TECH CRUNCH - Nov 13 - These same options have been live in the U.S. since November 2016, when Tinder added options for transgender and gender non-conforming people. Tinder says it's expanding its support team and educating its staff about the issues that these communities face in India. Additionally, Tinder is inviting back users who were banned after being unfairly reported by others due to their gender. They will be able to email the company with a link to their Facebook profile in order to have their request reviewed by Tinder's team, in order to be let back in.
Tinder to Roll Out Expanded Set of Gender Options in India
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Interview with DateAha! Founder Stan Bradbury, Yelp for Online Dating
OPW INTERVIEW - Nov 12 - DateAha! wants to be Yelp for online dating. The tool launched last week. Its a free browser extension that syncs with user's profiles on dating sites so they can leave anonymous comments regarding someone's profile, based on dates or interactions. Comments can be then viewed by other DateAha! users.
What was the motivation behind creating DateAha!? What problem are you trying to solve in the online dating world?
The biggest problem in the dating world is the toxic behavior of (primarily) men due to the lack of accountability for their actions. This prevents women from trying online dating because they’ve heard horror stories from friends or they try and quit within days or weeks because of the obnoxious behavior they encounter – leading to a gender disparity on most sites. The industry would be larger and healthier if there was gender balance on platforms and this is only going to be achieved by rooting out the toxic behavior of the bad actors in the system.
How would a typical user use DateAha! to learn more about their date?
As they browse online dating profiles they may notice our extension icon pop with a number. This means that other users have already left that many comments about that profile/URL. They have the option to click on our icon and review the previous comments, reply to one or more of those comments or add their own comment about that profile. These user generated comments are a form of validation by the community and will help daters know that the person in the profile is real and genuine. This includes validating that the information provided is accurate and help weed out misleading photos, age, marital status and other biographical information.
How does DateAha! operate within the permissions and privacy restrictions of the dating apps it services?
We don't have an app solution yet. Our first generation release is for online dating websites. DateAha! only works for people who already have online dating profiles and access to the dating websites. We don't share any content from the dating site or reuse it in any way. For instance, if you are not a OKCupid member you can't view the profile and glean the additional user generated content from other registered OKCupid users. We are like the extension Honey for online dating websites – our users have access to additional information as they browse. The failure of earlier services like Lulu and Peeple is they needed users to create profiles on a third-party platform including taking images or profile data from the dating website and then enable commenting on that third-party platform. We don't do that, we don't touch the underlying content and only registered users of that service can see the comments about those pages.
Apart from DateAha!, how do you think dating services can better protect their users?
I think the dating services have a stronger incentive to increase paid users than protect them. DateAha! works with every online dating site (and every app in the future) so there is nowhere for the toxic users to hide – if they don't change their behavior they will be driven out of the system. Part of the dating sites problem is they only have a binary choice – keep the user or delete their account. They error on the side of keeping the user, especially a paid user. DateAha! allows them to keep the user but give people feedback about the user so they can make better decisions and so the offending users might also improve the way they interact with other people.
How will DateAha! function differently when it is released on iOS and Android vs web?
The biggest difference is it will be more of a pull method on apps instead of a push method where we can see the URL as you browse and be proactively viewing our database for comments associated with that URL and pop the icon to show you if there are matching comments.
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Chappy Partners With Glaad to Raise Funds for LGBTQ Community
THE DRUM - Nov 12 - Gay dating app Chappy is partnering with LGBTQ advocacy group Glaad. The partnership, called 'Chats for Charity', is designed to raise money for the organization with each chat session initiated on the app. This feature will become a fixture of the app in 2019, but Chappy will begin donating immediately. Chappy has also appointed Adam Cohen-Aslatei as its new managing director to be based in the company's New York City headquarters.
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The Oldie Magazine Has Launched Greydar, a 50+ Dating Service
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - Nov 12 - When The Oldie was founded by Private Eye co-founder Richard Ingrams in 1992, the idea was to give a funny, ironic, well-informed voice to the old. It's just launched Greydar, a free service, where older people can date, share tips and buy or sell anything. Already 2K members have signed up, and there are ~1K postings.
