Month: July 2019
Spark Networks Appoints New CFO
PR NEWSWIRE – July 30 – Bert Althaus is joining Spark Networks as CFO, effective September 16th, 2019. Bert currently serves as Senior VP Finance for Berlin-based home24 SE, the home and living e-commerce platform in continental Europe and Brazil. Prior to joining home24, he spent over eight years at Ernst & Young. Bert will replace Rob O'Hare, who has resigned to pursue a senior financial executive role at another company based in San Francisco.
Q&A With David Yarus, Founder of JSwipe
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS – July 30 – JSwipe is a Tinder-like app for Jews.
Q: What have you learned since you founded JSwipe in 2014?
A: I have developed a much deeper understanding of the millennial Jewish experience. They are the least traditionally religious generation in recent history. What I've learned is that there’s a disconnect between them and what I call "Big Jewish", the governing bodies of the Jewish world, which are run primarily by our grandparents' and parents' generations.
Q: What is the disconnect between Big Jewish and millennial Jews?
A: I believe it's because Big Jewish is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into what's essentially the Jewish Oldsmobile, to try to push it forward and appeal to us, while Jewish millennials want the Jewish Tesla.
Q: What are some characteristics that might define Jewish Tesla?
A: My core struggle is a question that I was only recently able to express: what is the role of particularism in universalism? I went to Jewish day school, shul every Friday night, Shabbat, kosher, the whole shebang. I went on Birthright, I learned in Israel, I did all those things. It's important for me to be Jewish, but also important to be part of the broader society as a whole, and I’m not always sure how to balance those things.
Smart Women Are Welcome on Tinder
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY – July 28 – Past studies have indicated that while brains boost men's attractiveness, they can be detrimental to a woman's allure. However, a new study indicates that on Tinder, men are not deterred by a woman's intelligence. Two researchers from Belgium conducted an experiment on Tinder. They created 24 profiles and randomly assigned each to one of four different education/pay levels. Based on 3,600 swipes, the researchers replicated past findings that women prefer more educated men. However, they failed to replicate the findings that men reject more educated women. Interestingly, they also did not replicate prior findings that people partner with those with a similar education level.
China’s Kunlun to Relaunch Grindr IPO
REUTERS – July 28 – Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun is relaunching Grindr's IPO process after it said a U.S. national security panel had dropped its opposition to the plan. Beijing Kunlun was preparing for an IPO (IPO) of Grindr in September, but the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), which reviews deals for potential national security concerns, intervened. At the request of U.S. officials, Kunlun that month agreed to sell the dating app. Grindr will be listed on a stock exchange outside China. Beijing Kunlun acquired a majority stake in Grindr in 2016 for $93M and bought out the remainder of the company in 2018.
BBC to Launch a New TV Show “For Love or Money”
Can Grindr Survive? Q&A With Grindr’s Former Staff Writer
NPR.ORG – July 28 – Once a mainstay of queer culture, gay dating app Grindr is slipping at representing all aspects of LGBTQ people. NPR’s Scott Simon speaks to journalist Mathew Rodriguez about why. He is a former staff writer at Grindr’s own news site, Into.
Tinder Reveals Which Star Signs Get the Most Right Swipes
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OPW – July 28 – Subscribe via email, or social media, and perhaps we'll fall for each other.
Tinder’s Take on Safety in Its New Commercial
OPW – July 27 – "It's really important that women never go to someone's house, they meet in a public place, they don't drink…", said Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group, in 2018 HBO documentary "Swiped". And here are Tinder's official guidelines to women for not getting raped: 1. Never go to someone's house, 2. Meet in a public place, 3. Don't drink, 4. Let someone know where you're going and 5. Never go into someone's car. Yet the new Tinder commercial "Don't Fly Solo" suggests just that. The video features a young woman traveling alone. She is meeting strangers through Tinder app, and jumping into their cars. What's worse, she arranges a meeting with strangers literally in the middle of nowhere. She has a good time and makes lots of new friends but unfortunately, we don't live in a fairytale world. In the real world, these encounters could end up really badly. We find this ad disconcerting. What are you thoughts?
For years Tinder had been trying to shed its hook up imagine. But in Q3 2018 Match Group decided to double down on its casual nature following the acquisition of Hinge, a dating app for more serious relationships. This video is a part of the new "SingleNotSorry" campaign that is celebrating the single life, and portrays Tinder as a more casual dating app. – Irena Brooks, editor of OnlinePersonalsWatch
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