CNBC – Feb 14 – The time between New Year's Day and Valentine's Day is the busiest time for dating sites and online dating coaches. Match.com saw a ~7% increase in communication on the site year over year in 2014, though the "peak season" that ends around Feb. 14 is especially high for user engagement. A mobile registration increase ~100% percent YOY, in their fourth-quarter earnings.
Month: February 2015
Tinder Will Fail
CB – Feb 13 – An article on TechCrunch points to the fact that iOS Apps can now be way bigger. Screens on smart phones are getting bigger and its going be a game changer for iDating apps. We've spent years figuring out algorithms and matching methods. We've gravitated towards adding more information to profiles. But users aren't using dating sites. They're using mobile apps. The screens on those apps have been around 4" small. Hardly conducive to asking lots of questions, or displaying profiles. So Tinder waltzes in and steals the iDating industries lunch. Tinder is zen simple. Tinder does pictures. Not profiles. The dating industry will change again as larger format media, i.e. bigger smart phones screens, get more and more popular. Tinder is actually designed to fail, IMHO. And Match.com will sweep up members, because that's where they will be channeled. To learn more about mobile dating strategy, come and join us in Beijing in May at the Mobile Dating Conference.
Read the full article on CourtlandBrooks blog
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Interview With Kelly Steckelberg, CEO Of Zoosk
NZZ.CH – Feb 13 - Zoosk is #1 paid dating app. The app has ~30M users, half of them come from USA. Kelly Steckelber took over as CEO in December. She replaced co-founder Shayan Zadeh who is now a member of the board.
Q: Zoosk has recently announced 15% lay off. Can you tell us why?
A: To be profitable, we have to reduce our cost in some areas.
Q: Do you see Tinder as a threat?
A: We do not consider Tinder as a competitor. We compete with paid dating sites that use algorithm based matchmaking. We have invested heavily in our behavioral matchmaking technology.
Q: Why don't you offer GPS?
A: Our users, especially women, are not comfortable with that.
Q: What do you do to protect your users' data?
A: We invest heavily in our encryption technology to protect users' data, passwords and credit cards. We also use digital fingerprints of devices.
by Adrienne Fitcher
See full article at NZZ.ch
Dating Startups Get No Love From Venture Capitalists
CBINSIGNTS – Feb 12 – Despite Tinder's popularity, dating startups have seen lukewarm investment activity from venture capitalists. VC investors put just under $65M into online and mobile dating startups last year. The funding trend to dating startups has been up and down but has not topped $100M in any of the past five years.
Spark Networks Appoints Robert O’Hare As CFO
MARKETWIRED – Feb 12 – Starting on March 1, 2015, Mr. O'Hare will report to CEO, Michael Egan and will have responsibility for the Company's global financial operations. Current CFO Brett Zane will leave the Company on March 11, 2015. Mr. O'Hare is joining the Company from Square, Inc., where he served as Corporate Finance & Investor Relations Lead since 2013. From 2010 to 2013, he served as Director of Financial Planning & Analysis at Pandora Media, Inc.
The full article was originally published at SeekingAlpha, but is no longer available.
Dating Fraud Increases By 33%
PRESS ASSOCIATION – Feb 12 – Online dating fraud has increased by 33% in the last year, according to National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). The fraud cost UK £24.5 – £34M over the same period. 57% of all crimes relating to online dating were reported by women, with those aged between 45 and 55 the most commonly targeted.
The full article was originally published at City of London Police, but is no longer available.
Instant Chemistry Offers DNA Matchmaking
WMUR – Feb 12 - Instant Chemistry offers a test that helps match singles, and assess couples' likelihood of staying together, by analyzing the DNA from saliva. Instant Chemistry's scores are based on the idea that the less similar a couple's immune systems, the better their relationship may fare. Since launching in July 2014, Instant Chemistry has sold 300 DNA kits. Fifty couples have taken the test, and most have received compatibility scores between 60 – 80%. The kit costs $199.
by Contessa Gayles
The full article was originally published at WMUR 9 ABC, but is no longer available.
China To Go After Fraud On Dating Sites
REUTERS – Feb 12 – China's Internet regulator will target fraud on dating sites. Dating websites must enforce online real-name registration and accounts failing to register with real names must be closed.
The Catch Dating App Focuses On Quality, Not Quantity
HUFFINGTON POST – Feb 12 – Shannon Ong started The Catch, a new dating app where women invite men to compete for a chance to win a date with them. Women pick questions to ask men, and narrows down the pool by selecting their favorite answers to each round. After 3 rounds of questions, the winner is revealed, and the new pair can decide if they want to hang out in person.
Asian Apps Try To Be The Anti-Tinder
WSJ – Feb 12 - Peekawoo is a new dating app based in the Philippines. The app has so far raised $85K and claims 25K. Users create a profile with 5 questions. If users match answers on three out of five questions, it’s a match. Another Asian app, Thrill, has ~100K users. It requires all users – who register using Facebook – to have at least five FB photos and 15 friends. MeetDrinks, an app that recently launched in Asia in Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, takes the chatting feature out of online and sets up users for dates.
by Brittany Hite
See full article at WSJ