Month: January 2014

Facebook Is Blocking Dating Ads Until Valentine’s Day

Posted on January 20, 2014

Hidine disapproved fb adBUSINESS INSIDER – Jan 19 – Facebook has temporarily blocked some dating sites from advertising if they are new to Facebook. Dating sites won't be able to advertise on FB until after Valentine's Day. Kyle McGinnis, the CEO of HiDine, says his ads ran for months on FB and were only recently bumped from the site. He believes Facebook is biased in favor of bigger dating sites with larger ad budgets.

by Jim Edwards
See full article at Business Insider

See all posts on HiDine

This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch.

SeekingArrangement: A Form Of Legal Prostitution

Posted on January 20, 2014

NEWS9 – Jan 18 - SeekingArrangement.com is rolling out ads and promotions marketed towards college students. They make up 42% of "sugar baby" membership. Website creators admit, eventually sex probably will be involved. However, it's not a requirement. That would be illegal.

by Evan Anderson
See full article at News9

See all posts on SeekingArrangement

Interview With Challen Hodson From Grouper

Posted on January 20, 2014

Grouper challenMETRO.US – Jan 19 – Challen Hodson is the director of membership experience for Grouper, a dating site that matches groups of three female friends with groups of three male friends.

Q: Is it really you who answers all of the texts?
A: Yes, in New York. We’re not 24/7. We start later in the morning and roll through midnight on nights when it’s needed.

Q: Can you explain the Karma Points system?
A: Groupers receive Karma Points for referring friends and for going on Groupers.

Q: 2000 points gets users the “Craziest Night Ever.” What is that?
A: We’ll help plan a really epic night, whether it’s concert tickets or sporting events or dinner and drinks in a really awesome place in the city.

Q: How many people have gotten them?
A: We’ve handed out a couple of dozen.

Q: What’s your advice for people going on a first Grouper?
A: Relax and have fun.

by Andrea Park
The full article was originally published at Metro.co.uk, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Grouper

Asian Dating Sites Work Harder On User Verification

Posted on January 17, 2014

Jiayuan logo new Aug 13QZ.COM – Jan 17 – While American dating sites have taken a laissez faire approach to lying, Asian dating sites have implemented serious measures to keep users honest. Jiayuan.com lets users provide ID cards to back up their claims. KoreanCupid.com requires users to submit a copy of a national registration form, diplomas, and proof of employment, which the site uses to verify age, marital history, parents’ marital status, education, and type of job.

by Paul Oyer
See full article at QZ

See all posts on Jiayuan.com

Dating Apps Make Dating More Efficient But Less Romantic

Posted on January 17, 2014

Tinder logoTHE GUARDIAN – Jan 17 - Tinder is the heterosexual version of Grindr or the modern blend of Hot Or Not. ~450M profiles are rated every day and membership is growing by 15% each week. Tinder is addictive. The average user is on it 11 minutes per day. With Tinder, the pretext is to hook-up, but the real pleasure is derived from the Tindering process.

by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
See full article at The Guardian

See all posts on Tinder

Hinge Launches In San Francisco

Posted on January 17, 2014

Hinge screenshotTECH CRUNCH – Jan 17 – Dating app Hinge launched in Feb in Washington. It saw ~25% monthly growth as it expanded to New York and Boston. In Nov it raised $4M. The app looks a lot like Tinder with their swipe to approve or dismiss matches, and the option to chat if users like each other. But Hinge users receive a limited set of potential matches each day to seriously consider each person and check out the profiles rather than photos. Hinge plans to monetize by selling premium services that enhance users’ experiences.

by Josh Constine
See full article at Tech Crunch

See all posts on Hinge

iDate Awards Winners

Posted on January 16, 2014

Idate awards logoWEBWIRE – Jan 16 - The iDate Awards winners were announced during last night’s ceremony in Las Vegas.

The 2014 winners are:

– Best Dating Site:
  PlentyOfFish.com

– Best Mobile Dating Site:
  ChristianFilipina.com

– Best Marketing Campaign:
  Zoosk.com

– Best Dating Software:
  Hubpeople.com

– Most Innovative Company:
  Hubpeople.com

– Best Matchmaker:
  Caroline Brealey (MutualAttraction.co.uk)

– Lifetime Achievement Award:
  Markus Frind  

– Best Payment System:
  Paymentwall.com  

– Best Dating Coach:
  Renee Piane (SinglesAdvice.com)  

– Best Dating Affiliate Program:
  LoveMe.com (A Foreign Affair)

– Best Product Design:
  RSVP.com.au 

– Best New Technology:
  WorldDatingCompany.com 

– Best Up And Coming Dating Site:
  eRomance.com

– Best Niche Dating Site:
  LoveMe.com

See full article at Webwire

Osmium Partners Bought More Spark Networks Shares

Posted on January 16, 2014

Sparknetworks logo new Jan 13WKRB – Jan 16 - Spark Networks major shareholder Osmium Partners, bought 83,150 shares. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.12 per share, with a total value of $509K.

by Zach Kirkland
The full article was originally published at WKRB, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Spark Networks

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Parttimelove.co.uk Is For Part-time Relationship Seekers

Posted on January 16, 2014

Parttimelove logoMETRO.CO.UK – Jan 16 – Parttimelove.co.uk claims to be a platform for those who don’t have the time for a full-on partnership. Membership starts from £20 per month and everyone who signs up understands all members want their independence.

See full article at Metro.co.uk

Down And Tinder: A New Trend In Online Dating

Posted on January 16, 2014

DownHeaderSOFTONIC – Jan 15 – The recently re-branded Down app gives people the choice of 'getting down', or 'get a date' instead. The stats show British men chose to 'get down' 73% of the time, while women preferred to get down 84% of the time. With this app, users flip through Facebook friends and friends of friends. They chose who they'd be 'down' to get with, and wait for the match.

by Zuzanna Blaszkiewicz
The full article was originally published at Softonic, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Down
See all posts on Tinder