WASHINGTON POST – Apr 22 – Almost four weeks after April Fool's day, Burrit-oh! – the dating site that pairs singles based on their taste in portable Mexican – has proven so unexpectedly successful that maker Zoosk is thinking of keeping it. To date, ~2K people have signed up for Burrit-oh!.
Category: Reporters – Caitlin Dewey
Six Months Since Ashley Madison’s Hack, Nothing Changed
WASHINGTON POST – Jan 15 – People forget and don't demand changes. A report from Pew Research found that people view hacks as part of modern life. Last month, Ashley Madison claimed that ~6.5M people had signed up since the hack. It seems somehow unjust that Ashley Madison should return to business as usual. The site's only visible casualties have been the resignation of CEO Noel Biderman and a handful of yet unresolved lawsuits.
by Caitlin Dewey
See full article at Gensee Country Express
Man Who Founded Dating Site ‘Where White People Meet’ Says He Isn’t A Racist
THE WASHINGTON POST – Jan 4 – Sam Russell suspected his dating startup, Where White People Meet, would ruffle a few Internet feathers. This is Russell's first foray into the online dating industry; he's spent most of his career in auto sales, as the president of Automatic Car Credit. "It's about equal opportunity," Russell explained. "The last thing in the world I am is racist." While an early version of the site has been online since August, the site officially launched last weekend when Russell unveiled a billboard southwest of Salt Lake City.
by Caitlin Dewey
See full article at The Columbus Dispatch
Tinder’s Claim About Creating More Meaningful Matches Is Bull
WASHINGTON POST – Nov 11 – Tinder released an updated version of its matching algorithm. CEO Sean Rad promised that it would revolutionize the quantity of matches. According to Northwestern University's psychologist Eli Finkel, relationship success depends on three things: individual characteristics, quality of interaction and surrounding circumstances. Matching algorithms tend to focus on personality alone. And large-scale studies of married couples have shown that the similarity of partners' personalities accounts for only 0.5% of how happy they are.
Dating Apps Aren’t Obliged To Protect Underage Users
WASHINGTON POST – Aug 6 – Dating apps usually require that their users be above 18 or 21. But Hot Or Not welcomes anyone over 13, the absolute minimum age set by a 1998 law that governs children’s online privacy. Tinder also openly welcomes underage users. 7% of Tinder users are between 13 and 17. Most of these apps do claim to segregate the over-18s from the under-18s. Tinder only shows adult users to other adults. But it is easy to falsely register as a 14-year-old looking to hook up. COPPA, the federal statute that governs how Internet companies interact with kids, only applies to children younger than 14. And under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a site operator can’t be held responsible for the misdeeds of its users. Skout also allows users under 18 but it moderates them relentlessly.
by Caitlin Dewey
See full article at Washington Post
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New Dating Apps Are Killing Monogamy
WASHINGTON POST – May 26 - OpenMinded is a new non-monogamous dating site. The site's founder, Brandon Wade, expects swingers, polysexuals and experimental 20-somethings to use his site. "If you look at marriage, it developed as a survival strategy and a means of raising kids," Wade said. "But relationships are no longer a necessary component of life." There's a long history of married men sleeping around, says Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist and one of the world’s leading relationship researchers. "What is new is that women are now also being more adulterous – and so people are beginning to be more open about it."
Bristlr Accidentally Revolutionizing Online Dating
WASHINGTON POST – Jan 8 – Bristlr is a social network for guys with beards that will, among other things, tell you when you’re being message-spammed. The app is introducing some innovations that could add critical social context back to online dating. Aside from a copy/paste notification, the company is working on a rating feature that will let users grade the quality of their correspondents’ messages.
New Dating Sites That Want To Get Rid Of Creeps
WASHINGTON POST – Oct 1 – In the past six weeks, three creep-free, lady-friendly dating sites have launched. Mesh auto-filters messages based on things like curse words, and another, Siren, lets women control which men can see their profiles. Singled Out, which launched in beta this week, solicits discussion questions from female users. Women can initiate messages with the men whose answers interest them.
by Caitlin Dewey
See full article at Wasthington Post
We Have No Idea If Online Dating Works
WASHINGTON POST – Sep 30 – A new analysis from Michigan State University found that online dating leads to fewer committed relationships than offline dating does. It contradicts a pile of studies that have come before it. In reality, dating sites are most effective as a kind of virtual town square — a place where random people whose paths wouldn’t otherwise cross bump into each other and start talking.
Personal Dating Assistant Cuts The Frustration Out Of Online Dating
WASHINGTON POST – May 1 – Matthew Valentines is the founder of Personal Dating Assistants, a service that launched last month. For $9.50 an hour, a “dating assistant” will set up a profile on a dating site, find and message eligible dates, and exchange phone numbers with interested parties. PDA only accepts male clients. It is for guys who want to go on more dates, but don’t necessarily have the skill set or the time to find women who interest them.