers. ('I don't want just any psychic! I want to speak to Clarissa!')" [1]

Presented in talk show-like format and hosted by singer Dionne Warwick, [2] and "psychic" Linda Georgian, [3] each installment featured a 1–900 number for viewers to call to consult a psychic. [4]

According to Jack Schember, publisher of Response TV, a magazine that tracked the direct-response television industry, the PFN had "the most successful infomercial of all time." [5]

According to USA Today , The Psychic Friends Network infomercials opened "the parody floodgates." [6] The parent company, Inphomation, took in profits of over $100 million within the first few years of the Network's operation. [7]

The company declared bankruptcy in 1998 with liabilities of $26 million, and assets of about $1.2 million. [8] In 2001, the bankruptcy trustees for the Psychic Friends Network sued MCI WorldCom Network Services Inc for mismanagement of billing and collections and won a judgement of $7.5 million in 2004, of which MCI eventually paid $4.1 million. [9]

In 2009, Vivica A. Fox announced that she had not given PFN permission for the use of her image in its commercials, stating "Vivica A. Fox is no friend of The Psychic Friends Network," and said that the video "is using her unauthorized likeness, footage, voice and photographs as an endorsement of their service." [2]

Web-based business model

PFN launched as a public company on March 30, 2012. Shortly afterwards, PFN CEO Mike Lasky announced that PFN had received an additional $250,000 investment from Right Power Services Ltd, and said this funding "assures that PFNI will be well positioned to launch some of the exciting new marketing initiatives we are now finalizing. These include a broad new program of mobile advertising, a broad affiliate program, and pay-per-call advertising that will set new industry standards." [10] In April 2012, Lasky announced that "...the prevalence of such technologies as online chat, FaceTime, mobile text messaging, and social networking has created an environment in which psychic services can thrive online and on mobile devices rather than rely on phone lines." [11]

On July 18, 2012, the Las Vegas Sun reported that The Psychic Friends Network was back, saying while "the company went bankrupt in the late '90s, founder Mike Lasky kept it on life support. The company relaunched this summer with a new web platform full of social media, e-alerts and instant messaging, so you can connect with Zelda, Destiny and Midnight Magical Spirit through video, voice or text for 24/7 tarot, astrology, numerology, dream interpretation and other 'peeks.' Calls are still $3.99 a minute ... At that price, it better be really [expletive] entertaining." [12]

In January 2014, The Psychic Friends Network announced it had expanded operations to include a website utilizing video chat. [13] The company said in its press release that "With the addition of VOIP chat platform, the Psychic Friends Network is now the only service in the psychic industry offering a full suite of connection methods, including phone, click to call, audio and video chat, and its soon-to-be-released mobile app." [14]

In December 2014, PSN announced that it has changed its company name to "Peer to Peer Network", to reflect "its expanded new corporate direction into all facets of the booming peer-to-peer industry." [15]

Peer To Peer Network still existed as a publicly-traded entity as of 2021. [16]

Insider criticism

Mark Edward gave an insider's account of the organization's business model, as well as his dealing with clients, in his 2012 book Psychic Blues . He described the organization as "a psychic sweatshop", and revealed how he gained the confidence of clients while working as a telephone psychic, and rose to prominence in the company without possessing any paranormal powers at all. [17]

When asked by ABC News if psychics are real, Edward said "No, they're not real. It's just a matter of intuition. If you're good with people, you learn how to read people. Do you want to be a real estate agent ... or clairvoyant? ... They're all a similar skill set. It's a skill you can learn. It's real, but it's nothing supernatural." Edward told ABC that "he was taught techniques to keep his conversations vague, flattering and drawn out. The goal was to make the callers feel good about themselves, and keep them talking." He said that he once "gave a two-and-a-half-hour reading. At $3.99 a minute, the caller paid more than $600." [4] Edward also revealed that:

The psychic business is built on lies. There is no supernatural power. You can't see the future ... We're in the golden age of the con. There are people coming out of the woodwork that would love to separate you from your money. But people just want someone to talk to. That's the bottom line. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

BT Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broadband and mobile services in the UK, and also provides subscription television and IT services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instant messaging</span> Form of computer communication over the internet or locally

Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of synchronous computer-mediated communication involving the immediate (real-time) transmission of messages between two or more parties over the Internet or another computer network. Originally involving simple text message exchanges, modern IM applications and services tend to also feature the exchange of multimedia, emojis, file transfer, VoIP, and video chat capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Union</span> American financial services company

