ACCESSWIRE – Jan 13 – The Grade's Apple Watch app enables users to have quick access to their matches and messages right from the wrist, including robust browsing and messaging functionality. The app also includes the use of the dictation feature, which enables speech to text functionality.
Month: January 2016
One Big Thing Tinder CEO Sean Rad Says Everyone Gets Wrong
FAST COMPANY – Jan 13 – "People think Tinder went public and I'm a billionaire," says CEO Sean Rad. "Add it to the long list of shit that's misunderstood about me." When Match Group announced its plan for IPO, many articles made it sound like Tinder itself was going public. The reality is that Match Group is the majority shareholder of Tinder. The Match Group IPO doesn't really impact us," Rad explains.
by Austin Carr
See full article at Fast Company
‘Where White People Meet’ Billboard Taken Down
FOX13NOW – Jan 12 – A billboard advertising the online dating site "Where White People Meet" has been taken down. Dave Goldberg with Compass Billboards said the contract with the dating site expired. He added it was not taken down because of complaints. Sam Russell, creator of the dating site, said he wasn't happy about the decision and is working to get a new billboard up.
Grindr Sells 60% Of Stake To Chinese Company
NYTIMES – Jan 11 – Beijing Kunlun will acquire 60% of Grindr, with the remainder to be owned by Grindr employees and Joel Simkhai, the company's founder. Grindr sees 2M regular visitors every day, who spend ~54 minutes using the app. Grindr's revenue was ~$32M in 2014, up 29% from $25M in 2013.
Every Tinder User Has A Secret Internal Rating
FAST COMPANY – Jan 12 – Anyone who's used Tinder is assigned an internal rating: a score calculated by the company that ranks the most (and least) desirable people swiping on the service. The scores referred as "Elo Scores" are not available to the public. According to Tinder CEO Sean Rad, the rating is not a measure of attractiveness, but a measure of "desirability," in part because it's not determined simply by the profile photo. "It's not just how many people swipe right on you," Rad explains. "It's very complicated. It took us two and a half months just to build the algorithm because a lot of factors go into it."
Chinese Survey: Only 24.7% Of People Feel Confident About Online Dating
ECNS – Jan 11 – 56% of the respondents to a China Youth Daily survey say they have used dating sites, but only a quarter believe the services are reliable. Only 24.7% feel confident about online dating, while 28% don't think it's reliable. A total of 2,001 people participated in the survey.
by Mo Hong'e
See full article at ECNS
Swipe Right On 50 Profiles, Respond To Every Message And You Get A Date, Guarantees Paktor
PAKTOR – Jan 11 - Singapore's largest mobile dating and social networking app, Paktor announced an industry-first guarantee programme called the 'Paktor Guarantee Programme' (PGP). The programme, which comes at no additional cost, guarantees Paktor users a physical date through the app if they follow specific guidelines. The PGP is available to users who have a paid subscription of a minimum of 3 months on the app. Here are the guidelines:
- Use Paktor App everyday
- Swipe right on 50 profiles every dayInitiate first contact with every match
- Respond to every message
- Ask for a date after 20 exchanges of message
- Don't use other channels of communication until the other party has agreed to go on a physical date
Dating Apps Fuel Rise In Sex Attacks
PRESS ASSOCIATION – Jan 11 – Only 55 reports of crimes in England and Wales mentioned Grindr or Tinder in 2013. This jumped to 204 in 2014 and 412 in the year to October 2015. Experts said the findings were "shocking" and urged the authorities to launch a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of meeting strangers on so-called hook-up sites.
See full article at DailyMail.co.uk
Gay Dating App Grindr Gets $93M Investment From A Chinese Company
LATIMES – Jan 12 – Gay dating app Grindr has handed majority ownership to Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun World Wide Technology for $93M valuing Grindr at $248M post-investment. Grindr had been exploring a sale or fundraising round for much of last year.
by Paresh Dave
See full article at LATimes
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Is Controversial Tinder CEO Sean Rad Ready To Grow Up?
FAST COMPANY – Jan 11 – The addictive Tinder is as much cultural phenomenon as dating app which is now responsible for 1.3M dates per week. It has ballooned to 9.6M DAU, accounting for ~1.4B swipes per day. Despite Tinder’s fast success, CEO Sean Rad has endured an unusually bumpy few years, including reams of skeptical press, a sexual harassment lawsuit, and his temporary ouster as CEO. Ultimately the board decided that Tinder’s unique culture needed Rad. He is back and plans to build it into a robust ad vehicle and subscription service, and also believes it could go beyond dating. In some ways, it's what makes him a perfect ambassador for Tinder: his youth, his energy, his intuitive grasp of the app's core audience. Right now he is focusing not only on improving Tinder's core functionality, but on how to broaden the app's appeal and generate revenues. Launching new features such as Super Like is a big part of that strategy.