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Bumble Launches BumbleSpot, Verified Locations Where Users Can Meet Matches in Real Life
BUSTLE - Nov 8 - The first BumbleSpot partnership is with Moxy Hotels, Marriott International's experiential brand, where official Spots will be at eight of their locations: two in New York (Times Square and the Financial District), and one apiece in Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, Seattle, Tempe, and Minneapolis. Bumble will be rolling out more Spots throughout the year at various restaurants, bars, and coffee shops across the U.S. and Canada, and in some international locations in 2019. Some of the BumbleSpot locations will have Bumble benefits and promotions, too. For instance, with the Moxy partnership, Bumble users will receive complimentary access to Moxy's workspace for entrepreneurs on the go, food discounts, two-for-one cocktail specials.
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Founder of Trump Dating App Says Politics Should 'Be an Icebreaker'
FOXNEWS - Nov 12 - Emily Moreno founded "Donald Daters," which helps singles connect with others who are like-minded in their support for President Trump. "People that go on Tinder and Bumble are told that if you're a Trump supporter, swipe left," Moreno said. Moreno said that there is a risk of "unhinged" liberals seeking to infiltrate the app and shame users for their Trump support. "You can have politics and love if you choose to, but with 'Donald Daters' ... you don't have to just talk politics. It should be an icebreaker," Moreno said.
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Zhenai Survey Finds Reasons People Remain Single in China
CHINA.ORG - Nov 10 - A recent survey conducted by Chinese online matchmaking platform zhenai.com showed the top reasons why some people choose to remain single in China. Being afraid of starting an "awkward chat" is one of the top reasons to remain single. 53% said they always feel embarrassed when striving to make conversation on a date. Personal economic status is another major consideration in relationships. ~70% of the participants consider buying an apartment a necessity in marriage while only 30% accept rental housing. 54% stating that they would not give up their careers for the sake of marriage.
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Internet Dating Jobs Listing Update - November 2018
OPW - Nov 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:
Badoo
Chief Marketing Officer
CoffeeMeetsBagel
VP of Analytics
DilMil
VP Engineering
Hinge
Head of Parnerships
Lovoo
Managing Director
Match Group
VP, Product
Meetic
Brand Acquisition Director
Online Buddies
Chief Operating Officer
POF
VP of Marketing
To see more open positions go here.
Do you have an idating industry job offer which is not included? Please, send it to petra@courtlandbrooks.com and we will add it to the list.
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OPW Is Easier - Shortcut Domain www.OPW.news
OPW - Nov 9 - We've made it easier for you to get to OPW on your phone. Now you can just use the URL 'OPW.news'.
But why not subscribe to the daily and weekly emails. See right bar (desktop) or below (mobile). Get the emails and you'll never miss a beat. We spend 3 hours a day reading the news, so you don't have to.
What else can we do to improve OPW?
Post by Mark Brooks, CEO IDEA
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Facebook Dating Launching in Canada
THE CANADIAN PRESS - Nov 9 - Facebook Dating, which was previously piloted in Colombia, operates with users creating profiles that are separate from their Facebook ones and kept out of sight of friends. The company will recommend matches that users aren't already friends with, but who share dating preferences, interests and if they'd like, mutual friends or groups and events. Facebook Dating's Canadian roll-out comes as Facebook is embroiled in privacy concerns following a series of data breaches. Some experts said the dating offering will raise privacy concerns of its own and is unlikely to assuage worries about the platform. Users will have to opt-in for the dating feature instead of being automatically enrolled. There will also be a feature that allows people to be blocked and prevents users from messaging potential interests more than once, if the other person hasn't reciprocated with a response. If a user is overwhelmed with matches or wants to take a break from dating, they can pause Dating and if they decide the app isn't for them, they can opt-out and all their Dating data will be destroyed.
by Tara Deschamps
See full article at News 1130
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Parship Is Not "Germany's Largest Dating Agency", the Court Ruled
RNZ - Nov 8 - Parship described itself as Germany's largest online dating service which was disliked by LoveScout24, Parship's biggest competitor in Germany. LoveScout24 ended up suing Parship for false advertising statements. This week, The Higher Regional Court Munich ruled in favor or LoveScout24. So who is at the top? According to the study "Der Deutsche Online-Dating-Markt 2017/2018", both sites have ~10M users each. Parship was founded in 2001 and has been part of the TV group ProSiebenSat.1 together with its smaller sister site Elite-Partner for two years. Parship employs 230 people and generated ~120M Eur in revenue in 2017. LoveScout24 does not want to disclose its revenues.
