MARKETING DAILY – Dec 13 – The campaign, "Be My Gnomie?," was developed and created by advertising agency 3Headed Monster, Dallas. It runs through late January. Interested users are invited to convince the gnome, via Instagram photo or video, that they're the one he needs to bring along on a vacation. The prize is a 10-day Caribbean vacation for two. The effort targets Millennials and the primary media is Tinder, where the gnome has what appears to be his own dating profile page. Display banners are running on other dating sites such as Match.com, OKCupid, PeopleMedia.
Month: December 2017
Q&A With eHarmony’s VP Of Content, Jeannie Assimos
HUFFINGTON POST – Dec 13 –
Q: VP of Content is so inspirational to many of us. Tell us about your career trajectory.
A: Since I was a kid, I've been interested in telling stories and writing. I pursued a degree in cinema. My career began at Entertainment Tonight (ET). Later I quit and the eharmony job landed in my lap three weeks later. Nine years later, I've learned so much about dating and relationships.
Q: What piqued your interest in the dating and relationship industry?
A: Who isn't interested in telling stories about love, breakups, and dating?
Q: How do you think technology has played a role in modern dating?
A: Technology connects us like never before. It is easier than ever to secure a date.
Q: What are some of the challenges eharmony sees?
A: Getting people to look beyond 2-3 photos and read what a potential match has to say on their profile continues to present itself as a challenge.
Q: How 2nd wave apps are playing a role in modern dating?
A: I welcome all of them. When swiping fatigue sets in, I would hope these people would come and try eHarmony.
Q: What are some of the top dating concerns your users report?
A: 18 to 24 year olds were most worried about not getting responses to the messages. In contrast, 50 to 64 year olds were afraid of being catfished.
Q: What can we do to avoid these things?
A: Know what you are looking for in a partner. If you do find someone online who looks promising, move it to a real-life interaction as soon as possible. Meet someone in a public place, let a few friends know where you are going, and get yourself there.
Ashley Madison Threatens To Sue ‘Tinder For One Night Stands’ – CasualX
METRO.CO.UK – Dec 14 – The infidelity app Ashley Madison has threatened to sue a rival sex app after accusing it of copying its trademarks. It has ordered a hook-up app called CasualX to immediately change its branding and slogan or face legal action. CasualX, which markets itself as 'the Tinder for casual sex', advertises its services with the words 'Life is boring. Desire a fling?' Ashley Madison feels this is too similar to its own slogan: 'Life is short. Have an affair.' It also called on CasualX to stop using a picture showing a masked woman pressing a finger to her lips, which is allegedly similar to an image used by Ashley Madison.
by Jasper Hamill
See full article at Metro.co.uk
The Inner Circle: “Fine Dating – Fine People”
THETIMES.CO.UK – Dec 13 – Way back in 2000s David Vermeulen was just another ambitious young business school graduate. He was looking for a serious, grown-up relationship. He tried a couple of dating sites, but he wasn't impressed with the calibre of prospective mates. "There were just a lot of women and it was hard to filter through them. So, I thought, 'Why not make a platform with better quality people on it?'" Vermeulen, 41, is now the CEO of The Inner Circle, which he launched in Amsterdam in 2013 with Michael Krayenhoff. It's the fastest-expanding "curated dating" platform in Europe and it's rolling out in the US too. The Inner Circle claims 650K active users. New members can't sign up, they have to apply, or be invited by another member. The Inner Circle team looks at education, profession and connections on social media. Users also get to take part in real-life Inner Circle social events – polo matches, wine tastings and frequently holiday together. There are other elite dating platforms such as Luxy, Raya, Beautiful People or The League.
by Richard Godwin
See full article at TheTimes.co.uk
OkCupid App Developer Talks About New Messaging System
DAILY VOICE – Dec 16 – Glen Rock's Joe Acosta is an app developer at OkCupid. He played an integral part in rolling out the company's new, experimental open messaging system. "Our old system was a completely open messaging system," said Acosta. "Anyone could send multiple messages to anyone and the messages would go straight to the recipient's Messages Screen." With the new OkCupid messaging system, users will only see messages if they choose to go to the sender's profile, after noticing that the person has messaged them. If the receiver decides that they're not interested in that person, they can pass on reading the message. The change came after many OkCupid users reported that they were so inundated with messages that sifting through them became an unimaginably stressful task.
LinkedIn’s Career Advice App Vs. Bumble Bizz
Everyth1ng Y0u Kn0w Ab0ut P@ssw0rds 1s Wr0ng
Our Body After Breakup – Infographic By HeyCrush.com
HEYCRUSH – Dec 14 – Here is an interesting infographic about what our body is going through after a breakup. The infographic, titled "What happens to your body after a breakup?", details the latest scientific breakthroughs and explains the neuroscience of breakups.
Alex Harrington, CEO Of Snap Interactive, Talks About Blockchain
SNN – Dec 14 – Snap Interactive, the publicly traded company, is bringing in some Blockchain-enabled technology. Alex Harrington, the CEO talked about Snap's Blockchain initiatives at the LD Micro "Main Event" 2017 in Bel Air, CA. "We are developing a new app called Backchannel that is a secure video-enabled app. One of the powerful things about Blockchain is that you can sign in with an app without showing your real identity. You do it with a CryptoID. It enhances the security and privacy."
All Snap's apps have freemium model. "We have free users through which we collect the advertising revenue and then we have paid users that upgrade to a subscription. Both free and paid users buy virtual gifts. So virtual gifts is a significant part of our transactional revenue. Overall transactional revenue makes up about 90-91% of our total revenue. BackChannel will also be a freemium model but there will be tokens so most of the payments will be different."
"The Blockchain initiative is a really big driver of growth because it extends the capability of what we can deliver to customers, and really improve the back end capability – content delivery, storage and payments."
Dating Sites Must Do More To Protect Users From ‘Catfishing’
HUFFINGTON POST – Dec 14 – Ann Coffey, a British labor party politician, is campaigning for a new law to make it illegal to create a false identify online and pretend to be someone else to form a romantic relationships – known as 'catfishing'. Dating sites and social media companies should also be doing more to protect people from 'catfish'. She is proposing to introduce a new name and shame league table of dating sites to expose those stuffed with fake profiles.