Month: November 2019
Mark Zuckerberg Let Tinder Get Special Access to Users’ Data
FORBES – Nov 8 – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered entering the online dating business as far back as 2014, but he put the idea on the back burner, instead giving Tinder special access to its users' data, leaked emails between top executives show. The leaked correspondence is part of an ongoing lawsuit between Facebook and Six4Three, a now-defunct app developer that sued Facebook in 2015 for restricting user data access, alleging the actions were uncompetitive. The correspondence shows how perilously close Tinder came to losing key access to Facebook user information that helped Tinder grow rapidly in its early years, when members often used their Facebook logins to access the app. When Facebook further restricted the kind of information third-party apps could access after the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in March 2018, Tinder's app crashed. Tinder was on Facebook's radar in 2013. Zuckerberg wrote in January 2014 to two executives: "Tinder's growth is especially alarming to me because their product is built completely on Facebook data, and it's much better than anything we've built for recommendations using the same corpus." In 2014, Facebook announced it would start preventing third-party app developers from having access to data on users' friends, including birth dates, photos and pages they liked. The company gave a May 2015 deadline for developers to comply with its new set of access rules. However, Zuckerberg made some companies and apps an exception. Tinder was one. Facebook agreed to give Tinder a special data-sharing agreement, internally known as "whitelists," if the dating app shared trademark rights on "MOMENTS." which was the planned name for a photo app that Facebook wanted to launch, an email exchange in March 2015 showed. When asked about this agreement in 2018, a spokeswoman for Tinder said: "Tinder never received special treatment, data or access related to this dispute or its resolution." Other dating apps that had whitelist agreements with Facebook include Bumble, Badoo, Coffee Meets Bagel, Hinge and jSwipe.
What Does Kunlun Want With Grindr?
LA MAGAZINE – Nov 7 – In 2016 when a largely unknown Chinese company dropped $93M to purchase a controlling stake in Grindr, the news caught everyone by surprise. Beijing Kunlun and Grindr were not an obvious match. In the spring of 2018, Kunlun was notified of a U.S. investigation into whether it was harnessing Grindr's user data for nefarious purposes. Then, in November last year, Grindr's new, Chinese-appointed, and heterosexual president, Scott Chen, ignited a firestorm among the app's mostly queer staff when he posted a Facebook comment indicating he is opposed to gay marriage. Now, sources say, even the FBI is breathing down Grindr's neck, reaching out to former employees for dirt about the demographics of the company, the security of its data, and the motivations of its owner. "The big question the FBI is trying to answer is: Why did this Chinese company purchase Grindr when they couldn't expand it to China or get any Chinese benefit from it?" says one former app executive. "Did they really expect to make money, or are they in this for the data?" The U.S. gave Kunlun a firm June deadline to sell to an American suitor. Grindr founder Joel Simkhai, who orchestrated the sale to Kunlun, declined to comment for this article, but one source says he's heartbroken by how everything has gone down.
Tinder’s Interactive Video Series ‘Swipe Night’ Is Going International Next Year
TECH CRUNCH – Nov 7 – Swipe Night was a success. According to Match Group, "millions" of Tinder users tuned into to watch the show's episodes during its run in October, and this drove double-digit increases in both matches and messages. As a result, Match confirmed its plans to launch Swipe Night outside the U.S. in early 2020. Swipe Night asked users to make decisions to advance a narrative that followed a group of friends in an "apocalyptic adventure." The 5-minute long episodes ran every Sunday night in October from 6 PM to midnight. Swipe Night led to a 20% to 25% increase in "likes" and a 30% increase in matches. Also importantly, the series helped boost female engagement in the app. Swipe Night isn't the only video product Match Group has in the works. Plenty of Fish and Twoo are testing live streaming broadcasts.
by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch
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How Can Dating Apps Protect Users From the Fate of the McDonald’s CEO
MARKETWATCH – Nov 6 – Rules on workplace relationships are becoming increasingly common in the #MeToo era. The firing of McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook because of a consensual relationship with an employee is just the latest reminder that office relationships are tricky terrain, and can end badly if they aren't handled carefully. Some companies have procedures for disclosing relationships, but others outright ban it. Almost 80% of companies frown on subordinate-manager dating, according to a survey by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That's up from 70% in January 2018. Dating analyst Mark Brooks said he doesn't know of a single app that proactively helps users spot co-workers and then block them. "This seems like a logical and valuable feature, and perhaps a dating app will jump on it now. Simply adding a question, 'Where do you work?' and 'Are you allowed to date co-workers?' would help dating apps protect users from the fate of the McDonald’s CEO," Brooks said. "Sour relationships breed sour workplaces. Unfortunately, there seems to be a mismatch between dating-app features and guarding users against this kind of faux pas," he added.
