THE STAR – Nov 19 – Before President-elect Joe Biden was declared the winner, uncertainty was in the air for several days. Searches pertaining to moving to Canada spiked in the U.S. Dating site Maple Match has returned for the 2020 election season. The site is now inviting users to join the waitlist for its 2.0 launch. The previous iteration, which was launched in 2016, was a Tinder-style app matching Americans wishing to escape political turmoil with compassionate Canadians. The current site does not provide details on how it is supposed to work.
Month: November 2020
Lidé.cz, Former Top Czech Dating Site, Is Shutting Down
CZECH CRUNCH – Nov 19 – Lide.cz, the legendary dating site based in Czech Republic, is shutting down after 23 years of operation due to several reasons. One of the reasons is the strong competition from the likes of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Tinder. Seznam.cz, the parent company, also states that the online dating platform has not met financial expectations for some time. In addition, it was becoming more and more difficult for the team to keep sex offenders off the site. Lide.cz was featured in "Caught in the Net" documentary which follows three actresses pretending to be 12 years old girls on social media. Almost as soon as their fake profiles were set up, hundreds of men from around the world began contacting the actresses. Lidé.cz will officially end its operation on December 14.
Dating Pro Survey Interview – $50 Reward
OPW – Nov 18 – Dating Pro, a dating software provider, is looking for people with expertise in running a dating business for new research. They're researching why people decide to go into the dating business, what goals they're planning to achieve, and what they actually achieved. With the data, they are considering and trying to revolutionize the approach of launching and scaling successful dating-related projects. By analyzing insights from entrepreneurs' success stories, new entrepreneurs should be able to avoid the most common roadblocks and challenges.
[Dating Pro launched in 2008 and is a leading dating software provider for entrepreneurs to launch their dating projects. Dating Pro offers apps, websites, design, marketing, customer support, and more.]
Yubo, Tinder for Youngsters, Raised $47.5M
TECH CRUNCH – Nov 18 – French startup Yubo, which focuses on young people under 25, has managed to attract 40M users. A fraction of them hang out every day in live-streaming rooms, meet new people and spend money for more features. Yubo expects to double its revenue this year to $20M. The app has recently closed a Series C funding round of $47.5M (previously raised $19.5M) With this funding round, Yubo will expand its team. There are currently 30 employees in Paris, London and Jacksonville. Yubo will open an office in New York.
by Romain Dillet
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on Very Social Network and Internet Dating Investments
eHarmony Launches New “Real Love” TV Campaign
PR NEWSWIRE – Nov 17 – The three new ads (which belong to a series of seven) feature everyday moments of meaningful connection. The ads will launch internationally on key broadcast outlets across the UK, US and Australia. In the UK, they will air on Channel 4, ITV and Sky. View the ads here.
Courtney Mohr Appointed as CEO of Selective Search
PR NEWSWIRE – Nov 17 – Selective Search, the high-end matchmaking firm, has appointed Courtney Mohr as CEO. Prior to joining Selective Search, Ms. Mohr served as CEO of GrowthPlay. Founded in 2000 by Barbie Adler, Selective Search is North America's leading luxury matchmaking firm.
Hinge Breaks out of Tinder’s Shadow
COVERING COMPANIES – Nov 16 – In Q3, Match Group posted 88% revenue growth for its non-Tinder dating apps, including Hinge, Pairs, BLK, Chispa, and Hawaya. Hinge also reported an 82% YOY surge in app downloads. Launched in 2012, the same year as Tinder, Hinge branded itself as the anti-Tinder app. Match acquired the startup in 2019. "Match's acquisition was driven by the need to retain users who were looking to move past Tinder's hookup culture, said Mark Brooks, a marketing consultant to online dating companies through his marketing agency Courtland Brooks. "Tinder is a game. What they intend to do with Tinder is soak up as many people as possible," said Brooks. "And then what they intend to do with Hinge is graduate people from Tinder to Hinge." In Q3, Hinge launched paid features: virtual roses, akin to Tinder's Super Like, and writing prompts called Standout to spur conversations between daters. Lauren Cassel, Morgan Stanley's analyst, estimated that Hinge would have 8M subscribers in 2030, contributing $2.8B in revenue compared to the current $60M.
How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data From Ordinary Apps
VICE – Nov 18 – Muslim Pro, a Muslim prayer app with ~98M downloads, is one of the apps connected to a supply chain that sends people's personal data to brokers, contractors, and the military. Another app in that chain is Muslim Mingle, a dating app that has been downloaded ~100K times. Many of the users of apps involved in the data supply chain are Muslim. Muslim Mingle is sending precise geolocation coordinates of the phone's current location and wifi network name. The developer behind the app as well as other dating apps such as Black Mingle which is marketed specifically towards Black people, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
LTR – Love, Technology, Relationships – FULL
LTR – Nov 17 – The first LTR conference happened in September and sold out within 72 hours. (See speakers and attendees list).
The latest by-invitation-only LTR conference happens this Thursday also filled up within 72 hours of invites going out. You can see the speaker line up here. Presenters will present on ideas worth sharing.
This conference is all online, and includes peer networking. LTR is for leaders of Internet dating companies and online social communities. Members of the very established Internet Dating Excellence Association, and very fledgling Online Social Community Association were invited.
Please email me at mark@courtlandbrooks.com if you work in the dating or online social community industries and would like to join IDEA or OSCA for invites to future LTR conferences.
Chipotle Teams up With Hinge
