SENSORTOWER – Sep 24 – The top grossing dating app worldwide for August 2019 was Tinder with $79.9M in user spending, which represented 7% growth from August 2018, according to Sensor Tower. 43% of Tinder's revenue was from the US, followed by 7% from UK and 6% from Brazil. Bumble was the second highest earning dating app worldwide in August 2019 with ~$20M in gross revenue, which represented 55% YOY growth. ~80% of Bumble's revenue was from the U.S., followed by 7% from UK.
Month: September 2019
Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg on Expanding Into International Markets
CNBC – Sep 25 – Mandy Ginsberg, CEO at Match Group, joins "Squawk Box" to discuss pushing her company's dating sites/apps into an international market. "Today, 40% of relationship are through dating apps, and that's up 3% from 14 years ago", Mandy said. What is really changing are markets in Asia such as India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia.
Here Is How Facebook Dating Works
WIRED – Sep 24 – Facebook Dating's US rollout includes a few new updates, including safety features and more Instagram integration. Users can now feature permanent Instagram posts in their Dating profiles. By the end of the year, Facebook says it will also allow them to share Instagram or Facebook Stories. Instagram will also become part of Secret Crush, an existing Facebook Dating feature that lets users select up to nine Facebook friends they want to express an interest in. User can turn off matching with friends of friends, they can also block people from seeing their Facebook Dating profile. Before meeting someone in person for the first time, many people tell a friend or family member where they're going and when they expect to be back, in case something happens. More recently, people have been sharing their location using tools like Apple's Find My Friends. Facebook will allow them to automatically open Messenger from Dating and tell a friend the name of the person they're going on a date with, as well as the time and place where they plan to hang out. Fifteen minutes before your date happens, that person will receive a notification reminder and access to their live location. But unlike Find My Friends, the location is only shared for up to an hour, at least for now.
Lumen Ads: 50 Is Just a New Start
OPW – Sep 23 – With its latest ads, dating app Lumen wants to show the world that being over 50 doesn't mean people can't be sexy and have fun. The ad is featuring 8 British over 50s, living their best lives. Lumen is a dating platform for over 50s. It was launched in September 2018 and provides a safe and age-appropriate environment for older men and women.
The Rise of Bharat Matrimony
THE NEWS MINUTE – Sep 23 – BharatMatrimony's origin began in the US in 1997 when Murugavel Janakiraman started a website for the Tamil community, called sysindia.com. The site included features like the Tamil daily calendar, festival reminders, tips and matrimonial service which later became BharatMatrimony. In 2000, he returned to India to start his own office in Chennai. Muruga was inspired by IAC and began to create his network of websites. Clickjobs.com and Indiaproperty.com were launched in 2005. Indialist.com (local classifieds modelled on Craigslist), Loanwala.com and Indiaautomobile.com were next in line. In 2005, things started changing. Companies that had been around for a while and had survived the dot-com crash were seeing a lot of interest from investors. The biggest competitor Shaadi.com raised $8M. Muruga met more than ten investors around that time but couldn't raise money from any of them. "We were generating $4M in revenue and some of the investors made lowball offers of $10M valuations," he said. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the investment bankers organised a meeting with Yahoo! Cannan Partners got the wind that Yahoo! was considering an investment in BharatMatrimony and jumped in to participate in the round. In August 2006, BharatMatrimony announced an $8.65M financing from Yahoo! and Cannan Partners. Yahoo! dumped Shaadi.com as their exclusive partner and replaced them with BharatMatrimony. "We kind of spent most of the money on marketing. We had a play in all these classifieds like jobs, matrimonial, real estate, and vehicles with competitors in each. It turned out that $8M was too little for the entire portfolio to grow and succeed." Thankfully, for Muruga, right before they ran out of cash in early 2008, they managed to raise ~$11.75M. This time, Mayfield Fund led the round and there was participation from existing investors, Yahoo! and Canaan Partners. "We plan to leverage this fund to expand our matrimony business in the international markets and to strengthen our classifieds offerings."
by Sidharth Rao
See full article at The News Minute
Founder of Old Style Dating Named One of the UK’s Top Female Entrepreneurs of 2019
Tinder Japan’s Latest Ad Says the App Is a Good Way to Learn English
TIMEOUT – Sep 23 – Earlier this month, Tinder released a video ad for its Japanese market, which shows a young woman wearily studying English over a pile of books late at night. Tired of her notebooks, she opens the Tinder app on her phone and swipes right on a friendly looking female westerner. The subsequent scene reveals the two singing karaoke together, presumably picking up some language skills as they sing a variety of different songs. The video's tagline translates to 'I want to know the world more'.
by Emma Steen
See full article at TimeOut
80% Young Singles Sign up for Online Dating Service
XINHUA – Sep 21 – A recent survey by the China Youth Daily found that 78.8% of the ~2K respondents used marriage websites, mobile apps or social media to seek spouses. 60% of those surveyed are interested in the matching services. 54% of the respondents said they had friends who found partners through online dating services.
Texas Outlawed Unsolicited Nude Pictures
NEWS4SA – Sep 21 – 40% of millennial women in the U.S. have reported receiving an unsolicited nude picture, according to a YouGov study. Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, filed House Bill 2789. It took effect September 1, 2019 after Governor Greg Abbott signed it into effect. The law makes sending a nude photo without the recipient's consent a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500. Bumble helped push for the law. However, not everyone seems on board with the new law. Attorney Don Flanary says the way HB 2789 is written broad and violates the First Amendment, because it specifically bans the "unlawful electronic transmission of sexually explicit visual material." Flanary says something "sexually explicit" isn't necessarily considered "obscene". "Obscenity" is not protected by the First Amendment. He says "obscenity" is what's missing from the law's wording. For example, images of breastfeeding on social media could now be considered illegal. Texting a picture of your body to your doctor for medical reasons could be as well.