BUSINESS INSIDER – Aug 7 – Neil Clark Warren, the CEO of eHarmony, is not too fond of apps like Tinder. "It doesn't work," he said. "They're depending on superficial almost accidental compatibility. Compatibility is a serious matter, and it's very deep and very important to figure out. The companies are just trying to throw something out there that makes money for them."
Category: Reporters – Rebecca Borison
OKCupid Admits To Purposely Giving Users Bad Matches In Site ‘Experiment’
BUSINESS INSIDER – July 29 – Christian Rudder, one of the founders of OKCupid, wrote an enticing blog post called "We Experiment On Human Beings!" to lay out three different experiments the dating site ran on its users without asking for permission. In the most controversial experiment, OKCupid lied to users. The site took pairs of users with low match ratings of ~30% (the ideal match is 100%) and told them they were a 90% match. They also did the opposite, giving highly-compatible pairs of users low match ratings. OKCupid found, somewhat unsurprisingly, that more people sent messages to matches they perceived to be compatible with. But users also sent more messages to people they were actually compatible with, regardless of the match score shown to them, proving the efficacy of its matching algorithm, but also the role of suggestion in matchmaking.
How The Endless Quest For Love Is Sparking Massive Growth In Dating Apps
BUSINESS INSIDER – July 24 – We've got new apps popping up every day: Coffee Meets Bagel, Hook, Pinch, Instamour, Wyldfire, Whim, Floret… Online dating can often be frustrating, which in turn leads to more willingness to try new apps. A lot of people see a need to come up with new ideas. Mark Brooks, the iDating consultant behind Courtland Brooks, thinks that dating apps more closely translate the real-life experience of meeting someone. "The mobile platform is simply a superior platform for internet dating. Mobile daters will go on many times during the day but just for a few minutes, they’re chatting and then they go back to work, and then jump back on. Internet dating has never really meshed with true user behavior," he said. "The true user behavior is when someone starts chatting someone else up, they’ll be in a continuous conversation and reel them in for a date. The problem with online dating is the incentive structures are quite broken. Mobile gets us closer." These dating apps all need to figure out the revenue model. Brooks thinks in-app spending is the way to go. And then there's always ads. Larger corporations acquiring the smaller startups when they run out of money. We saw this happen with IAC. Brooks sees Match Group holding out as the powerhouse. Match Group is currently under IAC, but Brooks anticipates a future separation that would leave Match Group as the ultimate online dating umbrella. "Starting a dating app is rather like starting a restaurant," Brooks said. "It looks very easy to do. It's a very sexy business. But it's a lot more difficult because of the critical mass problem. "What I typically find happens is that entrepreneurs spend 90% of their money building the app. But it does require cold hard cash to grow. Although there may be many startups, there will be few survivors. Very few have that unique way of driving eyeballs. Tinder did well."
Interview With Justin McLeod, Founder & CEO Of Hinge
BUSINESS INSIDER – June 9 – Dating app, Hinge, matches users with friends of their Facebook friends. The app is currently live in DC, Philadelphia, NYC, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and L.A.
Q: What led you to create a dating app?
A: I was coming out of business school and there was a last chance dance party where everyone was going to say who they were interested in. If there were mutual interests they would let you know. So me and my friend built an app on FB that would allow you to list your crushes and find out if you have any mutual interests.
Q: How do you decide where to launch?
A: We look at our userbase, where they have the most friends.
Q: What is your main focus right now?
A: Deepening into the existing markets instead of rapidly expanding into new ones.
Q: How has Hinge impacted the online dating world?
A: It's a lot more accessible to people, ~50% of our users haven't used a dating site.
Q: What sets you apart from Tinder?
A: Tinder is geared towards people around you, and therefore it's pretty flirtatious, it doesn't lead offline very often. Hinge is more geared towards quality interactions.
Q: How do you measure success on Hinge?
A: We've made ~2M matches.
Q: Have you heard about marriages that resulted from Hinge?
A: Yes. We get emails on daily basis from people saying the met because of Hinge.
Q: Have you personally made any new connections on Hinge?
A: A lot of my friends are now in relationships because of Hinge.
Q: Is there anything new coming to Hinge in the near future?
A: This week we're going to be releasing simple features that allow you to edit your photos.
Q: Why did you decide to make Hinge mobile-only?
A: The world is moving mobile. Mobile is the place for this kind of experience.
Q: How does Hinge's matching algorithm work?
A: It's a combination of who you liked in the past, what their attributes are, and finding more people like that who are within your world of social connections.
Q: Do you have any plans to monetize the app?
A: Yes, it will be a freemium model.