NY TIMES – Oct 29 – In the two years since Tinder was released, the app has exploded, processing ~2B swipes each day and matching ~12M people. Tinder is fast approaching 50M active users. People log into the app 11 times a day. Women spend ~8.5 minutes on the app during a single session; men 7.2 minutes. All of this can add up to 90 minutes each day. On Tinder, there are no questionnaires to fill out. Ms. Carbino, who recently concluded a Ph.D. candidacy at the University of California, joined Tinder to help the company understand what kind of visual cues could cause a person to swipe “like” or “nope.” The style of clothing, the pucker of the lips and even the posture, Ms. Carbino said, tell us a lot about their social circle, if they like to party and their level of confidence. While companies like eHarmony still assert they have a “scientific approach” to helping people fall in love, some dating sites are starting to acknowledge that the only thing that matters is the picture.
Month: October 2014
Elimi App Turns Dating Into Truth Or Dare
TECH CRUNCH – Oct 30 – Elimi is a new dating app created by two Polish entrepreneurs Adam Labedzki and Sebastian Brzuzek. Using the app, users create questions and potential mates answer them. The banter goes on until one person is disgusted by the other or a match is made. The company raised $135K in seed investment from local Polish angels. They’ve hit about 1K users and have hosted 2K games so far. Many of the interactions are currently in Polish.
by John Biggs
See full article at Tech Crunch
Mark Brooks: In theory its good to help singles interact using games. In fact they tend to focus on chatting and trying to get out on a date, as well they should.
Venture Group Benchmark Takes Small Stake In Tinder
WSJ – Oct 28 – Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Benchmark has taken an equity stake in Tinder and general partner Matt Cohler will join its board. The companies didn’t disclose the size of the stake, but Re/Code reported Benchmark didn’t invest any money. Instead, a small stake will be traded for Mr. Cohler’s time and expertise. the publication said.
by Lauren Pollock
See full article at WSJ
Mark Brooks: This is a good sign. A major VC taking a stake in a dating app. This bodes very well.
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
‘Dead Meet’ Is A Dating Site For People Who Work In The Death Industries
VICE.COM – Oct 28 – Dead Meet is a dating site for people who work in the “death industry," which is basically anyone from gravediggers to medical historians to forensics officers to taxidermists. So far, it has 5K members. Carla Valentine started the site because of her own career in the death industry. She was an anatomical pathology technologist and was told by her manager not to discuss her working day with anyone. She wanted to find friends in the same profession.
by Hayley Campbell
See full article at Vice.com
Mark Brooks: I keep saying this, but now I mean it. I've now seen every niche dating site possible. Whats the most unusual niche site you've seen. Please comment…
Rise Of The Feminist Tinder-Creep-Busting Web Vigilante
THE ATLANTIC – Oct 27 – Many women say they've received harassing or offensive messages on dating sites. Many women feel overwhelmed and leave messages unreturned. One blogger recently ran an OkCupid experiment for which he set up five fake male and female profiles. After a week, all of the women had received at least one message, the most attractive women had received hundreds, but several of the men remained un-contacted. This kind of rejection can foment a kind of deep resentment among the male daters. A growing contingent of women are dedicated to exposing the shady, hostile, and crass entreaties they get from their digital suitors. There’s Straight White Boys Texting, Dudes of Tinder, a Tumblr collecting a combination of outlandish profile photos and gross messages, and ByeFelipe on Instagram.
by Olga Khazan
See full article at The Atlantic
Mark Brooks: The ByeFelipe Instagram is interesting. Why must the innocent suffer. Sigh.
JDI Dating Fined $616K For Fake Profiles
OPW – Oct 29 – In one of the most significant fines imposed by a government on an online dating site, UK based JDI Dating Ltd was fined by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission $616,165 for use of fake profiles.
The FTC claimed that JDI dating and its owner William Mark Thomas misrepresented their fake members to lure consumers to pay for memberships. Called "virtual cupids," fake profiles were indicated by a small “v” encircled by a “C” and observed within the profile. The FTC viewed the icon as difficult to both see and understand.
Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection said, "JDI Dating used fake profiles to make people think they were hearing from real love interests and to trick them into upgrading to paid memberships. Adding insult to injury, users were charged automatically to renew their subscriptions – often without their consent.”
Apart from simply a fake profile, Steven Baker of the FTC said "this case involved the use of fake communication," between the user and JDI Dating.
The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) requires members to consent to credit card charges and understand what they will be charged for and understand the methods of cancellation.
The settlement also required the following of JDI:
- Disclose that they will receive communications from virtual profiles
- Prohibits them from misrepresenting their product, service refund and cancellation policies
- Unable to sell the customer database
- Cancellations must be simple and easy for the consumer
- Prohibits JDI Dating from violating the ROSCA Act
OPW was able to contact William Thomas by telephone. He said "JDI Dating denies the FTC's accusations but was happy to have reached a resolution of the government's claims that was acceptable to both parties."
This is the second time a UK based dating operation was exposed for fake profiles. The first was White Label Dating (Global Personals Ltd) in a television investigation by Channel 4 news.
JDI Dating operates ~18 private label sites, including rudefinder.com, cupidswand.com and flirtcrowd.com. No business connection appears to exist between Global Personals, Ltd and JDI Dating Ltd.
– by Marc Lesnick, Internet Dating Conference
Plenty Of Fish Is Responsible For 1M Babies
CBC.CA – Oct 27 – POF (PlentyOfFish.com) is the biggest dating site with 90M users that sends 30K messages a minute. According to POF founder & CEO, Markus Frind, POF is responsible for over 1M babies.
Match Group Dating Revenue Up 5%
WSJ – Oct 29 – IAC’s Match Group reported revenue of $230.2M, an YOY increase of 12%. Dating revenue grew 5% due to 6% growth in North America and 3% growth in International. The growth in Dating revenue was driven by increased paid subscribers (up 9%). Adjusted EBITDA decreased 11%.
Plenty Of Fish Bets It All On Mobile
BCBUSINESS – Oct 21 - POF grew into one of the world’s most popular dating websites. Despite the popularity of its iPhone and Android apps, POF's old revenue model is under siege, as advertising doesn’t work well on the smaller screens of smartphones. POF will need to evolve to survive. POF CEO & Founder, Markus Frind, says that for people under the age of 35, 90% of POF’s visits now come from phones rather than web browsers. Frind says up to 60% of the company’s “tens of millions of EBITDA” still comes from its website. POF’s apps make money from upgraded memberships Frind is the first to admit monetization on mobile has a ways to catch up. Mark Brooks, one of the Internet dating industry’s few consultants, says that while Frind will never have the deep pockets of IAC, POF’s mobile numbers are promising. Now he just has to figure out how to make mobile visitors as valuable as its declining desktop ones. Brooks points to Craiglist for inspiration. “Most people think it’s entirely free,” he says, “and it is—except for people who want to advertise jobs, and they make a lot of money from that. Mobile is pretty much a land grab right now,” he says. “Grab as many users as you can, then figure out what to do with them.”
Online Dating Startup SingldOut.com Raised 600K
PEHUB – Oct 28 – San Diego-based SingldOut.com has raised $600K in seed funding from undisclosed investors. The startup, founded by two female execs, uses DNA analysis to determine if a potential date has the “chances for long-term chemistry, greater compatibility and overall relationship success.”
by Alastair Goldfisher
See full article at PEHub
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.