CHANNEL4 - Nov 19 - According to a study, 80% of online daters misrepresent themselves on dating sites/apps. Lying about age, weight, or using a more flattering photo is a normal practice on dating sites. Well, maybe not, especially if it's treated as sexual fraud. Lawyers are calling for tougher rules governing online dating to make catfishing for sex a crime. Anna Rowe, a victim of such a fraud, started a petition to make catfishing a crime. Anna fell in love with a man she met online. After 14 months of dating, she discovered that he was using fake identity, was married and actively having relationships with multiple women simultaneously. 44K people have already signed the petition. Prof. Irina Manta specializes in intellectual property law in the state of New York. She wrote a paper - Tinder Lies and an article in Washington Post calling for change in the law in the USA.
Lawyers Call for Tougher Rules for Online Dating
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Match CEO Mandy Ginsberg to Speak at Ignition 2018 Next Month
BUSINESS INSIDER - Nov 19 - Match Group has been tangled up in a lawsuit – and countersuit – with Bumble since March. In May, Facebook announced plans to launch Facebook dating. Match Group is faced with the challenge of defending their market share. Match CEO Mandy Ginsberg will be discussing that at IGNITION 2018, Business Insider's flagship conference, in December 3-4, 2018 in New York.
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Law Professor Wants to Make Catfishing for Sex a Crime
WASHINGTON POST - Nov 19 - Anyone who uses an online dating site or an app knows that people don't always look like their photos. One study found that 80% of people lie in their profiles. Lies such as age or weight are harmless and easy to detect when meeting in person. But other lies are more dangerous. Some people lie to get sex and dating apps make it very easy. In a forthcoming law review, Prof Irina Manta will propose that state lawmakers confront this issue and make catfishing for sex punishable. Fines would be capped at $10K.
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Gay Dating App Chappy Hires New Managing Director
GAY STAR BUSINESS - Nov 18 - Back in September, gay dating app Chappy relaunched. The sibling app of Bumble, where women must make the first move, Chappy hopes to empower gay men in a similar way. With the relaunch, users can specify the type of relationship they're looking for. Adam Cohen-Aslatei has recently became Chappy's new Managing Director. "Our industry tends to have few gay leaders in top positions, and that's one reason I am so honored to be in this role," he said. 'We believe everyone in our community deserves a better way to meet new people and build relationships,' Cohen-Aslatei states of Chappy's goals. 'We also solve some of the most frustrating gay dating pain point. Endless torso scrolling is dead. All of our profile pictures feature a face and a name. Our bios are descriptive and we have a zero tolerance for hate and discrimination. All Chappy members sign a pledge to treat people with kindness and respect. Also, all profiles are verified.'
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The Most Popular Love Language on Hinge Is Quality Time
BUSTLE - Nov 16 - Dr. Gary Chapman outlined love language in his book The 5 Love Languages. The idea being that there are five different ways people feel love and show love in their relationships. The five love languages are: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. But what's the most popular way to express yourself in a romantic relationship? According to new data from dating app Hinge, the most common love language is Quality Time, which was over twice as popular for its users as the next option, Words of Affirmation. There was some discrepancy between men and women in how they looked at the other love languages. For men, Physical Touch and Words of Affirmation were both neck-in-neck for second place, but for women it was just Words of Affirmation comfortably in ahead.
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Transnational Marriage Match Ads Banned in Taiwan
FOCUSTAIWAN - Nov 16 - The National Immigration Agency (NIA) slapped fines of between NT$35K ($1,133) and NT$300K on violators of a law that bans advertisements for transnational marriage matchmaking services. The ban is clearly stated in the Immigration Act. It said people have been complaining to the agency that they have been conned out of money by the people running transactional marriage match ads on social media and television.
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Apple's Influence Is Greater than iPhone Sales Figures Suggest
TECH1ST - Nov 16 - The iPhone may bring in ~60% of Apple's revenues, but it still only accounts for a fifth of smartphones sold worldwide. But its influence is greater than this suggests. The company's App Store accounts for roughly two-thirds of the $20B that was paid in the latest quarter, according to App Annie. Maximising revenues from each user, rather than simply selling more devices, is now Apple's top priority. The shift was confirmed by this month’s news that it will no longer disclose iPhone sales volumes.
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Interview with George Kidd, CEO of Online Dating Association
OPW INTERVIEW - Nov 19 - The OnlineDatingAssociation.org.uk is based in the UK and was formed to help a group of dating companies discuss standards and speak as one voice to regulators. A good cause. George Kidd is the CEO, and we interviewed him about some sticky issues in Internet dating.
What is the greatest concern regarding online dating safety?
It is the distinction between a profile and a person; how we see and present ourselves online and when messaging and how we truly are as individuals. That is why a key ODA message is "Get to know the person, not the profile".
Do you think an online dating service has an obligation to provide background checks?
