LA MAGAZINE – Jan 9 – "About two and a half years ago, I started getting a ton of inquiries from women living in LA trying to find a good, like-minded man," says Amy Andersen, the San Francisco-based matchmaker. Andersen founded her company, Linx Dating, in part to find women for the men of Silicon Valley, who can be peculiar, to say the least. She grew up in nearby Marin County but got into a serious relationship with a "quintessential Silicon Valley geek," to whom she is now married. "I witnessed that there was a huge surplus of eligible men and a dearth of women," she says. According to a recent article in The Washington Post, there are 40% more men than women just in Palo Alto (home to SAP, Tesla, and Hewlett-Packard). In 2018 women held only 20% of all jobs in tech. Talia Goldstein, founder of the L.A.-based matchmaking service Three Day Rule, has paired a number of SoCal women with Silicon Valley men. "The more successful they are, the pickier they get," she says, "especially those techie guys that maybe didn't have all the girls in high school. Now they're really choosy."
Month: January 2020
Alibaba Praised by China’s Gay Community for Ad Recognizing Same-sex Couples
REUTERS – Jan 9 – Alibaba Group has released subtle ad that features a gay couple returning home for the Lunar New Year. The spot began to circulate widely on Chinese social media as gay groups praised it for its good-natured humor and subtlety. Depictions of gay and lesbian individuals in entertainment and media are rare, due to government dissuasion or outright censorship. However, China has vibrant gay communities and activists in its major cities, and same sex couples are increasingly tolerated across society.
Here’s How Much Brits Are Spending on Dating
Hinge Opens Merch Store With ‘Delete Day’ Goods
History of the ’90s Podcast: The Birth of Online Dating
GLOBAL NEWS – Jan 8 – On this episode of History of the ’90s, host Kathy Kenzora looks back at the creation of online dating and how it became such a normal part of our lives. She talked to Gary Kremen, the creator of Match.com, the first mainstream dating website, and asked him what inspired him to use the Internet to solve the age-old problem of finding a perfect match.
Quibi Is Launching Interactive Dating Series ‘The Hot Drop’
DEADLINE – Jan 8 – Quibi, the mobile video platform, is looking to revolutionize the tech-driven dating experience with the real-time, interactive dating series The Hot Drop. It will be produced by ITV America's Sirens Media and by ITV Studios Entertainment. The Hot Drop will start each week by dropping a profile of one of the most eligible singles of all genders and sexual preferences in America. Through the Quibi app, the audience can submit videos for the chance to go on a date with the aforementioned single. That same week, Quibi will reveal the top three candidates. From there, it's up to the Quibi community to determine who goes on the date. By the end of the week, the audience will watch the eligible single and the winning candidate meet for the very first time and go on their date.
What’s on in 2020 – Your Complete Events Calendar
iDate (InternetDatingConference.com) events are 2 dayers, actually 3 days including the pre-conferences. They've been around for years, and have 50 events under their belt. Led by Marc Lesnick, assisted by Elena Lesnick.
GDI (Global Dating Insights) events are 1 dayers, with speakers speaking for 20 minutes. Now an established industry event. GDI runs daily news rewrites, interviews and GDI events. Led by Simon Corbett, assisted by GDI.news editor Dominic Whitlock.
IDEA (Internet Dating Excellence Association) SUMMIT events (see latest event at IDEASUMMIT.org) are small gatherings just for dating industry leaders to learn and share. These gatherings are usually in the board room of a hosting established dating industry company with 20-25 speaker-attendees who speak for 10 minutes each to share a meaningful idea. At each gathering we also invite one IDEA Alumni, i.e. someone who was senior and left the industry, plus a (promising) startup CEO, plus the CEO of a vendor of interest. Each event is led by the CEO of a leading dating company and co-hosted by Mark Brooks, assisted by OPW.news editor Irena Brooks.
I recommend picking off at least two or three events this year so you can stay connected with industry trends and your peers. Have fun, stay informed, and good luck growing your dating business in 2020. Here's the complete pick list.
Q1
Jan 30th & 31st – iDate Delray Beach, Florida – $645
March 6th – IDEA SUMMIT New York – Free
By invitation only for 25 dating industry leaders
March 7-8-9th – IDEA WOW New York – 3 half days of social events – At-cost
March 10th – GDI New York – $299
Q2
May 9-11th – IDEA SUMMIT + WOW Asia in Kuala Lumpur/Singapore TBD
May 12th – GDI Singapore – $299
May 23rd & 24th – iDate Premium International Dating (PID) in Odessa – 245 EUR
Q3
June 10th – IDEA SUMMIT Los Angeles – Free
June 11th – GDI Los Angeles – $299
Q4
Oct 1st – GDI London
Nov – IDEA SUMMIT + WOW Europe in UK/Germany/Malta TBD
If you're a traditional matchmaker or run a modern/hybrid matchmaking firm you should also take in a Matchmaking Institute Conference. Their Global Love Conferences are right after the GDI New York and Singapore and London conferences. See MatchmakingInstitute.com for tix.
Co-Parenting Sites Skip Love and Marriage, Go Right to the Baby Carriage
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Jan 7 – Sites like PollenTree.com and Modamily match people who want to have children, but not necessarily romance. "The alarm clock goes off for men as much as it does for women. You'd be surprised by the number of young, professional straight men who want to have kids," said Patrick Harrison, co-founder of PollenTree, the largest of the subscription-based co-parenting sites. (The service also connects people with egg and sperm donors.) He said ~60% of the co-parenting seekers are women. The male clientele is evenly split between single gay men and heterosexual men, both seeking to be co-parents with women. There are also same-sex couples looking to have a mother or father figure in their child's life. The success rate is hard to measure. PollenTree has had ~90K members since its 2012 launch. Mr. Harrison estimates that ~500 babies have been born as a result of co-parenting matches on the site.
AI Companies Offer Fake Profiles
Video Calling – the Next Big Thing in 2020
MIRROR.CO.UK – Jan 7 – Badoo was the first dating app to test video feature in 2016, which can only be activated once both parties have matched and exchanged one message. The call happens through the app so there's no need to share any personal details like a phone number. Tristan Pineiro, head of communications, claims that the chances of a real life date being a success are higher if you've had a video call before.