The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UUNET</span> Early U.S. Internet service provider

UUNET Technologies, Inc., formerly UUNET Communications Services, was an American commercial Internet service provider. Founded in 1987, it was one of the first and largest commercial ISPs and one of the early Tier 1 networks. It was based in Northern Virginia. Today, UUNET is an internal brand of Verizon Business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skype</span> Telecommunications software service/application

Skype is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for IP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, debit-based calls to landline and mobile telephones, and other features. It is available on various desktop, mobile, and video game console platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motor Coach Industries</span> American coach and bus manufacturer

Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is a North American multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in production of motorcoaches. Best known for coaches produced for intercity transit and commuter buses, MCI produces coaches for a variety of applications, ranging from tour buses to prison buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Cleo</span> American phone and television psychic (1962–2016)

Youree Dell Harris was an American television personality and actress best known for portraying Miss Cleo, a spokeswoman for a psychic pay-per-call-minute service called Psychic Readers Network, in a series of television commercials that aired from 1997 to 2003. Harris used various aliases, including Ree Perris, Youree Cleomili, Youree Dell Harris, Youree Perris, Rae Dell Harris, Cleomili Perris Youree, and Cleomili Harris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Talk</span> Instant messaging service

Google Talk was an instant messaging service that provided both text and voice communication. The instant messaging service was variously referred to colloquially as Gchat, Gtalk, or Gmessage among its users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xfinity</span> American cable provider

Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the company. The brand was first introduced in 2010; prior to that, these services were marketed primarily under the Comcast name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telecommunication Company of Iran</span>

Telecommunication Company of Iran, or TCI, is the fixed-line incumbent operator in Iran offering services in fixed telephony, DSL and data services for both residential and business customers, all throughout the country. It was established in 1971 with a new organizational structure as the main responsible administration for the entire telecommunication affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phone sex</span> Telephone conversation describing sex activities

Phone sex is a conversation between two or more people by means of the telephone which is sexually explicit and is intended to provoke sexual arousal in one or more participants. As a practice between individuals temporarily separated, it is as old as dial telephones, on which no operator could eavesdrop. In the later 20th century businesses emerged offering, for a fee, sexual conversations with a phone sex worker.

Badoo is a dating-focused social network founded by Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev in 2006. It is headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus and London, United Kingdom, with offices in Malta, Russia and the United States. It operates in 190 countries and is available in 47 languages, making it the world's most widely used dating network. The app is available on iOS, Android, and the web. Badoo operates on a freemium model, whereby the core services can be used without payment.

Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror media, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. The company expanded into other media including advertising, podcast networking, film, television, streaming media, and management.

EE is a British mobile network operator, internet service provider and a brand of BT Consumer, a division of BT Group. It was established in 2010 and is the second-largest mobile network operator in the United Kingdom, with 21.2 million customers as of September 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Edward</span> American magician, author, and skeptic (1951–2024)

Mark Edward was an American mentalist and author. He wrote books on mentalism and séance theory and production, including Psychic Blues (2009), where he discussed working for the Psychic Friends Network. Wilson made appearances on television as both primary consultant and on-air performer in programming such as ABC's The Con, A & E's Biography: "Houdini, the Great Escape", NBC's The Other Side, and Psychic Secrets Revealed, the Sci-Fi Channel's Mysteries, Magic and Miracles, Disney's Forces Beyond, as well as two episodes of the Learning Channel's Exploring the Unknown. His featured segment as a spirit medium on the pilot episode of Showtime's Penn & Teller's Bullshit! series, titled "Speaking with the Dead", helped secure an Emmy Award nomination for that episode in 2002. He coined the term "grief vampire" as a description of alleged psychic mediums who prey on vulnerable people. Edward was a fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ; lit. 'micro-message') is a Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile app in 2018 with over 1 billion monthly active users. WeChat has been described as China's "app for everything" and a super-app because of its wide range of functions. WeChat provides text messaging, hold-to-talk voice messaging, broadcast (one-to-many) messaging, video conferencing, video games, mobile payment, sharing of photographs and videos and location sharing.

Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before they become inaccessible to their recipients. The app has evolved from originally focusing on person-to-person photo sharing to presently featuring users' "Stories" of 24 hours of chronological content, along with "Discover", letting brands show ad-supported short-form content. It also allows users to store photos in a password-protected area called "My Eyes Only". It has also reportedly incorporated limited use of end-to-end encryption, with plans to broaden its use in the future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nimbuzz</span> Proprietary cross-platform instant messaging

Nimbuzz is a proprietary cross-platform instant messaging and social media and mobile payment developed by Kuraakani Online Private Limited, with the origins of its technology dating back to the early 2000s. As of March 2013, Nimbuzz had 150 million users in 200 countries. By April 2014, Nimbuzz was growing by more than 210,000 new registrations per day. In October 2014, now with over 200 million users, New Call acquired 70% of Nimbuzz, valuing the app at $250 million. Under CEO Sujit Acharya's leadership, Nimbuzz suite of applications enables users to enjoy end-to-end encrypted free calls, instant messaging, games, file sharing, social networking, mobile payments & movies on their mobile device. Nimbuzz has more than 3 million lines of code. Initially, Nimbuzz offered discounted calling rates to most countries in the world. The platform processed more than a billion call minutes and in excess of 100 billion messages a month.

The World's Online Festival (WOLF) (formerly Palringo) is a British messaging and gaming platform with apps for iOS and Android. Users can create groups where they can send text, image, and short audio messages. Groups feature a Stage which provides five live microphone slots for users to chat. The app features a store where users can purchase in-app credits that can be used to buy additional features, utility chatbots and games, and to send in-app gifts to other users. Users have a reputation level that increases from actions such as playing chat games or purchasing credits.

Venmo is an American mobile payment service founded in 2009 and owned by PayPal since 2013. Venmo is aimed at users who wish to split their bills. Account holders can transfer funds to others via a mobile phone app; both the sender and receiver must live in the United States. Venmo also operates as a small social network, as users can observe other users' public transactions with posts and emoticons. In 2021, the company handled $230 billion in transactions and generated $850 million in revenue. Users can view transactions on the Venmo website but cannot complete transactions on the website.

References

  1. ↑ Surowiecki, James. "What Psychic Friends Failed to Foresee". Slate. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Miller, Korin (February 4, 2009). "Despite infomercial, Vivica A. Fox says she's no friend of the Psychic Friends Network". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  3. ↑ Roustan, Wayne K. (May 2, 2012). "Psychic Friends Network host succumbs to cancer". Sun-Sentinel. Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Noll, Eric (May 9, 2010). "Psychic Hot Line Secrets: Clairvoyance or Hoax?". ABC News. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  5. ↑ Barboza, David (1995). "The Media Business: Advertising; Late-night channel surfers have made the Psychic Friends Network an infomercial success story". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Infomercial history highlights". USA Today. October 24, 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  7. ↑ Harrison, David; De Marco, Donna (February 13, 1998). "Lawsuits forecast Lasky's troubles". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved December 8, 2008.
  8. ↑ Patalon, William. "Psychic Friends firm goes bankrupt Lasky's Inphomation Communication files for Chapter 11". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  9. ↑ Atkinson, Bill. "MCI settles claim of psychic network". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Psychic Friends Network Receives Additional $250,000" (Press release). PR Newswire. July 12, 2012. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Re-launch of Psychic Friends Network as publicly traded company showcased in Bloomberg Businessweek". Biocompare.com. Biocompare. April 25, 2012. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  12. ↑ Ryan, Erin (July 18, 2012). "Tarot 2.0: The Psychic Friends Network is back—and online, too". Lasvegassun.com. Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  13. ↑ Pollak, Barclay (January 24, 2014). "Psychic Friends Network gets VoIP". TDSbusiness.com. TDS Business. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Psychic Friends Network Announces Successful Testing, Implementation of Face-to-Face VOIP Chat on 2.0 site". CISION. PR Newswire. January 22, 2014. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Psychic Friends Network, Inc. Becomes "Peer to Peer Network," Name Change Reflects Broad New Corporate Direction and announces update on Subsidiary 321Lend, Inc". Accesswire.com. Accesswire. December 4, 2014. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Disclosure Statement Pursuant to the Pink Basic Disclosure Guidelines: Peer to Peer Network" . Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  17. ↑ Edward, Mark (2012). Psychic blues : confessions of a conflicted medium. Port Townsend, WA: Feral House. ISBN   978-1-936239-27-6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.