Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

The Next LTR Online Conference

OPW - Jan 15 - LTR stands for Love, Technology, Relationships and is the dating and online social community industries online version of TED. This is where we meet, learn, and share.

LTR4 is on Thursday 21st January starting 11:30am EST. We have three world-class speakers. An inspirational speaker on collaboration, a speaker covering neuromarketing, and a niche industry upstart to help you think different. Plus two ~half hour networking sessions.

See the invite and online conference overview page

If you hold a full time leadership role at an Internet dating company then you are welcome in IDEA.gp, and are very welcome to join this event for free. Email mark@courtlandbrooks.com to RSVP and get your unique entry code. There are 75 places only.

Dating Group Acquires Slow Dating App Once for $18M

WUV.DE - Jan 19 - Once, the dating app that connects two people once a day with the help of AI, has been acquired by Dating Group for $18M (a combination of cash and Dating Group shares). Once claims ~10M users, and is popular in Germany, France and Italy. Clémentine Lalande, Once CEO, will continue to lead the company. The 37-year-old founded another feminist dating app, called Pickable, which she sold to Once in May 2019, and became the CEO.

by Nadia Riaz
See full article at Wuv.de

See the top news on Once
See the top news on Pickable
See the top news on Dating Group

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com

Capitol Riots: Bumble Unblocks Politics Filter

BBC.COM - Jan 19 - Bumble has reinstated its political preferences filter after disabling it "to prevent misuse" in the wake of the US Capitol riots. Following the violence, reports emerged online of some Bumble users switching the filter to find those who had taken part - and report them to authorities. Match Group has banned any users wanted by the FBI in connection with domestic terrorism from all of its platforms.

See full article at BBC

See the top news on Bumble
See the top news on Match Group

Lunch Actually Partners With eCommerce Platform Lazada to Launch Matchmaking Series

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE - Jan 18 - Matchmaking company Lunch Actually has partnered with eCommerce platform Lazada to launch a four-part matchmaking series leading up to Valentine's Day. The campaign, titled "Match me if you can", will combine shopping and entertainment, and allows the audience to purchase various Lunch Actually services while being directly involved in interactive content delivered by dating experts through a live streaming on the Lazada platform, LazLive. Lunch Actually and Lazada will feature the journey of two singles who are trying to find a match, and viewers can either follow their dating journey, or submit their own profiles to be match with the featured bachelor and bachelorette. Lunch Actually has been operating for 17 years in five countries in Asia, including Singapore.

by Grace Ong
See full article at Marketing-Interactive

See the top news on Lunch Actually

Aisle Launches 'One by Two' Campaign

BUSINESS INSIDER - Jan 18 - Aisle's new campaign, 'One by Two', celebrates the Indian-way of romance. The videos explore the first date jitters of a young couple and highlight how sharing is the Indian way of romance. Aisle is an app that connects people of Indian-origin from around the world, who are looking for serious relationships. Over the last two quarters, Aisle saw more downloads than Bumble and became the second most popular dating app in India.

See full article at Business Insider

See the top news on Aisle

Christian Dating Site CDFF Finds Singles Connecting More During Lockdown

PR NEWSWIRE - Jan 18 - According to CDFF's (ChristianDatingForFree.com) recent dating poll of 2K+ singles, people are connecting more since the pandemic. Other findings are: 44% of singles feel that dating during the pandemic is pretty much the same, 38% of singles reported being pessimistic while 19% of singles reported being more optimistic about dating during a lockdown.

See full article at PR Newswire

Muzmatch: Diversity & Inclusion

MUZMATCH YOUTUBE CHANNEL - Jan 18 - Muzmatch CEO and Founder Shahzad Younas took part in Google's Fireside webinar, discussing building a diverse and inclusive culture, motivation while working from home, and how Muzmatch helps connect people through lockdown.

See the top news on Muzmatch

Dating Apps Are Using Images From the Siege to Ban Rioters' Accounts

WASHINGTON POST - Jan 18 - Bumble, Tinder and others are freezing out rioters with help from law enforcement and, in some cases, their own photos. Other app users have taken matters into their own hands by striking up conversations with potential rioters and relaying their information to the FBI. Some onlookers have celebrated the viral hunt as a creative form of digital comeuppance. But some privacy advocates said the episode reveals a worrying truth about pervasive public surveillance and the opaque connections between private companies and law enforcement. Both Bumble and Match Group said they were working to remove users known to be involved in the Capitol siege from their platforms.

by Drew Harwell, Lisa Bonos & Craig Timberg
See full article at Washington Post

See the top news on Bumble
See the top news on Tinder
See the top news on Match Group

Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd's Letter

BUSINESS INSIDER - Jan 18 - Whitney Wolfe Herd, who cofounded rival dating app Tinder, launched Bumble in 2014. In a letter accompanying Bumble's S-1 paperwork, Herd celebrated Bumble's women-first approach as well as "1.7B first moves made by women." You can read the full letter here.

