PR WEB – Aug 26 – Music-based dating service Tastebuds will acquires moosify, another music-based dating site that matches people with similar musical preferences.
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Month: August 2014
Tinder Sparks Renewed Interest In Online Dating
CLICKZ – Aug 25 – Tinder's massive growth, due largely to its mobile-first approach that appeals to Millennials, is bringing new life to the online dating industry. In just the past year, the online dating category has gone from being desktop-dominant to a mobile-first category.
Match.com has been the market leader for quite some time with ~12M multi-platform unique visitors in July 2014. When looking at the number of visitors on smartphones. Match.com maintains its lead with 6.1M visitors, but POF trails not far behind with 4.8M. Tinder is #3 with 3.6M visitors, up ~1,400% in the past year.
by Eli Goodman
See full article at ClickZ
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Affiliate Network Payouts Spreadsheet
OPW – Aug 26 – You can now download the latest update to the Courtland Brooks Affiliate Networks Payouts Spreadsheet, designed to provide affiliate marketers and dating site owners with a comprehensive list of the affiliate programs in the industry. Discover the latest offers from leading affiliate networks including CJ Affiliate by Conversant (formerly Commission Junction), Neverblue, and Zanox all in one convenient, up-to-date spreadsheet.
IAC Owns Online Dating
SF GATE – Aug 23 – Online dating is a saturated marketplace, dominated by Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. It controls ~27% of the U.S. dating services market. Its next closest competitor, eHarmony, has half that. Tagged, a social discovery startup, killed its dating app, Swoon, this year, in part because of the saturation of IAC dating products. "Any company should be cautious in innovating in the dating market," said Steve Sarner, the company's VP of marketing. In 2014, IAC's dating-related profit is expected to grow by 14%. "They have been very aggressive and bought companies that were very well-placed strategically and by design. That is a big part of how they have grown," said Mark Brooks, an online-dating analyst. "They are at this point running out of companies they can buy." Tinder, the company's latest hit, is a version of what Hot or Not pioneered a decade ago and what the app Grindr had perfected for the gay community. "Basically, they are shaking trees," said Brooks.
AshleyMadison.com Erases All Traces Of Users’ Infidelity For $19
ARS TECHNICA – Aug 22 - Ashley Madison does let users delete their profiles for free, but if they want “Full Delete” which removes all traces of their usage, it costs $19. Ashley Madison's Hide My Profile Permanently option is the same thing as deleting a profile on most other sites. Users' identifying details will be deleted, but messages and pictures users have sent to others on the site behave like e-mail, and they can't get them back. Removing messages users sent in the past is something few other sites will do.
by Megan Geuss
See full article at Ars Technica
Interview With Joshua Bocanegra, Founder & CEO Of LoveRoom
OPW INTERVIEW – Aug 21 – We first heard about LoveRoom in November last year. The concept of allowing users to share their room for free with attractive strangers has sparked some controversy. Bocanegra listed his place on Airbnb, and to make it more appealing, he used the photo of his girlfriend for the profile. Soon he started getting reservations at $80 a night. This is where the idea for LoverRoom kicked in. We've interviewed Joshua about how LoveRoom went from just an idea to a website that has attracted ~10K people in 6 months without any PR efforts.
Interview With Joshua Bocanegra, Founder & CEO Of LoveRoom
What’s your background?
In 2006, I dropped out of high school to start Beats4Real. It was a Netflix for Hip Hop Beats where music artists can download unlimited beats for a monthly subscription. I learned the art of marketing and, a few years later, became a marketing consultant for numerous startups around the world.
Which was the most unusual company that you learned the most from?
I’ve learned most from individuals than any particular company. Some of the people who’ve had an influence on me were Seth Godin, Howard Stern, Eminem, Kanye West and Steve Jobs.
What’s the genesis/founding story of LoveRoom?
When me and my girlfriend moved to LA about a year ago, we used Airbnb to rent our apartment to make some extra money. Our listing wasn’t attracting many people so I uploaded a picture of my girlfriend and raised the price to make the listing more attractive. Soon we started getting reservations at $80 a night. A month later, I created a landing page for LoveRoom that described the site as a place where you can rent your room out to attractive people. I was meant to say “single people” but this misuse of words got us a ton of press. 48 hours later, my inbox was full of reporters asking me for interviews about LoveRoom. After the site went live, we started getting thousands of signups.
We aim to help single people find love by sharing the room first. It’s a new concept and it’s a little scary, but in a world where most marriages end in divorce in just a few years, I think it’s worth trying something new.
Was it the price change, or the photo of your hot girlfriend? Did you try testing each change individually?
It was certainly the photo. I’ve tried a price change before and it made little difference.
What’s the reality of how LoveRoom works?
If you live alone or are traveling somewhere soon, you’ll go on the site and search for people who are looking to share a room. Some people are looking for a room while others are offering their rooms. You can’t send anyone a message unless they accept your friend request. If your request is approved, you start to have a conversation. If there’s chemistry, you would then set up a time and place to meet. This is done manually through private messaging, there is no booking system on LoveRoom. It’s like a Couchsurfing meets OkCupid.
Isn’t there a misconception here among press and users that they may be renting a room for free in exchange for sexual favors. What proportion of users are male and female?
Based on the conversations I’ve had with users, I don’t think any of them are treating the site as a way to rent a room in exchange for sexual favors. On the site, users must include their intentions on their profile. We let them choose between “Friends”, “Casual Dating”, “Serious Relationship” or “Roommate”. We also have a “You and I” section where users can be a little more specific about the arrangement. The ratio is 70% males /30% females.
How do you defend users from prostitutes on the site?
We have a report system that users can use to inform us of any such activity going on.
How’s the site growing at this stage?
We’ve gotten over 10,000 users in the last 6 months. We’re growing at about 50 signups a day. We expect to get more people signing up once the iOS and Android app is released.
How are you getting the word out?
It has all been organic. We’ve spent no money on marketing or PR.
How do you make money?
We’re not making money yet but we’re planning on offering in-app purchases when the app is released.
Rocket Internet, The Company Behind eDarling, Raised $445M
BUSINESS INSIDER – Aug 14 – Rocket Internet is one of the most successful and controversial startup incubators in the world. Last week, the Berlin-based startup accelerator raised $445M at a $4.5B valuation. And it’s reported to be shooting for an IPO soon, with hopes of reaching a valuation as high as $6.7B. Rocket Internet's strategy is to copy ideas that work in certain markets and build the same exact business model in regions that haven’t yet been explored. It launched eDarling in 2008, a copy-cat of eHarmony. The site now operates in 20-plus countries. eHarmony was a 30% shareholder until 2013. eDarling focused on mostly non-English-speaking countries, but have announced plans to expand to the U.K. and Ireland recently.
by Eugene Kim
See full article at Business Insider
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Zoosk Launches Photo Verification Feature
BUSINESSWIRE – Aug 21 - Zoosk a new Photo Verification feature to confirm the authenticity of members’ profile pictures. Members who choose to verify their photo will be prompted by the system to record and submit a video “selfie” that will capture the individual’s face from a variety of angles. If the moderators approve the member’s photo, he or she will be notified and a Photo Verified badge will be added to their profile. The video “selfie” will remain private.
The full article was originally published at Herald Online, but is no longer available.