Category: Facebook Dating

Where Facebook Dating Makes Sense :: Feedback Is The Breakfast Of Champions

Posted on May 11, 2018

Facebook dating screenshotsOPW – May 11 – There's one very key reason why Facebook Dating could be superior to most other dating sites. Facebook has visibility on when they are successful. They should be able to see when singles change their relationship status, and who they're in a relationship with. That is a revelation in the Internet dating world.

I think we've been entirely encumbered on delivering on the promise of Internet dating because we simply don't have visibility on when we've been successful. Ultimately, this is key. How do we know when our algorithms are working. What tweaks to make? Feedback is the breakfast of champions… nowhere moreso than with Internet dating.

Up until now only some of the dating industry have performed exit surveys. Meaning, when a user decides to turn off or delete their profile we spring a survey on them asking why? Did you find a relationship? A vast minority of users answer, and we rarely get clear feedback on who they're dating. We get even less feedback on when that committed dating relationship has turned into marriage. That's where dating is quite broken.

Facebook has this visibility. They see when they've been successful. To what extend, and with whom the person is committing to. They also see if that relationship fails. All key to tweaking and refining an A.I. driven dating system.

So what's the antidote? Come to iDate L.A. and see my presentation and I'll give you my thoughts on this. btw, iDate L.A. is focused on A.I. It's probably the most important yet.

See all posts on Facebook Dating

Post by Mark Brooks, CEO IDEA

IAC CEO: “We Have A 23-year Head Start On Facebook”

Posted on May 10, 2018

Iac joey levin linkedinCNBC – May 10 – IAC CEO Joey Levin penned a letter assuring shareholders the Match Group parent company was well-positioned to compete with Facebook in the dating space. "We respect the power of Facebook's network – as consumers and partners we have been great beneficiaries of their mission to connect the world," Levin wrote in the note. "However, on the long list of things we worry about in our dating business, Facebook launching a dating app doesn't top the list. We have a 23-year head start and several months advanced warning, and we're going to take advantage of all of it."

by Chloe Aiello
See full article at CNBC

See all posts on Match Group
See all posts on Facebook Dating

Summarized by the IDEA team

Match Group Q1 Results & Earnings Call Highlights

Posted on May 9, 2018

Match group brands selected 2018OPW – May 9 – Match Group has released its Q1 2018 earning results. "We are delivering all time best," said CEO Mandy Ginsberg at todays earnings call. Total revenue grew 36% YOY to $407M, the highest quarter over quarter revenue growth since the IPO. Tinder average subscribers were 3.5M in Q1 2018, increasing 368K sequentially and 1.6M YOY. Operating income was $112M, an increase of 91% YOY, while Adjusted EBITDA increased 60% YOY to $138M.

Highlights from the earnings call:

  • Tinder is testing first video feature, called Loops which are 2s-looped user-generated videos that allows users to show their personality.
  • Tinder is also testing a new location based feature called Tinder Places. It allows users to see others going to the same places they do (bars or museums). Tinder has been testing this product in 3 international markets with a small group of users. In the first three weeks Match saw users going to 200 social places. Half of them engage daily with Places and 96% of them have continued using this feature. It is an opt-in feature, and it will be available to all users in Q2.
  • This week, Tinder started the "message first" setting to allow users (especially women) to have more control.
  • Match Group has settled with Chinese "Tinder clone" TanTan. TanTan will re-design its U.S. app and pay Match annual royalty payments.

Mandy talked about Facebook entering the online dating space. "It is really unclear but Facebook dating won't probably have a negative impact on Tinder", said Mandy Ginsberg. Tinder introduced SMS signed up last year. Within two months of this offering, new users went from 100% Facebook sign up to only 25%. (Data from North America). "Users quickly separated Facebook from their dating experience", said Mandy.

See all posts on Match Group

Post by the IDEA team

Facebook’s Dating Service: A Match Made In Heaven, Or Hell?

Posted on May 8, 2018

Facebook dating generalTHE STREET – May 8 – Facebook will be venturing into the online dating world later this year. The news was “a bit of a surprise,” given that the announcement came on the heels of the Cambridge Analytica data misuse scandal, according to Mark Brooks, CEO of the internet dating consultancy Courtland Brooks. “If they screw [Dating] up, they can really screw up Facebook,” Brooks said. Brooks said that Facebook has elements that are perfect for an online dating platform, namely its vast reach of more than two billion users, but “if they are going to make the most of Dating, users have to trust Facebook.” With the Cambridge Analytica data misuse, “it’ll certainly cause some people to be reserved,” said Needham analyst Kerry Rice. Rice also raised the question of whether pursuing an online dating service is worthwhile for Facebook. “It will never be their core business,” Rice said. IBISWorld analyst John Madigan said that it is unclear whether Facebook will choose to revoke the ability of third-party apps to use Facebook profile information in this way, but it would seem anticompetitive and against the company’s best interests. “It’s just not fair,” Brooks said.