See the top news on Bumble

Bumble IPO Filing Details $125M Cash Payout and Loan to Founder

FINANCIAL TIMES - Jan 18 - Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd received a $125M payout following a complex reorganisation of the dating app's parent company, according to a regulatory filing ahead of its IPO. Bumble also loaned $119M to an entity controlled by Ms Wolfe Herd. She settled the remainder of the loan this month. The company reported 42.1M monthly active users across Badoo and Bumble at the end of Sep, of which ~2.4M were paying users. But the company's growth has slowed since Blackstone agreed to purchase a majority stake in 2019 and installed Ms Wolfe Herd as CEO. Bumble reported net losses of $117M in the first nine months of last year, a reversal from positive earnings of $69M during the same period in 2019, but a figure that the company said was affected by transaction costs. In the first nine months of 2020, Bumble reported revenues of $417M, up 14.9% YOY. The company said it would use IPO proceeds largely to pay down debt and repurchase equity interests from private shareholders.

by Miles Kruppa & Hannah Murphy
See full article at Financial Times

See the top news on Bumble

O'Doul's & Match.com Partner

MARKETING DIVE - Dec 16 - O'Doul's and Match are partnering to offer Virtual Date Kits. O'Doul's is a non-alcoholic beer. The virtual date kits include limited-edition O'Doul's cans in Match's signature blue color, custom socks, a candle, dating conversation cards, a smartphone stand and a selfie light. In addition, Match is updating its app to include drinking preferences. As people sign up for a chance to receive a Virtual Date Kit, O'Doul's and Match can collect valuable consumer data.

by Chris Kelly
See full article at Marketing Dive

See the top news on Match.com

Bumble Survey: 40% of Single Indians to Opt for Virtual Dating in 2021

TNN - Jan 14 - Virtual dating is the new norm in India, according to Bumble's recent nationwide survey. After connecting with people virtually, 83% of single Indians are comfortable to meet up in-person. The study also reveals that 40% of single Indians will opt for virtual dating in 2021.

See full article at Times of India

See the top news on Bumble

Bumble Files to Go Public

TECH CRUNCH - Jan 15 - Bumble plans to list its share on the Nasdaq stock exchange, using the ticker symbol "BMBL." Bumble's planned IPO was first reported in December. You can read its IPO filing here. Bumble claims 42M monthly active users as of Q3 2020 with 2.4M paying users. The company reports revenue of $417M in the first 9 months of 2020 and net income of (-$117M). If you extrapolate Bumble's Q1, Q2, and Q3 revenue to a full-year number, the company could manage $555.5M in 2020 revenues. However, its sharp unprofitability in 2020 could damper its eventual valuation.

by Alex Wilhelm
See full article at Tech Crunch

See the top news on Bumble

Bumble Temporarily Removes Politics Filter

INDEPENDENT.CO.UK - Jan 14 - Bumble has temporarily removed its politics filter "to prevent misuse" in response to tweets encouraging users to change their political view to conservative in an attempt to match with and identify Capitol rioters. Bumble has previously said that it had begun taking action against profiles promoting involvement in the riots.

by Chelsea Ritschel
See full article at Independent.co.uk

See the top news on Bumble

More Young Indonesians Skip Dating, Go Straight to Marriage

WALL STREET JOURNAL - Jan 14 - Dating still remains the main method of courtship for young Indonesians. Dating apps such as Tinder are popular in large cities like Jakarta, and a 2017 government survey found that two-thirds of Indonesians aged 15 to 24 have dated. But many Islamic figures say it encourages young men and women to engage in premarital sex, which is forbidden in Islam. Some couples chose a speedy marriage, with much of the getting-to-know-each-other process occurring after the wedding. The practice is known as "taaruf." Taaruf differs from arranged marriages, as it is often initiated by young people themselves rather than their families. There are even online taaruf apps, such as Taaruf Online Indonesia which currently has 18K active users.

by Jon Emont
See full article at Wall Street Journal

See the top news on Tinder

IAC, Barry Diller Targeted by Pension Fund Over Match Spinoff

BLOOMBERG LAW - Jan 13 - A pension fund sued Match Group Inc.'s board, former controlling stockholder IAC/InterActiveCorp, and billionaire businessman Barry Diller, claiming Match Group's spinoff last year left it saddled with billions in debt and IAC "flush with billions in cash."

by Mike Leonard
See full article at Bloomberg Law

See the top news on Match Group