BUSINESS INSIDER – Apr 12 – Daniel Ahmadizadeh launched a new quarantine-inspired dating app – Quarantine Together. Since it was created in March, it's grown to 7K users with 20% increase in new users every day. Ahmadizadeh has also launched two new initiatives – one to help sales people affected by layoffs connect to companies that are hiring contractors, and another free suite of tools to help small businesses grow. Quarantine Together rewards people for behaviors that help "flatten the curve" (for example, washing hands and staying at home) by pairing them up with a new match each day at 6 p.m. Ahmadizadeh and his friend built an initial prototype that required no coding – using no-code tools like Zapier, Twilio, Airtable, Typeform, and Webflow – and launched the site with their own funding.
Category: Outlets – Business Insider
Mark Zuckerberg Matched With His Wife’s Friend While Researching Dating Apps
BUSINESS INSIDER – Apr 8 – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg matched with one of his wife's friends while researching dating apps, according to a book by BuzzFeed reporter Alex Kantrowitz – "Always Day One: How the Tech Titans Plan to Stay On Top Forever". Since first announcing Facebook Dating at its annual F8 developer conference in 2018, Facebook has launched its dating service in more than 20 countries, including Colombia, Canada, and Thailand.
The Coronavirus Is Turning up on Dating Apps
Facebook Has Blocked Ads From a Queer and Polyamorous Dating App #Open
INSIDER – Feb 15 – Facebook said this was due to the advertisements' focus on sex, and said the app does not "reflect the global audience on our platform" because it allows for group relationships and hook-ups. In response, #open founder Amanda Wilson started a petition on Change.org (over 900 people have signed so far), asking the platform to "stop censoring and devaluing my relationship and the relationships of millions of other people looking for casual dates or interested in alternative relationship styles."
Sam Yagan, Co-founder of OKCupid: 3 Questions That Can Predict Compatibility
BUSINESS INSIDER – Feb 14 – Sam Yagan founded OKCupid in 2003 with some friends whom he met while attending Harvard University, where he had started SparkNotes, a study-guide company. Yagan and his business partners designed OKCupid with a question-and-answer-based system to help people determine whom to date. "You can disagree on religion, you can disagree on pets, you can disagree on lots of things," Yagan said, explaining that three specific questions were the best predictors of long-term compatibility in a relationship.
Here's what they are:
- Do you enjoy horror movies?
- Have you traveled alone in a foreign country for fun?
- Have you ever wanted to chuck it all and live on a sailboat?
Aussies Lost $29M to Romance Scams in 2019
BUSINESS INSIDER – Feb 11 – Aussies lost ~$28.6M to dating and romance scams in 2019, according to figures from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Traditional online dating websites accounted for $7.8M in losses, via Facebook ~$2M and Instagram ~$975K. Those aged between 45-64 were mostly affected. Women made up 55% of reports.
A Fake Amazon Dating App Is Going Viral
INSIDER.COM – Feb 5 – A group of content creators, with an animation company Thinko, created Amazon Dating, a satirical dating platform where people can fake-purchase their dream date. The website looks just like Amazon. Every person who's "for sale" comes with a price, reviews, a bulleted description of hobbies, and a drop down to choose how tall people want them to be. Although Thinko noted that Amazon Dating was a joke, some viewers didn't like that they monetized humans at different prices.
Dating Apps Are Turning to Message-free Meetups
How OkCupid Changed the Way Society Looks at Dating Millennials Across the World
BUSINESS INSIDER – Oct 2 – Melissa Hobley is the Global CMO of OkCupid. Under Hobley, OkCupid created the iconic DTF ads. The DTF ads were banned in some markets for being provocative. In India, OKCupid launched Find My Kind campaign. The campaign drew insight from its user responses to questions on the app. 92% said that they feel their values vastly differ from their parents, and 72% do not believe they echo their friends' preferences either, clearly establishing them as a generation that values what they want, not what others want for them. The data further revealed that 67% would rather find a meaningful relationship on a dating app than have friends or family arrange a set up. Hobley denied to share OkCupid's revenue numbers but said that they measure their success rate in terms of meaningful connections that are formed on their platform every year.
Facebook Dating Has Features That May Enable Cheaters
INSIDER – Sep 10 – Paul Keable, the chief strategy officer at Ashley Madison, sees Facebook Dating, as well as other dating platforms like Tinder and Bumble, as competition for his service. The app duplicates Facebook profile but removes users existing relationship status, meaning, like any dating app, users could easily join behind their partner's back. Additionally, Facebook Dating doesn't match people with any of their existing Facebook friends, meaning there's a lower risk than with some other dating apps that they could get caught by their partner's single friends who are also on the app.
by Julia Naftulin
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