by Francesca Fontana
See full article at The Street

See all posts on Facebook Dating

Summarized by the IDEA team

Facebook’s Online Dating Service Won’t Have Ads

Posted on May 7, 2018

Facebook icon 2RECODE – May 6 – Here's what you need to know about the new feature:

  • The feature requires interested users to create a new, separate dating profile.
  • Facebook will make some match recommendations based on interests and other data, like location, but users will also be able to find possible matches by "unlocking" groups or events on Facebook, which will allow them to connect with other singles who have unlocked those same groups or events.
  • Facebook is building a separate messaging experience just for this dating feature.
  • The feature is being built by the company's profile team, which is run by Will Cathcart, a long-tenured product VP who joined the company from Google in 2008. Cathcart oversees all Facebook profiles.
  • Facebook hopes to begin testing the feature in the coming months.
  • Facebook doesn't plan to run ads alongside these profiles, either, and won't use data associated with a user's dating profile or behavior to target them with ads on other Facebook properties.

by Kurt Wagner
See full article at Recode

See all posts on Facebook Dating

Summarized by the IDEA team

Match Wants To Move From ‘Swipe Right’ To ‘Press Play’

Posted on May 7, 2018

Match stories screenshotsMARKETWATCH – May 3 – Match is the leader in the online-dating industry, and the company will rely on new features, including video profiles and location-based additions, in its bid to stay on top. Match.com now has a "stories" feature, and Tinder users in certain countries can experiment with short "loops". The video options will be free. Match also has things planned that could make it easier to connect with those living nearby. The location features take into account not just geographic location but "the ability to connect on social experiences" happening nearby. Facebook, too, said that its dating platform will enable users to connect via events they're interesting in attending.

by Emily Bary
See full article at MarketWatch

See all posts on Match Group

Summarized by the IDEA team

Facebook’s Dating Feature Will Connect People Through Shared Events

Posted on May 7, 2018

Facebook dating conversation startersCNBC – May 5 – Facebook is launching a dating feature inside its core app for users who are single. The service will feature at least one main difference from its rivals: Connecting people through shared events. It will allow users to "unlock" an event and indicate to other singles on the app that they're interested in attending. "It mirrors the way people actually date, which is usually at events and institutions that they're connected to," chief product officer Chris Cox said during the announcement.

by Sara Salinas
See full article at CNBC

See all posts on Facebook Dating

Summarized by the IDEA team

Is Facebook Destined To Be A Dating Site For Old People?

Posted on May 7, 2018

Facebook dating olderMARKETWATCH – May 5 – Facebook is entering a crowded space: The dating industry is worth ~$3B. A Facebook spokeswoman said the new dating feature will allow users to set up a dating profile separate from their normal Facebook account, and activity on dating profiles won't be shared on the News Feed. Users will not be matched with friends, but rather others who have marked themselves as "single". Meredith Golden, a dating coach, said she believes the new feature will be used largely by divorcees and users over 40. It's not clear, however, whether Facebook will charge for the dating service and, if so, how much.

by Kari Paul
See full article at MarketWatch

See all posts on Facebook Dating

Summarized by the IDEA team

Facebook Dating Looks A Whole Lot Like Hinge

Posted on May 6, 2018

Facebook dating hinge screenshotsWIRED – May 4 – Facebook's matchmaking service, simply called Dating, most closely resembles Hinge. The demo version touted on stage by CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks nearly identical to Hinge. It doesn't have a Tinder-like "hot or not" swiping feature. Instead, users scroll through detailed profiles and post answers to questions on their profiles, like whether they prefer dogs or cats. And in the biggest similarity, singles on both services can start conversations not by saying hello but by commenting on a specific profile item. Hinge and Facebook Dating also share the same ethos. Zuckerberg stressed that Dating focuses on finding meaningful relationships. Hinge advertises itself the same way. "When the Hinge team saw the similarity between our designs, we congratulated each other. It's gratifying to have one of the world's biggest technology companies enter the dating space and draw so much inspiration from Hinge," said Tim MacGougan, Hinge's VP of product. Like most popular dating apps, Hinge also largely relies on Facebook data to operate. "Since the announcement, our team has been in touch with Facebook about what our relationship will look like moving forward," says MacGougan.

by Louise Matsakis
See full article at Wired

See all posts on Facebook Dating
See all posts on Hinge

Summarized by the IDEA team

Facebook: “eHarmony’s Chief Scientist Doesn’t Work On Our Dating Product”

Posted on May 6, 2018

Facebook Dr Steve CarterTECH CRUNCH – May 4 – Dr Steve Carter, a data scientist who helped design and build the psychometric and relationship models that became the basis of eHarmony is working at Facebook. But Facebook has confirmed to us that Carter is not working on the new dating service, and the company declined to say what he is doing. He joined Facebook in Aug '17. Carter's profile on LinkedIn describes him as a data science manager, "helping Facebook get even better at making meaningful and beneficial connections between people and communities."

by Ingrid Lunden
See full article at Tech Crunch

See all posts on Facebook Dating
See all posts on eHarmony

Summarized by the IDEA team