Rosette Pambakian Says Arbitration Deal Doesn’t Cover Assault
LAW360 – Nov 6 – Rosette Pambakian, an ex-Tinder executive, who claims she was wrongly fired for reporting an alleged sexual assault by its parent company's then-CEO urged a California federal judge to keep the case out of arbitration, saying she was tricked into signing an unconscionable arbitration agreement that doesn't cover the purported wrongdoing.
Match Group Q3 Earnings, Shares Plummet Following a Weak Q4 Forecast
WSJ – Nov 6 – In Q3, Match Group's profit rose to $151.5M, from $130M in Q3 '18. The revenue rose 22% YOY to $541.5M, topping analysts' expectations of $540.7M. Yet total operating costs and expenses jumped 20% in the quarter as selling and marketing, product development, amortization and general operating expenses nudged higher. Overall average subscribers rose to 9.6M in the latest quarter, up from 8.1M in the year-ago period. Shares of Match Group dropped 16% after the company's financial targets for the current quarter came in below analysts' estimates. Match Group said it expects total revenue for the Q4 to be $545M – $555M, falling below analysts' estimates of $559M in revenue. Match also projected adjusted EBITDA in the range of $205M to $210M, behind analysts'target of $228M, and also said it expects to spend ~$25M in long-term investments and incremental legal costs in the Q4. Match Group is involved in several legal tussles, most recently with the Federal Trade Commission over claims that it induced nonpaying users to subscribe to its Match.com app based on "fake profiles." Match is also involved in an intellectual-property battle with Bumble, as well as multiple suits against a Tinder co-founder.
OPW Podcast – The Top Dating Industry News for Nov 5th
OPW – Nov 5 – IAC/Match, M17/Paktor, & 'too broke to date'.
For the top weekly dating industry news in ~2 minutes subscribe to OPW's Two Minute Tuesdays (TMT) podcast on Breaker, Google podcasts, Spotify, Anchor.
M17 Acquires Livestreaming Platform MeMe Live
TECH IN ASIA – Nov 4 – Taiwanese social media startup M17 Group has acquired MeMe Live, a livestreaming platform focused on markets in Asia Pacific. The company claims that the deal would bring its total market share of the livestreaming industry in developed Asia to 60%. The company also expects the acquisition to help it reach annual group revenues of $1B. Established in April 2017, M17 is the holding firm for Taiwanese livestreaming portal 17 Media, Singapore-based dating app Paktor Group, business-to-business live commerce service HandsUP, and artist agency Unicorn Entertainment. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
by Miguel Cordon
See full article at Tech In Asia
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
CEO of Hinge: What the World Will Be Like in 50 Years
QZ – Nov 4 – Justin McLeod is the founder and CEO at Hinge, the dating app designed to be deleted. McLeod founded Hinge in February 2011. Upset by the negative hookup culture dating apps had created, he relaunched the app in October 2016 as more serious dating app. The company's user base has grown 400% in the last year.
Q: What kinds of companies will be the most important?
McLeod: Companies that serve our deeper human needs and help us feel connection, not validation.
Q: What will cause the biggest conflicts?
A: The same thing that causes the biggest conflicts today. As Pascal put it more than 400 years ago, "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." With constant distraction in our pockets, we seem to be connected to everything and everyone – except ourselves.
Q: How will people earn a living?
A: Empathy, connection, and companionship.
Q: How will we communicate with each other?
A: My hope is that we can engineer ways for people to communicate and connect on a deeper level than many of us are used to via social media updates and small talk.
Q: How will we entertain one another?
A: We'll be doing it in-person. I believe screens will fade out of existence, though augmented reality will certainly be part of our daily lives.
Q: How will we find love?
A: I believe choosing a partner will become an informed, data-driven decision.
Q: What kinds of stories will we tell?
A: We will look back on today with shock at how tethered we were to our phones.
Q: What will our most valuable resource be?
A: Love. The scarcest resource will be giving one another our time, care, and attention.
Q: What technology will bring about the biggest change in society?
A: Nanotech, augmented reality, AI, and connected devices.
Q: What's your best prediction for the world in 50 years?
A: Screens will become a thing of the past as we become disenchanted with our phones and tablets, and we learn to make real life more exciting through connected devices, augmented reality, and biological innovations.