TECH CRUNCH – Dec 23 – Stories of thieves being caught by Facebook or Twitter are nothing new. But David Petersen, co-founder of San Francisco-based startup Buildzoom, used Tinder to ID the person he claimed is responsible for stealing $30K worth of computers and gadgets from his company. He opened a Tinder account, uploaded the suspected thief’s CCTV photo alongside the words “I rob offices in SF, $5K reward for identifying me.” He received an email with her name and a photo just two days later.
Month: December 2014
SimilarWeb: New Online Dating Rankings
OPW – Dec 23 – We have just listed new US & European, Russian and Australian online dating rankings (courtesy of SimilarWeb.com). SimilarWeb.com is kind enough to offer these rankings every quarter.
SettleForLove.com: Dating Site That Highlights Imperfections
CHICAGO TRIBUNE – Dec 23 – Settle for Love is a new dating site that provides a platform for people to recognize, in addition to their positive traits, their imperfections. A user's profile includes a format to submit both "good" and "bad" pictures, a list of "positive" traits and a list of "imperfections."
Online Dating Predictions For 2015 By Zoosk
MASHABLE – Dec 23 - Zoosk analyzed 4M messages and 430K dating profiles to see what people responded to in 2014, and to predict what's coming in the new year. A full body photo increases messages received by ~203%, on average.
by Laura Vitto
See full article at Mashable
Zoosk Ditches IPO Plan As Founders Exit Leadership Roles
TECH CRUNCH – Dec 17 – Zoosk's CFO Kelly Steckelberg is taking over as CEO. She will be replacing co-founder Shayan Zadeh, who is becoming a member of the board, and his co-founder Alex Mehr (currently president) will also be moving into a board position. The shift comes at a time when Zoosk is reassessing the idea of an IPO. The company filed an S-1 for a $100M IPO, but has since decided to revisit that option at a later date.
by Jordan Crook
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Joel Simkhai About His 6 Years Old Grindr
by Guy Trebay
See full article at NY Times
Momo’s Impressive IPO
NASDAQ – Dec 16 – Alibaba-backed Chinese social media firm Momo Inc.'s IPO was an impressive one. Shares of the company surged 26% to $17.02 on December 11. The IPO was priced at $13.50. Launched in 2011 by Tang Yan, Momo is a mobile IM app that lets users post their pictures and profiles. In Chinese, Momo means unacquainted and it is sometimes referred to as China's Tinder. The app is free. But users can upgrade to get "VIP logos," advanced search and the right to follow more users for $18 a year. The app had 180M registered accounts, 60M monthly active users (MAU) and 2.3M paying subscribers at the end of Sep.
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Spark Networks Appoints Michael S. Egan As CEO
MARKETWIRED – Dec 15 – Michael J. McConnell will step down from his position as Interim Executive Chairman on January 2, 2015, but will retain his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Michael S. Egan is the new CEO. He is joining the company from Internet Brands, Inc., where he served as its Senior VP and Group GM of the Home, Careers, Money and Health Divisions. He also held several senior positions at Yahoo! between 2003 – 2008.
The full article was originally published at CNN Money, but is no longer available.
Grindr’s Users Just Want To See Profile Pictures
GIGAOM – Dec 15 - Grindr redesigned its iOS and Android app this month, abolishing text from users' profiles. If a user wants more information on someone than just their picture, they’ll have to click further. Grindr founder Joel Simkhai says he’s just giving the users what they want. “Men are visual creatures,” Simkhai says.