SLATOR – June 13 – Former investment banker Shahzad Younas and tech entrepreneur Ryan Brodie have raised $1.75M in seed investment for a business idea that has quickly caught on among young Muslims in 190 countries. Muzmatch now has ~500K users in the English speaking world, and is now ready to take the business global. On June 14, 2018, in time for the celebration of Eid al Fitr or the end of the Ramadan, the company is launching the service internationally in 12 languages – French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Turkish, Bengali, Farsi, Urdu, Hindi, Indonesian and Malay. Younas revealed that localizing the app was no walk in the park. "Firstly, we had some technical work to undertake – namely extracting out every text/string from both our server-side code as well as the individual app codes – both on iOS and Android. Once done we aggregated this into a spreadsheet, and then began the task of seeking translators for each language," he said. There was also no technology deployed to the translation process and the team relied only on Google Sheets.
Month: June 2018
Survey Finds Wide Interest In Facebook Dating Service
AXIOS – June 13 – According to data collected by user research firm Alpha, the majority of Facebook users who already use dating apps would be interested in an online dating service from the company.
The Meet Group Launches LOVOO Live In Spain And Italy
BUSINESSWIRE – June 13 – The Meet Group announced the release of live video on LOVOO, its leading European dating app, in Spain and Italy. "We are pleased to continue rolling out livestreaming video to the LOVOO audience, building on our previous launches in Austria, Switzerland, and France with this expansion to Spain and Italy," said Geoff Cook, CEO of The Meet Group. "We are progressing ahead of schedule, and we expect to bring Live to Germany, LOVOO's largest country, later this summer." Live lets users interact with one another by allowing them to broadcast from anywhere at any time.
Three Reasons Why Facebook Dating Is Huge For Marketers
FORBES – June 13 – Facebook doesn't do anything just because it wants users to have a great time. FB's interest is gathering user data and selling ad space. It's not surprising that Facebook is jumping into the online dating space. This service isn't for users; it's for marketers. Here are three ways that Facebook's entrance into the dating game can help people.
- More Accurate Targeting Based On Relationship Status
Now, when users sign up for the dating app, Facebook can track their usage and know if they are actively looking for a new relationship, reference this with their interests and allow marketers to get even stronger behavioral targeting. - Greater Opportunity For Niche Industries
Facebook doesn't have a targeting option that tells businesses someone is planning a first date. But with dating services, we're now able to not only select the right audiences but target them at the exact moment they're looking for the perfect date idea. - More Relevant News Feed
One of the greatest things about the dating service is that you can't match with anyone you're already friends with. People will stop adding users they don't know but find attractive if they use the app. This inadvertently purges the News Feed of irrelevant posts from people the user doesn't personally know. This decreased noise/increased relevance means people will care more about the content they're seeing, which increases time spent on the platform.
by Josh Sample
See full article at Forbes
Meet The Woman Responsible For Tinder Places
VOGUE – June 11 – Samantha Stevens heads up Location Products for Tinder. "Tinder is a great place to be a female in tech," she says. "Personally, it's been really smooth sailing," she says. Launching Places with her team, Stevens confirms that the whole process, from start to finish, was created by women. An achievement at the best of times, and definitely a step in the right direction in a Time's Up world.
Internet Dating Jobs Listing Update – June 2018
OPW – June 12 - The new Internet dating jobs listing is live on the Internet Dating Jobs blog.
Below see a couple of this month's most interesting offers:
CoffeeMeetsBagel
VP of Finance and Business Operations
Happn
Head of Global CRM
Hornet
Director, Sales & Partnerships
Meetic
Market Director UK
RubyLife.com
Director, Program Management
The League
Head of Finance
Zoosk
Senior Director, Analytics
To see more open positions go here.
Do you have an idating industry job offer which is not included? Please, send it to petra@courtlandbrooks.com and we will add it to the list.
Here’s Why Tinder Shouldn’t Be Worried About Facebook
by Jacob Sonenshine
See full article at Business Insider UK
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India: Tinder’s Pricing Based On Age Is The Reason To Regulate How Companies Use Data
by Piyasree Dasgupta & Gopal Sathe
See full article at Huffington Post
M17 Delays IPO Debut After Pricing This Morning On NYSE
TECH CRUNCH – June 7 – M17 Entertainment, a Taipei-based live streaming and dating app group, priced its IPO this morning on the NYSE and was expected to open trading today. But with just a little more than two hours to go before market closing, it's still not trading, and no one seems to know why. M17 has had a rocky non-debut so far. Originally targeting a fundraise of $115M of American Depository Receipts (shares of foreign companies listed domestically on the NYSE), the company concluded its roadshow raising less than half of its target, for a final investment of $60.1M. The company priced its ADR shares at $8 each. The company's main product is a live-streaming product where creators can build their fan bases and brands. Fans can purchase virtual gifts to send to their favorite artists.
Match Group CEO On Tinder: Why It’s More Than A Hookup App
FINANCE YAHOO – June 7 – If anyone understands the nuances of the competitive online dating market, it's certainly Mandy Ginsberg, who became CEO of Match Group in January after running Match Group North America for two and a half years. Match Group controls 45 businesses, including Match.com, Tinder, OkCupid, and POF. Tinder remains the portfolio's breakout property. But despite Tinder's success, Ginsberg suggests the app still has some growing up to do. Tinder began rolling out new features like Tinder Places, which lets users find potential connections based on the places they go to, and Tinder Loops which is another way for users to express themselves. "Tinder can be more one-dimensional. It is a swiping machine and the experience is a little bit superficial. So we're trying to create a much more robust experience. In two years, Tinder is not going to be just about matching – it's going to also be about how we give people a better sense of who that person is. So when you go out on a date with someone, there's going to be a higher chance of chemistry", said Mandy.
by JP Mangalindan
See full article at Yahoo Finance