EXCHANGE4MEDIA - June 14 - Bumble launched its new campaign, Find Them On Bumble, (Mumbai and New Delhi) aimed at celebrating its diverse community. The campaign encourages single Indians to make the first move from the comfort of their homes to forge healthy and equitable connections on Bumble. As per Bumble's recent nationwide survey, 54% of Mumbaikars claimed they prefer 'slow dating' and getting to know someone better before meeting in person. Nearly two in five Delhiites surveyed claim they are more likely to go on a video or an audio date before meeting someone IRL.
Momo Looks for Excitement With Tantan Overhaul
SEEKING ALPHA - June 11 - Momo believes its underperforming Tantan app could grow strongly following a major overhaul now in the works. Tang Yan's move from the CEO's office was just the beginning of a bigger shakeup. That shakeup claimed new victims in April with the departure of the CEO and COO of the Tantan app that Momo acquired for $760M in 2018. Momo's current CEO Wang Li, formerly Momo's longtime COO, confirmed the changes at the top of Tantan on the company's action-packed investor call following the release of its quarterly earnings this week. Investors seemed to welcome the news, with Momo’s shares up 10% since the announcement of the company's latest quarterly results. The company's revenue fell 3.4% to $543M in the Q1, and Momo said it expects another decline of ~5% in the current quarter. Both of those figures do represent an improvement from the 12% revenue decline from last year, including a 19% drop in the Q4. Q1 profit was similarly uninspired, falling 14%.
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Behind Bumble's Fight Against Unsolicited Nudes
BUMBLE - June 14 - When Whitney Wolfe Herd founded Bumble back in 2014, safety was central to her mission. After learning one in three women using Bumble had received non-consensual lewd photos, Bumble introduced proprietary technology that automatically detects and blurs nude images. Bumble has been working with legislators at the state level to create penalties for sending unsolicited lewd photos. Now, the sharing of a lewd photo online without the recipient's consent in Texas is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500. This year, Bumble has worked with legislators to introduce additional state-level bills in both California and New York.
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SafeDate.io Wins Accelerator Space
LINKEDIN - June 12 - SafeDate.io is headed by mature CEO Sid Klein (Wharton, P&G) and is building safer dating apps focused on eliminating predators and victimization. They just scored space at a 28k sq ft accelerator hub at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) which gets them working space, interns, and guidance from faculty and mentors, along with introductions to investors, and money to cover expenses. This came as part of SafeDate.io being named a finalist in the FAU 2021 Tech Runway Startup competition. The award recognizes exceptional high-growth potential and disruptive technology.
Mark Brooks: One to watch. Trust and safety are paramount in our space, so no wonder Sid's new product is resonating. I'll be intrigued to see what kind of product they deliver.
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Internet Dating Jobs Listing Update - June 2021
OPW - June 11 - The new Internet dating jobs listing is live on the Internet Dating Jobs blog.
Below see a couple of this month's most interesting offers:
Bumble
VP Growth Marketing (USA or London)
Dil Mil
CMO
Lovoo
Vice President of Growth
Match Group
VP, Product
Reflex Media
VP of Finance
The League
VP Marketing
Tinder
Tinder Business Director, UK & Nordics
To see more open positions go here.
Do you have an idating industry job offer which is not included? Please, send it to tips@onlinepersonalswatch.com and we will add it to the list.
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Grindr Embraces the Return of Live Events for Pride Month
ADWEEK - June 11 - Grindr is supporting 10 iconic LGBTQ+ venues across the US. The pandemic wiped out most Pride Month in-person events in 2020. Grindr is welcoming the return toward normalcy for Pride Month 2021 with its "Grindr Pride: The Comeback" campaign.
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Israeli Man Starts Matchmaking Service for Non-vaccinated Jewish Singles
FORWARD.COM - June 11 - Three decades ago, Israeli real-estate agent Daniel Michael was set up with his wife by a neighbor. Now, Michael is providing the same service, but for a niche demographic: Jewish singles who have opted not to get the COVID-19 vaccine. "There are many singles who are only interested in someone that is not getting the shot," Michael said. "And I figured maybe I'm the one to put them together." With ~57% of its population fully vaccinated, Israel has led the world in immunization rates.
