CNET NEWS – Dec 14 – 15 months after launching, Tinder has made 500M matches. During peak hours, Tinder processes 50K requests per second. Every day, there are 400M profile ratings (a swipe left or right). Tinder is also responsible for ~100 marriages, according to CEO Sean Rad. Teens have become one of Tinder's fastest growing audiences. Kids ages 13 to 17 represent ~7% of Tinder's population. Young adults (18 to 24) represent 53%.
Month: December 2013
Badoo Now Has 200 Million Users
INSIDE-DIGITAL – Dec 13 – Badoo has recently welcomed the 200Mth user. The number of registered members increased by ~25% in the past year.
World’s Biggest Blind Date To Take Place In February
TNT MAGAZINE – Dec 13 – The world's biggest blind date is set to be held in Sydney on February 21, 2014. The event is hosted by Aussie dating site CitySwoon. The eight-year record for the 'Biggest Blind Date' was recently beaten in Chicago with 654 people on 327 blind dates.
Cupid Plc: New CEO, New Era
HERALD SCOTLAND – Dec 13 – Phil Gripton, CEO Cupid, has brought in a slew of senior staffers and is refocusing the company on its core markets and on improving customer service. He is also putting the finishing touches to a relaunch of its flagship Cupid brand. He added: "The process is about simplifying the things that we do and focusing on key markets." This will see the company's efforts concentrated on UK, US, France and Germany. Other regions, such as the Nordics, will get less attention.
Grindr’s Performance Issues Could Doom Its Relationships
FORTUNE – Dec 6 – One serious glitch is all users need to abandon one service for another. Just ask the Friendster folks. Grindr's consistent user complaints are creating opportunity for competitors like Jack'd or Scruff. Yosuke Matsuda made Jack'd fast and reliable. 5.4M users registered for the app, 1M log on daily. That's still shy of Grindr's 7M registered users and 1.2M daily active users. But Jack'd began outpacing Grindr this spring, adding 100K monthly active users. Grindr's monthly active user base is growing ~200K over at least seven months.
by JP Mangalindan
The full article was originally published at CNN Money, but is no longer available.
eHarmony Dating Study Finds Opposites Don’t Attract
JEZEBEL – Dec 12 – A recent analysis of eHarmony’s Compatibility Matching System revealed that similarity may just be the key to long-term relationships. Opposites usually fizzle out after a short period of attraction.
iDate Las Vegas Agenda To Be Finalized In The Coming Days
OPW – Dec 13 – The next iDate (Internet Dating Conference) will take place on January 14 – 16, 2014, in Las Vegas. The agenda is coming along nicely. See here. Speakers include: Dr. Wendy Walsh, CNN; Fran Maier, former CEO of Match.com; Markus Frind, CEO of POF and others. Register here.
Jilted Husband Sues Ashley Madison
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER – Dec 13 – A Charlotte man blames the breakup of his marriage on AshleyMadison. North Carolina remains one of only a half-dozen states that still awards punitive damages when a marriage fails and someone other than the husband and wife is to blame. He is accusing the company and the wife's lover with working together to seduce his wife, ruining his 13-year marriage. He asks for damages of ~$10K.
by Michael Gordon
The full article was originally published at Charlotte Observer, but is no longer available.
Arranging Marriages On Shaadi.com
FINANCIAL TIMES – Dec 12 - Shaadi.com was launched in 1996 when founder Anupam Mittal’s mother was trying to arrange a marriage for him. Shaadi.com now attracts ~10K new members every day. The registration form asks for users community, sub-community and the colour of their skin. Some 20% of registrations are done by a friend or relative. Shaadi also opened physical retail centres across India to boost registrations. The matchmaking industry generates $32.3B every year.
by Avantika Chilkoti
See full article at Financial Times
Tinder To Launch In China
CNBC – Dec 12 - Tinder plans to expand into China within a year. Tinder already has a significant number of international users, and is currently available in 24 languages. Two of its fastest growing large markets are the U.K. and the Nertherlands where its user base is expanding by ~2% every day. China has ~464M mobile internet users. But Tinder's Facebook ties make China expansion plans difficult. Tinder does not yet generate any revenue. Monetization options open to Tinder include in-app purchases and advertising.