NYMAG – Oct 31 – Pure sex app has officially opened itself to the public but it had been forced to rebrand as an "instant companion finder," and take all the talk of instant sex to the subtext. Roman Sidorenko, Pure's co-founder commented that women are much more into meetings "right now" and have sex later if there is no pressure about having sex before the meeting. And they don't like the idea of committing to sex before the meeting. Staying within our concept "Help people to find company right here, right now within a specific context" we decided to change our marketing to "The right way to get a date. On-demand." And I don't think this is a pivot or change of focus.
Month: October 2013
IUM, Korean Matchmaking App, Goes Global
TECH IN ASIA – Oct 31 – IUM, the popular Korean dating app with 1M users, is now going global. The team behind the app is launching Hey app in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Hey picks out three matches for users every day at 10am. They then have 24 hours to decide if they want to go out. Same concept as NoonSwoon which is also targeting Southeast Asia.
Singles In Spain
QUE.ES – Oct 31 – There are ~15M singles over 20 years old in Spain. This number is growing 7% each year. 42 % of romantic relationships started online. There are more single women (51 %) than men (49 %).
Meetic Q3 Results
BUSINESS WIRE – Oct 30 – Meetic's Q3 revenue for the first nine months of 2013 increased by 2.7% to Eur 126.1M. The number of subscribers increased by 72,998 or 9.5% YOY to 840,801. Marketing expenses totaled Eur 62.0M, corresponding to 49.2% of revenue, compared with 47.4% a year ago. Net profit: Eur16.2M.
The full article was originally published at WSJ, but is no longer available.
IAC Profit Doubles On Dating Sites
MARKETWATCH – Oct 30 – IAC recorded stronger revenue, especially from its online dating portfolio. Match.com revenue grew 13% YOY to $201M in Q3. Operating income was ~65M, up 16% YOY. Total paid subscribers increased 17% YOY.
Carrot Dating: Bribery Will Get You A Date
CNN – Oct 29 – Carrot Dating is a new dating app developed by Brandon Wade. The app lets users entice potential partners into romantic outings by offering them gifts. Carrot Dating is just the latest in a fleet of dating sites Wade has founded. They include SeekingArrangements.com, WhatsYourPrice.com and MissTravel.com. All three have been accused of promoting prostitution. The sites may be crass, superficial and self-loathing, but then again so are many people. Why not let them mate….
by Peggy Drexler
See full article at CNN
Tinder Sees 350M Swipes A Day
TECH CRUNCH – Oct 29 – Sean Rad, founder and CEO mobile dating app Tinder, suggested that there’s been a larger shift, where social networks allow people to improve existing relationships, but they haven’t made it easier to meet new people. Tinder, which already filters its recommendations by proximity, could become more closely tied to real-world locations. The apps sees 350M swipers a day and 3.5M matches.
Sugar Daddy Sites
NYMAG – Oct 29 – HiDine is a new dating site for people who like fancy meals, and agree that men pick up the check. Carrot Dating, a site that launched two weeks ago, has a similar concept. The app asks potential couples to agree on a “bribe”, which could be a plastic surgery or a tank of gas, before the date. The app already has 30K downloads.
by Chloe Angyal
See full article at NYMag
Looking For Love – ITV Documentary
ITV – Oct 30 – In the last night ITV tonight show – Looking For Love, Jonathan Maitland investigated the shift in attitudes towards Internet dating and its effect on relationships. There are 9M online daters in UK. 1 in 5 relationships now start online and ~23% of recently married UK couples met on the Internet. The online dating clearly works but there are some downsides such as scammers. Jonathan interviewed Sonia Richards who was a victim of “romance dating fraud” and sent ~12K pounds to a Nigerian scammer. He talked to Ryan Pitcher, a former GlobalPersonals.co.uk's employee about his job to send fake messages of love to help boost company profits. Jonathan also attended the last iDate conference in Cologne and asked Mark Brooks whether singles are spoiled for choice because of online dating. You can watch the show here.
Last Chance To Nominate For 2014 iDate Awards
OPW – Oct 30 – The last day to nominate for the 2014 iDate awards is tomorrow, Oct 31st. Make your nominations here.
You can nominate in these categories:
- Best Dating SiteBest Matchmaker
- Best Software Provider
- Best Mobile Dating App
- Best Dating Site Design
- Best Dating Coach
- Most Innovative Company
- Best New Technology
- Best Payment System
- Best Affiliate Program
- Best Marketing Campaign
- Best Niche Dating Site
- Best Up and Coming Dating Site
The awards schedule:
- Now to Oct 31 – Nominations Accepted
- Nov 10 to Jan. 3 – Voting
- Jan 15, 2014 – Awards ceremony and winners announced