by Deepa Seetharaman & Georgia Wells
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Category: Outlets – Wall Street Journal
What Online Dating Profiles Say About Our View Of Aging
Q&A With OkCupid CEO Elie Seidman
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Aug 13 – After being named CEO of OkCupid in May 2016, Elie Seidman revamped the design of the app to include in-depth info about users and requiring them to answer questions about political beliefs.
Q: What has been the most difficult part about transitioning to CEO of an online dating site?
A: The real question when I started was, what is the core of this brand? The challenge that I saw was how consumers and customers conceptualize the category. We put our focus into "substance over selfies" – connecting based on shared sensibilities.
Q: Could you explain the "substance over selfies" focus?
A: We want people to meet someone based on who they are, not what they look like. We let users create their profiles by answering 15 iconic OkCupid questions.
Q: What is the biggest change happening in online dating right now?
A: Swiping apps went through a novelty phase. We're no longer in that phase.
Q: What does OkCupid do about harassment?
A: We have a very large and effective moderation team in the U.S. It combines artificial intelligence and machine learning to look at data points to see what's happening. If there is something a machine can't make a decision on, it gets kicked over to human moderators.
Q: What has been the most surprising online dating behavior you've learned about your users?
A: Dating habits do vary by city. For example, New York is the very worst U.S. city for guys messaging women, who reply to men's messages only 10% of the time.
Q: What is the biggest difference between meeting people online and meeting people in person?
A: There is an ineffable element of chemistry which you can't tell easily online.
Q: Where do big data and algorithms fall short when it comes to love?
A: The thing that we at OkCupid have going for us is that while we cannot replace chemistry, what we can do is find a lot of people with shared sensibility.
Who Pays On The First Date? No One Knows Anymore
WALL STREET JOURNAL – June 27 – The popularity of the dating apps means singles are going on more first dates than ever. Many women say they have stopped doing the reach for their wallets because they are not only more likely to end up splitting the bill, but also more liable to cover all of it. The rules aren't complicated, according to etiquette experts. "If you invite, you pay," said Diane Gottsman, author of "Modern Etiquette for a Better Life." "But the reality is that the other person may not know the rules or realize it's a date."
Tinder Launches New Podcast Backed By Dating Data
WALL STREET JOURNAL – 
Dec 6 – The new show is called "DTR," short for "define the relationship". The six-part series, hosted by journalist and "This American Life" music supervisor Jane Marie, covers various topics surrounding dating in the digital age, like how to best construct an online profile or the precarious transfer of nude photographs.
Chinese Online Payment App Turned Into A Hook-up App
Dating Apps Court Older, Wealthier Users
by Georgia Wells
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Chinese Dating App Momo Bets On Music
WSJ – Sep 7 – Momo, the Chinese Tinder, has moved from hooking up users to letting them get hooked on live music. It added a live-streaming function and lets users watch musicians perform live and interact with them. The shift has created a big splash. Momo's net revenue for Q2 tripled from a year earlier. That is mostly thanks to its live-streaming service, which already makes up more than half of the firm's revenue. Momo's stock has risen 56% since it released results.
Dating Website Users Fall Prey To Fake Profiles
Match Group’s Profit Up 41% As Tinder Heats Up