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eHarmony Has a Plan to Stop Online Daters from 'Ghosting' Each Other
YAHOO FINANCE - Nov 9 - eHarmony is hoping to launch a chatbot to stop people from ghosting, or cutting off communication with potential matches. The would-be feature, which eharmony has yet to start development on, would pop up in the user interface after an online conversation with another user drops off after several days or weeks. The dating bot feature could be introduced within the next 18 months.
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Dating Apps Turn to AI to Help Users Find Love
AGENCE PRESSE-FRANCE - Nov 9 - The online dating sector is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to help arrange meetings in real life and act as a dating coach. These new uses for AI - the science of programming computers to reproduce human processes like thinking and decision making - by dating apps were highlighted at Web Summit in Lisbon. eHarmony is developing an AI-enabled feature which would nudge users to suggest meeting in person after they have been chatting in the app for a while. "There is a lot of activity on dating apps but by and large there is not a lot of dates," said eHarmony CEO Grant Langston. "Guys don't know how to ask. It's astounding really how many people need help and we think we can do that in an automated way." British dating app Loveflutter plans to use AI to analyse chats between its users to determine their compatibility and suggest when they should meet. "We will ping a message saying 'You are getting along really well, why don't you go on your first date'," said Loveflutter co-founder Daigo Smith. Tinder founder Sean Rad said AI would "create better user experiences" and predicted iPhone's Siri voice assistant would in the future act as a matchmaker. An entirely voice-operated dating app called AIMM which uses AI to mirror a human matchmaking service is already being tested in Denver where it has ~1K users. Badoo is now using AI and facial recognition technology to let users find a match that looks like anyone at all, including their ex or a celebrity crush.
See full article at The National
See all posts on eHarmony See all posts on Tinder
See all posts on Loveflutter See all posts on Badoo
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The Inner Circle Is Raising Awareness for Movember
THE INNER CIRCLE - Nov 9 - Testicular cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in young men. 1 in 20 men diagnosed with testicular cancer won't make it. 1 in 8 men have experienced a mental health problem. 75% of suicides are men. The Inner Circle users can donate to Movember, a multinational charity that aims to raise awareness of and money for men's health. The Inner Circle is giving all Movember campaigners a free full membership for the month.
by David Vermeulen
See full article at The Inner Circle
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Michigan-startup Launches DateAha! - a Yelp-like Online Dating Extension
DETROIT METRO TIMES - Nov 8 - Date Aha! president and co-founder Stan Bradbury, says that one of the biggest downfalls to dating in the last decade is the lack of transparency. Though not a dating site itself, what DateAha! is hoping to do is make up for years of bad dates, toxic behavior, and misleading profile photos. The free tool, which launches Friday, Nov. 9, is a browser extension that syncs with a user's pre-existing dating profile on sites like Match.com, OkCupid, PlentyOf Fish, eHarmony, Zoosk or Badoo. Once installed, a user can leave anonymous comments regarding someone's profile based on dates or interactions gone wrong and those comments can be viewed by other DateAha! users to better inform whether or not the person is a total creep. Any comment can be replied to and the original poster will be notified. DateAha! monitors comments and can block people from being able to re-install the extension. Currently, DateAha! is not available for smartphone apps like Tindr and Bumble, but that's on the DateAha! agenda in the coming months.
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PeerStream Reports Q3 2018 Results
GLOBE NEWSWIRE - Nov 8 - Total revenue of $6.7M increased 12.8% YOY. