FLIPPA – July 16 – LoveFlutter, the 'Twitter Dating' app is looking for a buyer on Flippa.
Month: July 2018
Jennifer Lopez Gives Dating Advice To A Tinder User
HELLOGIGGLES – July 16 – In a new video from Tinder‘s “Swipe Sessions” series, Lopez sat down with a woman named Brooke Ansley to offer her some help finding a mate on the dating app.
Match CEO: “People Don’t Want Facebook Meddling In Their Dating Lives”
by Eric Johnson
See full article at Recode
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7 Nigerians Charged In Alleged Dating Site Scheme
ASSOCIATED PRESS – July 15 – Seven Nigerians are facing charges after prosecutors say they targeted people on dating sites and swindled them out of ~$1.5M. Five have been arrested and two are fugitives.
Why Facebook’s Dating Service Will Fail
CTECH – July 13 – Former AOL and dating service Badoo executive Amit Shafrir explains why he believes the recently announced Facebook dating service stands little chance of succeeding.
- Single app policy
Facebook has announced that it will incorporate its dating service into its flagship app. A separate app focused on dating would be the correct approach. Here is why:
– Context
Everything we do, we do within a certain context. When we browse LinkedIn we are in a work or professional context; when we browse Facebook, we are in a social context; and when we are using a dating app, we are in a fun, entertainment or optimistic context.
– Demographics
Millennials and members of Generation Z, who are the prime targets of any dating service do not generally use Facebook. They do use Instagram.
– Promotion
It would look somewhat off to have other Facebook assets promote the main Facebook app, and given the different demographics, would probably not be very effective.
– Virality
A great dating app should have a natural buzz to it. That is not Facebook. App store Users searching for dating apps on Apple's App Store or Google Play would not see Facebook among their results. - Monetization
Monetization is simply not in Facebook's DNA. - Thinking small
My sense is that Facebook is not treating this opportunity with the gravitas that its potential merits. It is limiting itself to a small subset of its vast user base of over 2B, and to a subset of potential functionality.
by Amit Shafrir
See full article at CTech
IAC CEO Joey Levin: We Bought Hinge To Disrupt Ourselves
CHEDDAR – July 13 – At first glance, Match Group's acquisition of dating app Hinge, known as the "anti-Tinder," doesn't seem to make much sense. But for parent company IAC, the more competition – even internally – the better. "We have always disrupted ourselves, and we like to disrupt ourselves," explained Joey Levin, CEO of IAC. "So when we see something that says it's the anti-something-we're-doing, if it's a good business, it's a good management team, it's a good story, it's a good product, that's something we're interested in doing. We like competing with ourselves."
by Conor White
See full article at Cheddar
MeetMindful Is For People Who Love Yoga
WESTWORD – July 12 – Amy Baglan is a co-founder of the online dating platform MeetMindful. Baglan wants her dating site to be a tech fix to tech stress, enabling people to connect in meaningful ways with others who are also interested in "mindful living." The origins of MeetMindful date back to 2006, when Baglan was the VP of a New York City startup, Ez Texting. She started to practice yoga and meditation, and found that they "filled a void" in her personal life. In 2010, she quit her job and embarked on a journey to India and Southeast Asia. In 2012, Baglan returned to the US, and founded a company called Yoga Dates, which hosted events like "Yoga Speed Dating" and "Vinyasa and Vino." The events were instantly popular. In 2014, Baglan met Adam Taylor, and together they created a successful prototype of the site she'd envisioned. The next year, Baglan and Taylor launched a beta version and were accepted into Techstars Boulder Accelerator. MeetMindful has been growing ever since, nearly doubling the size of its team over the past six months, and recently raising $5.5M.
OKCupid: Users Who Show ACLU Support Get More Dates
THE HILL – July 12 – People who show their support for the ACLU on their online dating profile are more likely to get a date than those who don't, according to OkCupid. The company began offering a pro-ACLU badge about a month ago that displays on a user's profile if they answer yes to a question about supporting the ACLU. Users who are pro-ACLU also get 15% more "likes".
Bumble Narrows Down Filmmakers For Female Film Fund
DEADLINE – July 12 – Bumble is offering five filmmakers £20K to make a short film. It has narrowed this down to ten filmmakers with five of them set to be revealed in August, with their films launching in January. The project is being overseen by stars including Guardians of the Galaxy and Elementary star Ophelia Lovibond and Black Mirror star Georgina Campbell, as well as radio presenter Edith Bowman, and others.
Hinge Releases “Most Compatible” Feature
YAHOO LIFESTYLE – July 11 – This new feature recommends one highly compatible match every day. The app selects the matches based on algorithms that suss out users previous actions on the app and their interests. Hinge's latest feature comes on the heels of Match Group's purchase of a 51% controlling stake in the app in June. It also comes over a year after the company moved away from swiping.