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Matrimonial Sites Are Doing Well
NEW INDIAN EXPRESS - June 11 - As meeting people has become difficult during the lockdown, matrimonial sites have launched video calling and Weddings From Home services. Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO, Matrimony.com, said there has been a 25% increase in the number of registrations on their site during the lockdown and even on a quarter-on-quarter basis, they are reporting double digit growth. According to Adhish Zaveri, Senior Director - Marketing, Shaadi.com, the matchmaking industry has done well in the past year or so. "During the first wave, the engagement on Shaadi.com was up by 30-50% YOY. We also saw a 35-40% uptick in new members signing up."
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BlueCity Q1 Results 2021: Revenue up 31%
GLOBE NEWSWIRE - June 10 - BlueCity's Q1 revenues reached RMB271.1M ($41.4M), up 30.7% YOY. Net loss was RMB52.1M ($7.9M), compared with net loss of RMB7.6M in Q1 2020. Monthly active users of BlueCity's portfolio apps reached 8.3M, up 37.5% YOY. Total paying users reached 640K, up 47.8% YOY. Revenues from live streaming services reached RMB219.9M ($33.6M), up 22.4% YOY. Revenues from membership services reached RMB26.4M ($4M), up 75.9% YOY. Revenues from advertising services reached RMB12M ($1.8M), from merchandise sales of "He Health" RMB11.4M ($1.7M). BlueCity's portfolio apps include Blued, LESDO and Finka.
See full article at Globe Newswire
See the top news on Blued
See the top news on Lesdo
See the top news on Finka
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Does Match.com's 'Hannah' Enjoy Microwaving Butterflies?
SNOPES - June 10 - In 2015, the UK version of the Match.com dating site unveiled a #Loveyourimperfections promotional campaign, which urged viewers to embrace their imperfections with the suggestion that someone users could find through Match.com might consider what they see as a flaw to be a positive attribute. One of the most-reproduced images purportedly derived from this campaign is "Hannah," whose imperfection is that she "microwaves butterflies in her spare time." "Hannah" wasn't really microwaving butterflies, however, nor was that trait assigned to her by Match.com's advertising campaign. The popular image was the product of the (now-dormant) Twitter account WeFixYourAdverts, which posted versions of advertisements that had been tweaked through digital manipulation to make them darkly humorous.
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How Bumble Is Spreading Awareness About Unsolicited Fetishization
ADWEEK - June 10 - Bumble recently conducted a survey finding one in every two respondents "[did] not have a clear understanding of what fetishization means as it relates to identities, race, body type, profession and more." In contrast, those most likely to experience unsolicited acts of fetishization showed a much clearer understanding of it. To break down its impact, Bumble released a short film revealing one-on-one conversations where each person discusses how this dehumanizing behavior has impacted them in and outside of dating.
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KiKi Social Implements an AI System to Protect Users' Privacy
KIKI - June 10 - KiKi, a social marketplace that connects like-minded real people to enjoy nearby experiences that, in alliance with the company Suments Data, will implement new technology, based on AI and deep learning technology, which will ensure Photographs of users in the event of possible theft or malicious misuse. In this alliance, the KiKi Social app extends the security of its users beyond the application with in-depth tracking of the network of networks. This security measure is added to others already implemented by the social network and available to users. KiKi Social has the IDEA Social Safety Badge, with which it adheres to its promise to protect users against many forms of abusive behavior.
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Mixed up in Love: Challenges in Interracial Dating and Relationships
INNER CIRCLE - June 10 - Inner Circle partnered up with Tineka Smith, author of Mixed Up, to summarize some of the challenges and themes behind British people's behaviors regarding interracial dating and relationships.
- Mixed couples most likely to suffer negative reactions from friends, family, and colleagues
- Daters still fear racism, stereotyping, and microaggressions when using apps
- Racial fetishization is a common issue contributing to racism on dating apps
- Talking about racial challenges as a couple or while dating is taboo for many
- Challenging conversations around cultural differences vary based on ethinic background
Tineka also shared her advice for singles and couples navigating interracial dating and relationships
- Don't avoid the discussion
- Create a safe space
- Honesty is the best policy
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Popular Online Choices During Pandemic
PRESS ASSOCIATION - June 9 - UK adults spent more time online than other large European countries such as France and Germany during the pandemic, according to Ofcom research. They 217 minutes online each day in 2020. More than an hour longer than in Germany and France and 30 minutes more than Spain. Tinder was the most popular dating app among young online UK adults. 11% of 18-24 year-olds used Tinder in Sep 2020. Plenty of Fish was most popular among the 45-54 age group. However lockdown saw an increase in romance scams, with money lost to fraudsters increasing 12% to £18.5 million.
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