NEW YORK TIMES – Payton Iheme, the head of public policy for Bumble, is working to advance legislation that penalizes "cyberflashing," or the act of sending unwanted sexual images.Payton Iheme's wide-ranging career has taken her from collecting intelligence in the Army to advising the White House on science and technology. As Bumble's head of public policy, Ms. Iheme has found a cause that synthesizes her past experiences. A YouGov poll in Britain found that 40% of millennial women have received an unsolicited photo of male genitalia. Working with Bumble, Virginia recently passed a law that entitles a recipient of an unwanted lewd image to $500 in damages. In Wisconsin, State Senator Melissa Agard, a Democrat, worked with Bumble to introduce an anti-cyberflashing bill in January. It was not voted on in this session, but she said she will push the bill again in January. Bumble began pushing for anti-cyberflashing legislation in 2019 in Texas. With each state that Bumble enters, Ms. Iheme and her team have to reintroduce the concept of cyberflashing, explain what it means, find stakeholders to partner with and figure out how to frame the legislation for the local voters. Nima Elmi, who oversees public policy for Bumble in Europe, said that the United States poses particular challenges to getting laws passed.
Category: Outlets – New York Times
A New Dating App Asks: Do Our Stars Align?
NEW YORK TIMES – Ilios is part of a constellation of popular apps, including Co-Star, Sanctuary, the Pattern and Nebula, that aim to illuminate interpersonal connections using astrological signs. There was a "silent launch" in Los Angeles in May 2021, then a "restricted launch" in Austin in November 2021, and a party that Ilios hosted with the University of Texas. There's a lifestyle compatibility score, numerology score, as well as an overall compatibility score.
Is It Time to Try Speed Dating?
NEW YORK TIMES – Ambyr Club is a new speed dating service that launched last December and has since hosted seven events at trendy bars in Manhattan. "What's old is new again," said Julie Spira, a dating coach who runs a company called Cyber-Dating Expert. She noted that the first documented speed dating event was held at a coffee shop in Beverly Hills in 1998. Using data from a speed dating company called HurryDate, a 2005 University of Pennsylvania study found that most people gauge attraction within three seconds of meeting. Maxine Williams founded We Met IRL, a speed dating company for people of color, in January. "I came up with the idea in December after attending a speed dating event in Manhattan that wasn't very diverse," she said. CWAQ, which stands for "connect with a qutie," was also inspired by disappointment. Kevin Rabinovich, a freelance event producer, was let down by the lack of structure and diversity at such events.
by Becky Hughes
See full article at New York Times
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Match Wins Trademark Case Against Muzmatch
NEW YORK TIMES – A London court ruled that Muzmatch infringed on Match trademarks, on Wednesday. Match Group ($3b revenue, 16m paying users) sued Muzmatch for infringing on its trademarked logo, using "match" in its name, and "unfairly benefiting" from the company’s reputation and investment in its brand. The ruling, from London's Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, could mean Muzmatch (6m users, $9m financing) must change its name and pay damages. Founder/CEO, Shahzad Younas, said Muzmatch would appeal. Match objected to the trademark registration for "Muzmatch" in Europe and the United States in 2016. Match also objected to the use of a heart and the font in Muzmatch's logo at the time, which were eventually removed. Match made approaches to buy the company, eventually offering up to $35m in 2019. Mr. Younas turned the offer down. Later that year, Match acquired Harmonica, a Muslim dating start-up in Egypt. "This is just their tactic," he said. "They'll court you, they'll get your data, they'll try and buy you, and when that doesn't work, they'll either go after a competitor or they'll just kill you," Mr. Younas said. "A million dollars for them in legal fees is small change. For us, it's everything."
by Aina J Khan
See full article at New York Times
Mark Brooks: I sympathize with Shahzad and Muzmatch. However, Match has to defend its name and trademark, along with its IP. It's simply not an option for them to not. Therefore, if you have a niche+match or match+niche type name, and anything in the way of scale and an official trademark application, then Match may well come simultaneously knocking, with guns cocked. This of course impairs your M&A valuation. Best to steer well clear of Match in your name in the context of Internet dating. The precedent is set. Match will sound and then fire its cannons at you if you encroach on their apparent domain. This may be unfair, but at least it is predictable.
Crypto Scammers’ New Target: Dating Apps
NEW YORK TIMES – Romance scams have increased in the pandemic. So have crypto prices. That has made crypto a useful entry point for criminals looking to part victims from their savings. 56K romance scams, totaling $139M in losses, were reported to the Federal Trade Commission last year. That is nearly twice as many reports as the agency received the previous year. In a bulletin last fall, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Oregon office warned that crypto dating scams were emerging as a major category of cybercrime, with ~1,800 reported cases in the first seven months of the year.
