MASHABLE – Sep 28 – Created in 2000, HOTorNOT became an overnight viral hit by letting people upload pictures of themselves so total strangers could rate their attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 10. Twenty years later, HOTorNOT's DNA is embedded into almost every major platform that defines how we interact online today. "Everything about HOTorNOT was about finding ways to connect people. We really saw ourselves as trying to build the ultimate people router," said one of HOTorNOT's two co-founders, James Hong. "It was a different internet at the time," said Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter. A good friend of Hong, he called him one of the smartest people he knows in Silicon Valley. "Most people hear HOTorNOT and think of the ranking feature, which is crude and sort of questionable in today's light," he said. "But there was always a deep caring and humaneness in how they did things." HOTorNOT made ~$4M by 2003 (with ~88% of revenue coming from auto-renewing subscriptions). The site's downfall began with the arrival of Web 2.0, when web platforms with "venture money started pouring back into startups again. HOTorNOT couldn't compete with services that were free and relying on cash from investors to pay their bills," Young said. He also cited the loss of their talented and ambitious employees who left to start their own companies, like Crunchyroll. HOTorNOT was sold to Avid Life Media for ~$20M in 2008. In 2012, it was sold to Badoo. Badoo only revived HOTorNOT to turn it into another Tinder app clone launching in 2014.
Category: HotorNot
Facebook Also Let Dating Apps Have Further Access to Graph API Back in 2015
ARS TECHNICA – Dec 6 – UK MP releases 250 pages of materials obtained as part of Six4Three debacle. The documents from Facebook show that the company allowed even more companies including dating apps Badoo, HotorNot and Bumble to access the v1.0 Graph API back in 2015. The documents, known as the "Six4Three files," were published by Damian Collins, a member of the UK Parliament. Collins is the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) Committee in Parliament, which has been overseeing inquiries into Facebook's practices. "The files show evidence of Facebook taking aggressive positions against apps, with the consequence that denying them access to data led to the failure of that business," Collins concluded. Six4Three is a long-forgotten company that has for years pursued a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that it was shut out from being allowed to access the Graph API, as it was too small. Six4Three made a short-lived app called "Pikinis," which sought bikini photos on Facebook. It was only downloaded ~5,000 times. Lawyers for Six4Three have long argued what Collins concluded: once small apps were shut off, they were driven out of busines.
Creator of Mamba And Badoo Makes Forbes (Russia) Richest List
In 1999 Andreev launched the web analytics service SpyLog, and in 2002, the contextual ad service "Begun". Andreev created the Russian dating service "Mamba" a year later. The service made its first revenues through SMS. In Oct. 2005, with 4.5M members, Finam bought it for $20M, enough to launch Badoo in 2006, a service combining the dating and social networking. At the end of 2017 there were 370M members.
Andreev lived for many years in Spain, and his knowledge of the Spanish mentality helped him promote Badoo in Europe and Latin America. But to conquer more competitive markets in the US and English-speaking countries, this was not enough. In order to enter the American market, Andreev bought Hot Or Not in 2014. He then introduced swiping.
He now launches new companies only if there's a manager able to deal with operations, while he deals with the financing, product support and monetization. Andreev helped Huggle in exchange for a stake, and also in Chappy.
Bumble launched Dec. 2014 and had 100k downloads the first month. The idea of a dating service where women take the initiative turned out to be a godsend for the American market. He invested $10M for a 78.21% stake. Herd became CEO and took a 20% stake. $100M revenue is expected in 2017, and double this year.
"The service is significantly different from Badoo. Guys will go where there are a lot of girls, and are attracted to proactive girls who think in a modern way and are ready to take the first step," explains Mark Brooks about the secret of Bumble's success. Tinder has 50M active users and worth is estimated at $3B. Bumble has 23M users. This year, Herd refused to sell it for $450M to Match Group. In the autumn Match reportedly upped its offer to over $1B. In the past, Andreev was offered to sell Badoo for several hundred million dollars, says Mark Brooks, and now the company, "But it seems to me that Andreev is not ready to retire," the expert concludes.
by Alexandr Baulin & Clare O'Connor
See full article at Forbes
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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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Hot Or Not Founder Returns With Cakey, A YouTube App For Kids
TECH CRUNCH – Nov 22 - Hot Or Not founder James Hong is a father of three. He wanted to keep his kids safe from the unsuitable, adult-oriented content on YouTube so he launched Cakey, a YouTube app for children. Cakey offers a basic interface to YouTube where kids can browse through pre-screened kid-safe video “collections” presented in a film reel-like interface.
by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch
This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch.
HotOrNot Relaunch: It Shows Users Attractive People Near Them
BUSINESS INSIDER – June 1 – HotOrNot, the dating site that was sold to Badoo for $20M, uses location-based data to show users the most attractive people around them. Badoo has hired Justine Sacco, the former communications director for IAC. Sacco was fired last year after posting a controversial tweet before a trip to Africa. Sacco is reportedly helping with HotOrNot's promotion and relaunch.
What Are Hot Or Not’s Co-Founders Doing Now
GOOD MORNING AMERICA – June 2 – James Hong and Jim Young founded HotOrNot in 2000. They sold the site in 2008, when it was generating revenue of $5M and $2M in profit. The buyer, Avid Life Media, reportedly paid $20M for the site. Young and Hong are now busy being dads. Hong has recently built an app for his kids — one that uses video to reward them for eating.
by Alan Farnham
See full article at ABC News
Dating Apps Make Dating More Efficient But Less Romantic
THE GUARDIAN – Jan 17 - Tinder is the heterosexual version of Grindr or the modern blend of Hot Or Not. ~450M profiles are rated every day and membership is growing by 15% each week. Tinder is addictive. The average user is on it 11 minutes per day. With Tinder, the pretext is to hook-up, but the real pleasure is derived from the Tindering process.
HotOrNot Founder Launches Social Discovery Service
TECH CRUNCH – Sep 18 – Perceptual Networks has raised $1M in funding from an impressive group of VCs and angels. The startup appears to be focused on social discovery and mobile. It was co-founded by HotOrNot and I/O Ventures founder Jim Young, is developing a suite of products to make it easy for people to find the people they best connect with, whether they are looking for the right co-workers or employees, the right relationship, the right friends and activity partners or the right community to live in. Young founded HotorNot in 2000 and sold the site for $20M in 2008.
by Leena Rao
See full article at Tech Crunch
Mark Brooks: HotorNot is a hallmark idating brand, and (was) one of the most efficient dating sites ever built. Badoo acquired HotorNot in April from Avid Life Media who acquired HotorNot from founders Jim and James in Feb 2008.
This post also appears on SocialNetworkingWatch.
Badoo Powers HotOrNot
TECH CRUNCH – Apr 2 - Badoo is now powering HotOrNot. The financial terms were not disclosed. While Badoo bills itself more as a social network than a straight dating site, and Hotornot is more of a game-like ratings site, you can see how the two might complement each other as Badoo expands out the features it offers to users.