CHINA TONIGHT – Ms Liu, a Chinese international student studying in Melbourne, said she has been chatting with a guy since May last year, but her "perfect boyfriend" isn't a real person. It is an AI chatbot created by Chinese tech firm XiaoIce, a spin-off from Microsoft. XiaoIce's chatbot is programmed to form emotional bonds with human users through text, voice and photo messages and can be customised to create the ideal virtual boyfriend or girlfriend. Ms Liu said the emotional support and companionship that her boyfriend provides is real, but he falls short when it comes to intimacy. When she tries to talk to him about intimate topics, he tends to switch the conversation to a lighter subject. That's by design – XiaoIce has been reportedly "dumbed down" or "re-educated" to avoid talking about sex or politics, after the chatbot was censored on social media platforms in 2017 for giving politically-sensitive responses to users.
Category: All Worldwide (non UK/Euro/US)
Chinese Province Tries Speed Dating to Retain Graduates
THE WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS – A Chinese province is seeking to encourage students to stay local after graduating by offering to help them find a spouse. Anhui's "marriage assistance project" will include speed-dating events for university-leavers designed to "increase the successful rate of marriage matching", according to an announcement by the province. The province also plans to publish magazines on love, marriage and family, run a digital dating platform on WeChat and form a network of volunteers according to local media.
by Jing Lu
See full article at The World University Rankings
Mark Brooks: Marriage rates and birth rates are falling. I think we'll see more instances of Government interventions to spur on dating and matchmaking initiatives in the future. For example, Singapore have taken an active interesting in encouraging matchmaking businesses in the past. Iran has Hamdam, a state approved dating app. (See July 2021 news).
46% Single Indians Looking for Committed, Serious Relationship: Bumble Survey
EVERYTHING EXPERIENTIAL – Bumble has revealed that one in two (46%) single Indians are looking for a committed, serious relationship in 2021, post the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. "One in five people are looking to get married. More than one in three (33%) are feeling hopeful about dating right now as lockdown restrictions lift across India. Meanwhile, 33% of single Indians are using video dates to really get to know each other better before meeting IRL," the survey said.
by Abhishek Sharma
See full article at Everything Experiential
Bumble Survey Says Covid Has Made Online Dating Better
THE PRINT – Aug 11 – 48% of people in a Bumble survey in India say there's an increased attention to a prospect's personality rather than looks. (Sample size 2,000 single Indians, conducted in June 2021). 74% of respondents said they have seen a decline in negative behaviour such as ghosting, breadcrumbing, and catfishing. One in three people said they feel less pressured while dating amid the pandemic. 45% of Indians believe online dating is a "norm" and the most usual way of going on dates. 72% were confident they could fall in love with a person they meet via dating apps.
Bumble Survey: Two-thirds of Indians Say It’s Possible to Fall in Love Online
LIVEMINT – July 19 – Bumble has said that while the covid-19 pandemic restricted physical meetings, it also changed dating behaviour. 72% of single Indians think it is possible to fall in love with someone online they have never met in-person while 38% would not go on a date or have sex with someone who hasn't received the covid vaccine. 39% of single Indians surveyed tried a video date as their first date in 2021. The insights are based on a nationwide survey of 2K Bumble users, which was done in June 2021.
BlueCity Appoints Alfred Chung-Chieh Ying as Chief Strategy Officer
PR NEWSWIRE – July 15 – Mr. Ying brings with him over 20 years of capital market experience and extensive knowledge in corporate finance, capital raising, business development, and strategy. Prior to joining BlueCity, he served as CFO at Healthever Biotech and iFresh. Available in 13 languages, Blued connects users in 170 countries and it is the largest online LGBTQ community in China, India, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. BlueCity's portfolio of brands also includes Finka, a leading gay social networking app for a younger generation in China, and LESDO, a leading lesbian social networking app in China.
See full article at PR Newswire
See the top news on Blued
See the top news on Lesdo
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Iran Unveils State-approved Dating App
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE – July 13 – Users of app Hamdam take a psych test, and have a consultant for the first 4 years of marriage. Hamdam (Farsi for 'companion') is part of the Iran's efforts to tackle declining birth rates and the rising age of marriage. Dating apps are popular in Iran, but all other platforms apart from Hamdam are illegal. Hamdan is free. In March, Iran's parliament passed a bill titled "population growth and supporting families" mandating the government to offer significant financial incentives for marriage and to encourage people to have more than two children, while limiting access to abortion.
See full article at The Guardian
Mark Brooks: Having coaching after the match, makes a lot of sense. Marriages are more likely to fall apart early on. So having some fortification early on should help couples improve their expectations and communication skills. Could Government sanctioned dating apps become more commonplace in the future?
Matrimony.com to Acquire Leading Wedding Services Aggregator ShaadiSaga
APN NEWS – July 7 – Matrimony.com, India's leading online matrimony company, has signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100% stake in Boatman Tech Private Limited, promoters of ShaadiSaga.com (a Delhi-based fast-growing online wedding services company) as approved by its Board of Directors. Founded in 2015, ShaadiSaga is a leading player in the Wedding Services industry, with 40K vendors across multiple services and catering to customers across 15 major cities in the country. Following this acquisition, ShaadiSaga's founders – Himanshu Kapsime (CEO) and Manish Garg (COO), along with another key leader – Niraj Patel (CPO) will join Matrimony.com in senior leadership roles.
See the top news on Matrimony.com
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Matrimony.com to Expect Better Profit Growth
TIMES NOW NEWS – June 24 – The stock of Matrimony.com has gained ~2.5x in the last one year. Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and CEO of Matrimony.com said: "Covid has led to increased digital adoption in the Matrimony business and expects the momentum to continue. Growth has been broad-based across geographies in India and across Tier II and Tier III markets." Increase in marketing expenses had led to impact on profits, said Janakiraman. Profits grew 40% last year and he expects profits to grow at a much better pace than last year.
Matrimonial Sites Are Doing Well
NEW INDIAN EXPRESS – June 11 – As meeting people has become difficult during the lockdown, matrimonial sites have launched video calling and Weddings From Home services. Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO, Matrimony.com, said there has been a 25% increase in the number of registrations on their site during the lockdown and even on a quarter-on-quarter basis, they are reporting double digit growth. According to Adhish Zaveri, Senior Director – Marketing, Shaadi.com, the matchmaking industry has done well in the past year or so. "During the first wave, the engagement on Shaadi.com was up by 30-50% YOY. We also saw a 35-40% uptick in new members signing up."