The Hot New Thing in Dating? Actually Going on Dates
NEW YORK TIMES – Last Thursday night, dating app Thursday was hosting a singles' mixer. The app is accessible only one day a week. When the clock strikes midnight, users toggle an icon to indicate that they're ready to date that day. Then, for 24 hours, they can swipe and chat as on other dating sites. When Thursday becomes Friday, however, their matches are wiped and the app locks. The implication is that there’s no time to waste with chitchat; making a date is now or never. To encourage those IRL meetings, Thursday hosts events in London and New York, the two cities where it is up and running.
Why the CEO of Match Group Took a Stand on the Texas Abortion Law
NEW YORK TIMES – When Texas lawmakers this summer passed a restrictive abortion law, Shar Dubey, the CEO of Match Group, confronted it head-on. "As a Texas resident, I am shocked that I now live in a state where women’s reproductive laws are more regressive than most of the world, including India," she said in an email to employees, while announcing she was creating a fund to support Match employees affected by the new law. For Ms. Dubey, who has maintained a relatively low profile, it was an unusual foray into political activism, and a reminder of the power she wields as one of the few top female executives in the technology industry.
Q: You were one of the only women in your class at I.I.T. Was it a welcoming environment?
A: I happened to become the only girl in my class of ~100 boys. I almost quit in the first week. A girl who was a couple of years senior to me told me, "If you're going to quit, who else is going to lose out? Grit it up and go figure out how you're going to survive this." And I did.
Q: How did you make your way to Ohio State for grad school?
A: After I graduated, I went back to my hometown and got a job with the steel company. I saved up $800 and took my first plane ride of my life to Columbus, Ohio.
Q: What was the first job that you got after graduating from Ohio State?
A: It was at an aerospace engineer manufacturing company in rural Pennsylvania.
Q: What was the hardest thing you're dealing with as CEO right now?
A: Maintaining the trust equity that comes with building relationships.
Q: Match has been more welcoming of some online regulations than many of the big tech companies. Can you explain where your positions diverge?
A: For most of Big Tech, privacy comes first. Apple famously doesn't unlock a phone, even for a terrorist. We've always known that safety was existential for our category, because we're introducing strangers on our platform who eventually go meet in real life.
Q: Do you feel like the big tech companies are taking enough responsibility for the real-world consequences of what happens on their platforms?
A: It's super challenging, and in the absence of real laws and enforcement, we're all making stuff up. One of the things which is easier for us, as a one-on-one introduction platform, is that we have a much harder stance on bad behavior. A cuss word is enough for us to kick you out of the platform.
Q: How has dating changed during the pandemic?
A: People became more realistic and honest about themselves and who they were looking for.
OkCupid Introduces Feature in Support of Abortion Rights
NEW YORK TIMES – OkCupid has introduced a way for users to clearly indicate their support of abortion rights: a "pro-choice" badge that appears prominently in a dating profile. The feature was created in response to the passage of Senate Bill 8, which has made abortion illegal in Texas. For every profile that adds the badge, OkCupid will donate $1 to Planned Parenthood. In recent years, OkCupid has offered users different badges to signal their stance on various political issues, including a "Black Lives Matter" badge and a "Voter" badge. In May, the company added an "I'm Vaccinated" badge.
How Does It Feel to Be Dating Again?
NEW YORK TIMES – June 25 – Alessandra Conti, a founder of Matchmakers In The City, a matchmaking service based in Beverly Hills, recommends that her clients not spend too much time on video dates. She and others compare dating to a skill set, or more so a muscle, that has to be consistently exercised in order to maintain. Choosing active, rather than intimate settings, can ease some of the apprehension of dating and create "a more chill environment."
Has the Pandemic Changed Dating Forever?
NEW YORK TIMES – May 8 – Now that all American adults are eligible for vaccination and many of life's once-mundane routines are returning, dating has come back in force. Particularly for those singles who are vaccinated, the demand – or desire – to pair up is strong. In January, Three Day Rule, a matchmaking company operating in 12 cities, started to see a boom in business. "We've never been busier," said Talia Goldstein, its founder and president. In a recent report on the future of dating, Tinder said its users have become more truthful and transparent about personal boundaries. It also predicts that daters will continue to be more honest and authentic when the pandemic ends. Ms. Goldstein, of Three Day Rule, said many of her clients have become less superficial. In the past, their criteria often mentioned height or wealth. Now more people are prioritizing inner qualities, like humor or a "growth mind-set." And, with the flexibility of remote work, dating is not as localized as it once was.