OPW – Feb 24 – The last iDate took place in January in Las Vegas. Here are the photos from the event and new testimonials video. The next Internet dating conference will be held in May 28 – 29th in Beijing.
Month: March 2015
Tinder Begun Offering Tinder Plus
WSJ – Mar 3 – Tinder Plus is a premium service that is the dating app’s first effort to generate revenue. Tinder also plans to introduce ads by the end of the month. The price will vary based on a user’s location and age. In U.S. the price will be $9.99 per month, although some users will be asked to pay as much as $19.99 monthly. In developing countries, the service will cost $2.99 per month. Mark Brooks, CEO of Courtland Brooks, an advisory firm for dating companies, said Tinder will likely make money from subscriptions than from ads. “Tinder should be able to make tens of millions from ads, but they’ll earn more from the subscriptions to allow users to nix the ads, and be able to determine their location and being able to undo swipes,” Brooks said.
Indian Online Dating Startup TrulyMadly Raises $5.6M
FIRST POST – Mar 2 – TrulyMadly, an Indian-origin online dating and matchmaking app with ~200K installs, has raised Rs. 35 crore ($5.6M) in their first round of funding from Helion Venture Partners and Kae Capital. Co-founded by Sachin Bhatia, Hitesh Dhingra and Rahul Kumar, TrulyMadly launched its app in August 2014. TrulyMadly mobile app lets singles discover each other through shared interests and personality profiles. TrulyMadly 's app allocates a ‘Trust Score’ to each new user; a higher Trust Score increases the number of potential matches for a user. Users can boost their Trust Score by getting their phone number and photo ID verified. All users need ~30% Trust Score to use the app.
by Sulekha Nair
See full article at First Post
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Tinder Plus To Launch Today?
TECH CRUNCH – Mar 2 – Tinder Plus is rumored to launch today for $9.99. Tinder has been testing pricing on the app in a number of markets over the past few months, with prices ranging from $.99 all the way up to $19.99/month. Though sources say that pricing will vary from market to market, they also say that they expect the service to hit the U.S. market at a price under $10.
SeekingArrangement Breaks The Rules, Police Have Warned
THE NEW DAILY – Mar 1 - SeekingArrangement claims its Australian membership is growing exponentially and that it has 154,537 people signed up. “These types of websites are of concern because they may breach the law and they may also place people in dangerous situations,” South Australia Police said in a statement. In Victoria escorts must be registered, and in South Australia it is illegal to pay someone for sex. SeekingArrangement spokeswoman Brook Urick denied the website was used for illegal purposes. “There’s not really an exchange of money for sex, it’s about building a relationship. At least two violent crimes in the US had been linked to arrangements made on the website. Alix Tichelman, 27, was charged with killing Google executive Forrest Hayes in November 2013.
by Ashlynne McGhee
See full article at The New Daily
Xoxy: Safe Online Credential Tool
NBC – Mar 2 – Nationwide, 1 in 3 women will be sexually abused in their lifetime, 1 in 5 women on college campuses, STDs are spread every 30 seconds nationwide, and there is over 1M Americans who have HIV, and 16% don't know it. Those stats drove Jo Lynn Clemens to start Xoxy, an app that aims to make online dating safer. The Xoxy credential is free now but will cost $139. It includes STD test and background check.
Beautifulpeople.com Created A Mentoring Program – “Adopt An Ugly Person”
CNBC – Mar 1 – 9 out of 10 applicants to BeautifulPeople.com are turned down. So the site has introduced a mentoring software called "Adopt an Unattractive Person." In the new system, BeautifulPeople customers ranging from stylists to therapists volunteer to mentor candidates on how to be extra, properly, attractive. Mentoring is presently free, but might be monetized in the future.
by Jane Wells
The full article was originally published at The Beacon Review, but is no longer available.
MeetMe Financial Results: Another Profitable Quarter
BUSINESS WIRE – Feb 28 - MeetMe total revenue for 2014 was $44.8M, up 11% YOY. Mobile revenue was $24.6M, up 96% YOY. Mobile revenue represented 55% of total revenue, up from 31% in 2013. Net loss was $4M, compared to a net loss of $10.9M for 2013. Q4 2014 Revenue was $13M with net income of $847K.
The full article was originally published at SeekingAlpha, but is no longer available.
Who Is Using Dating Sites: New Survey
WSJ – Feb 27 – 2.36% of U.S. adults (5.6M people) reported using dating sites in the past 30 days. That’s more than double that of five years ago, according to new survey from market research company GfK MRI. 54% of them are men, 46% are women. The 25-34 age range comprise the largest age segment of online daters at 28%. More than half of online daters are people who have never been married, followed by 37% who are legally separated, widowed or divorced. 12% are currently still married.
Adultery Is Legal In South Korea, And AshleyMadison Wants Back In
FUSION – Feb 28 – A top court ruled on Thursday that the decades-old law, which made infidelity a crime that could land offenders in prison for up to two years, is outdated. It could mean the return of AshleyMadison.com which briefly operated in the country before it was shut down for breaking the infidelity law. AshleyMadison actually filed a lawsuit against South Korea and CEO Noel Biderman is not prepared to drop it quite yet. “If I’m not instantly turned back on, I might have to consider my actions,” he said.
by Danielle Wiener-Bronner
See full article at Fusion