Yes and no. In Germany and the UK, third parties cannot access criminal records. Exemptions exist for those working in schools. Also many of those who commit some offence are first-time offenders: there is no previous database flagging past behaviour. We need, therefore, to look at what is practical in terms of prevention.
What are your thoughts on bots?
Operators should not create fake profiles to populate their service. I have heard the argument that it might be ok for some adult dating services to create profiles in order to balance up the gender ratio or to spice up a service that is about fantasy, not dating. I am not persuaded. Paying users surely don't want to chat with bots.
What are the existing laws surrounding financial scammers on online dating services?
Scamming is fraud, a criminal activity and prosecutable as such.
How should these crimes be prosecuted?
I am inclined to say better! But that is unfair on national and regional law enforcement agencies. Wrongdoers run their scams anywhere in the world. And, while there are some successful international co-operations, there are many more scams un-investigated for this reason.
Should the dating service be involved?
We are in a world of "best endeavours". In our case that might mean more real-time police sharing of reports of wrongdoing that allow operators to cut off any suspect behaviour. Somewhere in the mix sits financial institutions: "follow the money" or "block the payment" could make a huge difference.
There's an event on Friday 29th November you might want to check out. ODA are doing a session in the afternoon in London titled, "The impact of new wave dating services - are we now a form of social media?" Learn more.
Post by Mark Brooks, CEO IDEA
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"Big Data Demystified" - Author Interview
PROLIFIC WISDOM INTERVIEW - Nov 16 - We're moving towards a world where big data and A.I. will be far more significant in online dating. For some dating companies, it already is. But some terms and the general realm of big data and artificial intelligence seems shrouded in mystique. It would be nice to demystify big data and A.I. Dr David Stephenson does just this with his new book Big Data Demystified. I interviewed him to get a better sense of some of the mystique of big data. Dr Stephenson was head of Global Business Analytics at eBay and is a Cornell PhD.
Post by Mark Brooks, CEO IDEA
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Tinder Is Launching the 'Swipe Surge'
WIRED - Nov 15 - Tinder is testing a new feature called Swipe Surge, which sends a push notification when usage is spiking in a specific geographic area. During those periods, Tinder says the odds of finding a match are increased. Swipe Surges are triggered by a number of variables, including when activity in an area is two times normal averages. Users in cities where Swipe Surge is being tested can expect to receive around one notification a week. Tinder says surges tend to occur on Monday nights, though they can happen at any time. A surge might happen in response to a local event, like a music festival or conference. The company also says that in some cities, like New York, surges may happen later at night than elsewhere.
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Bumble Is Open to a Future IPO
WALL STREET JOURNAL - Nov 14 - Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's WSJ Tech D.Live conference on Wednesday, Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said an IPO could give her company more momentum to expand further internationally. Wolfe Herd founded the dating app in 2014 as a site where women must make the first move. The company now has ~45M users and is profitable, she said. Still, an IPO is more of an option than a necessity for Bumble right now. Wolfe Herd said her company's next phase of growth isn't contingent on raising this money this way and noted the offering is far from certain. "We're exploring a lot of different options right now," Wolfe Herd said.
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Tinder Tests an Expansion of Tinder U
TECH CRUNCH - Nov 15 - Starting this weekend, Tinder will allow college students on its Tinder U service to match with others outside their own university for the first time. The dating app is positioning this market test of a potential Tinder U expansion as the "Rivals Week" - a way to match users with those who attend a rival university (for a limited period of time). Tinder U's Rivalry Week starts Nov 17 in the U.S. for students attending four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities. It ends Nov 24. Tinder U launched a few months ago as a way to attract more younger users to its service. College students can choose to opt into Tinder U by signing up with their ".edu" email address. Until now, however, Tinder U limited users to matching only with those who attend their same school. That changes with "Rivals Week". The Tinder U product is live in ~1,200 colleges across the U.S.
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Bumble's Mental Health Notification Missed the Mark
THE MIGHTY - Nov 15 - On Tuesday, Canadian users of Bumble received a push notification that said, "Did you know 1 in 10 men will experience depression in their lives? Match today to support men's mental health." The purpose of the notification was to raise money for Movember Canada, the leading international charity addressing men's mental health, but some social media users took issue with the way it was worded, believing it encouraged women to take on the emotional burdens of men. Bumble quickly replied to Twitter users expressing discomfort with the wording of the push notification. While Bumble's intentions were good, the notification touched a nerve for many social media users because women are often expected to carry emotional weight of others.
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The Meet Group to Raise $10K for Action Against Hunger
PRESS RELEASE - Nov 15 - The Meet Group's members (MeetMe, Skout and Tagged) have been successful in raising $10K for Alex's Lemonade Stand in September and $10K for Ryan's Well Foundation in August. This month, the Meet Group is partnering with Action Against Hunger. The campaign is set to launch today (Nov 15) to raise an additional $10K to fight global hunger. The company will offer a limited edition virtual gift in its MeetMe, Skout, and Tagged mobile apps. For every gift sent to broadcasters, The Meet Group will donate $0.25. Action Against Hunger has led the global fight against hunger for ~40 years. The organization is committed to doubling the number of children who receive urgent hunger care, from 3M to 6M by 2020.
