Month: February 2020
Tinder Got Dumped for Hinge This Valentine’s Day
THINKNUM – Feb 28 – Over the past year, the Apple Store ratings for Hinge have grown 123%, while Tinder's rating count has only increased by 52%. Tinder's Facebook 'Talking About' count surged last Valentine's Day at 124K mentions. But this year, that number dropped 80% down to 25K. Hinge's 'Talking About' count peaked on January 2 at 1,400 mentions, likely the result of some New Year's resolutions.
ODA Announces Spark Networks as Its Latest Member
PRESS RELEASE – Feb 28 – The Online Dating Association (ODA) welcomes Spark (Elite Singles, Zoosk, Jdate). George Kidd, CEO of ODA said: "We…welcome their commitment to working with us to maintain standards and user trust in dating services. Doing so is critical to millions of people around the world…and to our ability to assure lawmakers and others that we take this responsibility seriously." Gitte Bendzulla, MD Spark said: "…Millions of people around the world trust us to help them navigate their search for a partner, and we have a deep responsibility to keep them and their data safe on this journey. We are thrilled to become a part of the ODA…joining forces with the ODA and fellow members like The Meet Group is an opportunity for us to form a strong alliance; giving all online dating users a higher quality experience." The ODA was set up in 2014 to develop and maintain standards that give users assurance and ensure businesses trade responsibly. It seeks also to inform policy makers and to promote messages to users that minimize the risk of harm.
Tinder Launches Original Short Film BlackLoveIs
BOSSIP – Feb 27 – Tinder officially launched original short film #BlackLoveIs from the acclaimed music video and film director Director X that celebrates Black Love in all its forms.
Live.me Removed From Google Play
OPW – Feb 27 – Live.me has been removed by Google Play store as part of the broader action against Cheetah Mobile, their parent. See Android Police article. This action means people who already have the Live.me app can't pay. That's not good for some in the dating industry. Live.me powers livestreaming video on Twoo for the Match Group. So this is a concern for the dating industry, and for Twoo.
Online Dating in Japan Is Growing Rapidly Amid a Global Boom
CNBC – Feb 26 – Figures from the app data tracker showed Japanese consumers' expenditure on the top 10 dating apps in the country surged 125% in the first half of 2019 – to $120M, compared to the same period two years prior. In 2019, Pairs was #1 grossing app in Japan, according to App Annie. On a global scale, Pairs ranked 5th overall in terms of consumer spend.
Report: 53% Indian Women Get Intimate Outside Marriage
IANS – Feb 26 – Gleeden's new survey revealed that 53% of Indian women had an intimate relationship outside their marriage, as compared to 43% of men. The research suggests that Indian women are pretty "open minded about infidelity". Gleeden started its operations in India in 2017 and now claims to have over 8 lakh active Indian users.
Online Daters Looking for More Than Endless Swiping
AP – Feb 25 – Some of today's app users are sick of the endless swiping according to industry leaders who are responding with new ways to get users off their phones and out meeting people in the real world. David Vermeulen's The Inner Circle launched in 2012 and curates users looking for meaningful connections, and hosts offline events in cities around the globe for 2+ million members. People have become "Tinder tired". Justin McLeod launched Hinge in 2011, and in 2016 removed the swipe option to encourage more interaction. Vermeulen plans to add an automated response to anyone who just messages "Hi" as an introduction, which he said is often a dead-end to dating. "We're gonna say, OK, this is not the best start for a conversation. You have to do better."
by Louise Dixon
See full article at AP
See the top news on Hinge
See the top news on The Inner Circle
Is Dating Someone With Different Values to You Ever a Good Idea?
STYLIST – Feb 25 – According to a new survey of 12k women by Bumble 61% of women say they look for a partner who shares their values. We asked a behavioural psychologist Jo Cummings how important shared values really are. "Core values, such as wanting children or marriage – or not – are very rarely open to compromise. ..It's also good to be open minded, to have debate, and to be an effective listener, as your partner may give you a perspective on a topic that you hadn't really considered before."
by Lauren Geall
See full article at Stylist
Mark Brooks: Behavioral Economists give product designers and digital marketers a nomenclature to work with to better describe the behaviors they're observing. I run the group BehavioralEconomist.com (as well as OPW.news), and am attempting to connect more Behavioral Economists with the dating industry. Please join the fray and learn the language of BE in the group. I think you might find the language of biases and heuristics and behavior at least interesting.
Tinder (& Grindr) Used for More Than Just Hook-ups
THE CONVERSATION – Feb 25 – New safety features will be added to Tinder throughout 2020 including a means to connect users with emergency services when they feel unsafe and more safety information provided through the app. Also, AI will validate profile photos allowing members to self-authenticate through a series of real-time posed selfies which are compared to existing profile photos. I examined a range of news articles reporting on how people were using Tinder for purposes other than dating. People campaign on behalf of politicians. I also found several health and awareness campaigns, personal ads, promotion of local gigs, joke accounts and even subversive works of art. Tinder is a social ecosystem where multiple activities co-exist. Historian Andrew DJ Shield found that some Grindr users establish friend networks, and housing or employment opportunities. While safety is needed, these companies should ensure that new features are not shutting down creative, productive and self-protective uses that make the app meaningful in people's everyday lives.
by Stefanie Duguay
See full article at The Conversation
Mark Brooks: Context is everything when it comes to dating behavior and dating apps. Its super-important that product designers either explicitly open up their app contexts to cover more of the tapestries of life in their respective niche communities like Grindr, or maintain the context as dating-only in the case of Tinder. It's a key decision. Some brands can emerge as communities, and some like Tinder should remain laser focused on their jobs-to-be-done. i.e. get people out on dates with (somewhat) compatible partners.