FORTUNE – Sep 29 – To combat overzealous swipers, Tinder has turned to a new tool, called Interana, for analyzing data. Some users swipe right too often to maximize their chances of finding a match. Earlier this year, to combat this behavior, Tinder set a daily limit of right swipes. Then it rounded up profiles of the most prolific right-swipers and watched what happened. "We saw those users actually converge in behavior," said Tinder VP of Technology Dan Gould. "They learned the value of the right swipe." Tinder is using data to improve the user experience. It is using software from a startup called Interana, which premiered in 2014 and counts two former Facebook engineers among its founders. With Interana, queries that were taking hours were cut down to less than a second. Now, Interana is everywhere inside Tinder, troubleshooting network connectivity issues and measuring the effectiveness of social media partnerships, among other things.
Month: September 2015
There Will Be A Social Discovery Conference Prior To iDate London
IDATE – Sep 29 – If you register for iDate (Internet Dating Conference) in London, taking place on October 14 – 16, you will get a free pass to the Social Discovery Pre-Conference on October 14. Check out the agenda. The online dating industry is constantly seeking to innovate and reinvent itself. At previous iDate events it was noted that some of the most insightful ideas were sparked from outside the industry. Social Discovery has proven its place in mobile and online networks over the last 5 years. Don’t miss the opportunity to network and build relationships with a group of social discovery professionals.
Dating Apps Fire Back At Billboards Linking STD Spread
ASSOCIATED PRESS – Sep 28 – The AIDS Healthcare Foundation targets Tinder and Grindr in billboards and bus benches that are aimed at reminding users about the risks of STDs. Within two hours of the first billboard going up, Grindr pulled commercials that the foundation pays for on the dating site to promote free STD testing. Tinder sent a cease and desist letter claiming the campaign falsely associates the dating app with the spread of venereal diseases. The foundation would not remove the references to the apps. The signs are currently on a dozen billboards in Los Angeles and 45 bus benches.
by Brian Melley
The full article was originally published at ABC News, but is no longer available.
Three Day Rule Matchmaker Reveals How She Tracks Down True Love For Her Clients
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK – Sep 28 – Anna Leifeste is a full-time matchmaker at Three Day Rule, a personal matchmaking company based in Los Angeles. The dating service charges $3,5k for its three-month package, and $5k for six months that includes date coaching, styling and professional photography, according to Online Personal Watch. Anna, who has a master's degree in counseling psychology from Northwestern University, describes her day as a matchmaker.
Danish Dating App Teazr Is Expanding To The US
ONLINE POST – Sep 24 – Teazr has received 1.5M kroner ($225K) to market the app in the US, which has been the goal of the three founders – Daniel Delouya, Umar Akram and Simon Degn – from the start. Teazr is similar to Tinder but users must take and send a selfie when they get a match before they can chat together. Teazr launched on the Danish market in June this year, and so far ~15K users have downloaded the app.
by Lucie Rychla
See full article at Online Post
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
A Billboard Suggests Tinder And Grindr’s Users To Get Tested For An STD
by Drew Olanoff
See full article at Tech Crunch
IAC Interactive Has Gone On Sale With Catalysts Looming
SEEKING ALPHA – Sep 26 – Shares of IAC have fallen 20% while the company is in the midst of monetizing Tinder, in anticipation of an IPO later this year. The shares have been sold off in the last several weeks, from $85 to the current $68. Match Group is expected to rake in $900M in revenue this year with ~22% of the market share in the dating apps industry. While Tinder has yet to turn a profit, it has a surging user base that may be worth billions with ~74% of mobile dating market share. Some analysts have pegged the value of the entire Match Group to be ~$5B alone. With the Tinder CEO stating that the company is realizing 800M swipes per day, the company stands to reach as many people as half the active daily users that are currently on Facebook. The monetization from this active user base is enormous.
See full article at Seeking Alpha
Bumble Dating App Is For Women That Know What They Want
FORBES – Sep 26 – Dating app Bumble launched in December and is backed by Andrey Andreev, the founder of Badoo. Users create profiles by linking to their Facebook profiles. Users are then suggested matches, and much like Tinder, have the option to swipe right or left. When both parties swipe right on each other's images, they are both alerted to the match, though only the woman has the option to initiate a conversation. The app has recently introduced "VIBee" status which rewards frequent and respectful interaction.
Dating App Hinge Tested Opening Lines. Here Is What Works