See full article at The Meet Group website
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How Bumble Plans to Get Buy-In From Women in India
WALL STREET JOURNAL - Nov 15 - Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd discussed the dating app's strategy for getting women in India to buy in and the company's move to producing primetime video content. "In India, we recruit hyper, hyper local influencers - people who have a voice in a college, people the young women look up to and respect," she said. "No social platform has really been able to create major traction because they have not had the buy in from women in India. Women don't feel safe. Women are not even creating profiles for themselves because of the safety issues", she continued. "We are launching all sorts of safety features. You have to verify yourself as a user, we are letting women register without their first name, just the first initial."
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Tinder's Head of Product Has Left
TECH CRUNCH - Nov 14 - Tinder's chief product officer Brian Norgard wants to get back to his entrepreneurial roots, citing former PayPal executive-turned-venture capitalist Keith Rabois as inspiration. Norgard, who joined Tinder as part of the acquisition of his Kleiner Perkins-backed ephemeral messaging startup Tappy in 2014, has confirmed that he's left Tinder to focus on building products and investing in early-stage businesses. Tinder has not yet identified his successor, but Norgard says "it's all positive vibes" between him and the company. Norgard began as Tinder's head of revenue before being promoted to the chief product role in late 2016. Prior to joining Tinder via Tappy, he co-founded two other successful startups: Chill, a Facebook app that garnered 30M users, and adtech startup Newroo, which was acquired by FOX Interactive in 2006.
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New Pair App Brings Respect, Safety and Honesty to Dating
BUSINESS WIRE - Nov 14 - Pair, a new app for iPhone designed to bring respect, safety and honesty to dating, is launching in US. On the app, users give each other a thumbs up or down for behavior, whether they are safe to be around, and whether their profiles are accurate. Pair then generates a safety and profile accuracy rating for each member. Members are rewarded for being responsive, behaving well and being active on the service. This reward comes in the form of prioritizing a member's profile.
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Shady Data Brokers Are Selling Online Dating Profiles by the Millions
MOTHERBOARD - Nov 14 - Tactical Tech and artist Joana Moll bought one million dating profiles for $153 from the data broker USDate. The profiles came from numerous dating sites including Match, Tinder, Plenty of Fish, and OkCupid. The datasets included usernames, email addresses, gender, age, sexual orientation, interests, profession, as well as detailed physical and personality traits and 5M photos. USDate claims on its website that the profiles it's selling are "genuine and that the profiles were created and belong to real people actively dating today and looking for partners." Most of the dating app companies that Moll contacted to comment on the practice of selling users' data to third parties didn't respond, she said. USDate did speak with her, and told her it was completely legal. In the company's frequently asked questions section on its website, it states that it sells "100% legal dating profiles as we have permission from the owners. Selling fake profiles is illegal because generated fake profiles use real people's photos without their permission."
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Increasing Number of People Pay Virtual Dating Assistants to Get a Date
GQ MAGAZINE - Nov 14 - For people too busy to swipe themselves, there's a new generation of cyber-cupids to help them hook up, break up and everything in between - from polishing profiles, to messaging potential dates. With a budget of £15K, Scott Valdez used Craigslist to hire two freelance writers and a PR manager, then founded Virtual Dating Assistants (styled Vida) in 2009. Since then, the business has grown exponentially. Vida has hundreds of clients. In the last year alone, it has seen a 50% increase in sign-ups and almost a third of its customers are women. The team has grown from a staff of three to 80, with matchmakers, profile writers, photo analysts and app swipers joining the ghostwriters. With pay-as-you-go monthly packages ranging from £400 (20 hours of dating assistance and an expected two-to-four dates per month) to £2k (100 hours, and eight to 20 dates per month), Vida already has a seven-figure revenue stream, and it's just getting started. Vida says that 99.6% of clients get dates, 63% of which turn into serious relationships, usually after 12 dates within three and a half months. After Vida obtains a phone number from a potential date, the client is sent an email with the full transcript of the conversation to read over and memorise (they are then expected to takeover via SMS).
by Eleanor Halls
See full article at GQ Magazine
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Badoo Finds a Dramatic Increase in Matches During 'Cuffing Season'
CNET - Nov 12 - Cuffing season refers to that "the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful" period when singles are typically more eager to be "cuffed," or shackled, to a significant other. Badoo found that matches increased by 105% for women and 67% for men in the winter, compared to in the summer. Badoo surveyed 2K of its users, and 71% of respondents admitted they search for a soulmate in the winter because it's the most romantic season to date.
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