Month: July 2015

Iranian First Official Matchmaking Site Encourage Marriage But Not Dating

Posted on July 10, 2015

Hamsan tebyan net screenshotTIME.COM – July 9 – Iran has launched its first official matchmaking website to try to encourage young people to marry. There are currently ~350 unofficial dating sites in Iran. Online dating is forbidden by the state, and since Iranians use these sites for dating and not necessarily marrying, the state regularly closes the sites. Nearly half of all Iranians 18 – 35 are unmarried according to Tebyan Cultural and Information Center, a government affiliated organisation that has launched the website to combat the rising trend among Iranian youth to marry later or even forego marriage completely. Everyone who registers on Tebyan’s website has to undergo an interview at the site's headquarters.

by Kay Armin Serjoie
See full article at Time.com

See all posts on Tebyan's matchmaking website

Summarized by Courtland Brooks Internet Dating Marketing Consulting

Tinder Debuts Verified Profiles For Celebrities

Posted on July 8, 2015

Tinder verified profileVATOR.TV – July 8 - Tinder is introducing verified profiles. A verified profile will come with a tiny blue check mark. A verified profile on Tinder means that the person is an honest to god celebrity, and not someone just pretending to be famous. At least two celebrities have reportedly been using Tinder. The first one is singer/actress Hilary Duff. The other is just a rumor – Leonardo DiCaprio.

by Steven Loeb
See full article at Vator.tv

See all posts on Tinder

Summarized by Courtland Brooks Internet Dating Marketing Consulting

Tinder Goes Hands-Free, Heart Rate Swipes Right Or Left

Posted on July 8, 2015

Tinder hands free tinderDAILYMAIL.CO.UK – July 7 – Developers in Texas have created an app that uses heart rate to determine how users really feel about a person's profile on Tinder. Called Hands-Free Tinder, it uses heart rate sensors built into wearables. When a profile is opened, the heart rate monitor starts tracking the wearer's pulse and if there is a noticeable increase, it assumes they like the profile and the app automatically generates a right swipe. The app will launch 'soon' on the Apple App Store as well as Google Play.

by Victoria Woollaston
See full article at DailyMail.co.uk

See all posts on Tinder

This post also appears on Wearable.ai.

Summarized by Courtland Brooks Internet Dating Marketing Consulting

Young Indians Embrace Dating Apps Despite Social Taboos

Posted on July 8, 2015

Trulymadly eventASSOCIATED PRESS – July 7 – Indian dating app market has exploded in recent years, with more than a dozen companies operating in India such as Woo, Thrill, TrulyMadly, HitchUp and DesiCrush. In India, half of the 1.2B population is younger than 25 and smartphone sales are projected to surge 67% this year alone. Dating is still widely seen as a social taboo in India, "it is very difficult to get girls in India to start using a dating app," said Sachin Bhatia, co-founder of India's TrulyMadly. "We realized verification, security and privacy are very important" to women, Bhatia said. TrulyMadly encourages men to upload copies of their IDs, or to verify their phone numbers. The app Thrill sidelines up to 35% of male users, without telling them, to a so-called "phantom zone" where they can still log on and view others' profiles, but can't make contact and are invisible to other users.

by Rishab R. Jain
The full article was originally published at Denver Post, but is no longer available.

See all posts on Thrill
See all posts on Truly Madly

Summarized by Courtland Brooks Internet Dating Marketing Consulting

Ashley Madison Reconsidering London IPO

Posted on July 6, 2015

Ashleymadison logo new apr 2010BUSINESS INSIDER – July 4 - Ashley Madison revealed that it could abandon its London IPO, which was estimated to raise £135M ($200M) because it has potentially found a "better option." "We don't want to rush and make a mistake, but we are looking to commit to a decision around August," said Noel Biderman, CEO of Avid Life Media which owns Ashley Madison.

by Lianna Brinded
See full article at Business Insider

See all posts on AshleyMadison

Summarized by Courtland Brooks Internet Dating Marketing Consulting

To Be Biracial Means More Attention On Dating Sites

Posted on July 2, 2015

Biracial coupleWASHINGTON POST – June 29 – A new study presented to the Council on Contemporary Families and published in the American Sociological Review suggests that online daters aren’t always attracted to people who look like themselves. In some instances, multiracial daters are getting a lot of right swipes. Asian-white women get the most attention. Hispanic women preferred men who identified as Hispanic-white above all else. Hispanic men were less selective. Among all groups, men didn’t play racial favorites as much as women did. Except when it comes to black women, who were responded to the least. Biracial profiles without any photos performed about as well as those profiles with photos.

by Lauren Loftus
See full article at Washington Post

Summarized by Courtland Brooks Internet Dating Marketing Consulting

Nominations Are Now Open For iDate Awards

Posted on July 2, 2015
Idate awards logoWEBWIRE – July 1 – Nominations for the next iDate Awards are now being accepted until October 31. There is no cost to participate and self-nominations are accepted. You can nominate in these categories:

  • Best Dating Site
  • Best Matchmaker
  • Best Dating Software & SAAS Provider
  • Best Mobile Dating App
  • Best Product Design
  • Best Dating Coach
  • Most Innovative Company
  • Best New Technology
  • Best Payment System
  • Best Affiliate Program
  • Best Marketing Campaign
  • Best Niche Dating Site
  • Best Up and Coming Dating Site

The awards have the following schedule:

  • Now to October 31 – Nominations Accepted
  • November 10 to Jan. 5, 2016 – Voting
  • Jan 26, 2016 – Awards ceremony and winners announced

See full article at Webwire

Summarized by Courtland Brooks Internet Dating Marketing Consulting

Pop Stars Turn To Dating Apps Like Tinder, Grindr To Promote Music

Posted on July 2, 2015

Tinder_matchGLOBAL NEWS – July 1 – Madonna's latest album was advertised on Grindr, while Jason Derulo looked to Tinder to debut a music video. Carey launched a profile on Match.com to premiere her music video for the single, "Infinity," and last week DJ-producer Afrojack took over Match's Twitter account for eight hours to answer questions about love and relationships while promoting his new single, "SummerThing!". PlentyofFish also worked with Derulo when the website appeared in the music video for his song "Ridin Solo" in 2010. POF also appeared in Britney Spears, Flo Rida and Kesha’s videos.

by Mesfin Fekadu
See full article at Global News

See all posts on Grindr                    See all posts on Match.com
See all posts on Tinder                    See all posts on POF

Summarized by Courtland Brooks Internet Dating Marketing Consulting

OkCupid Launches New, Gender-Inclusive ‘Identity’ Project

Posted on July 2, 2015

Okcupid identityADVOCATE – June 29 - OkCupid launched a new website called Identity, a project that seeks to expand the conversation about sexual orientations and gender identities. The new site allows anyone, whether a regular OkCupid user or not, to share and contribute their own gender identity stories through a simple questionnaire. Identity also acts as a one-stop resource for various definitions of different sexual identities to be viewed. Currently, definitions of 13 gender identities, including transgender, cisgender, agender, androgynous, etc., and 22 orientations — gay, lesbian, bisexual, demisexual, etc. — are available on the site.

by Raffy Ermac
See full article at Advocate

See all posts on OkCupid

Summarized by Courtland Brooks Internet Dating Marketing Consulting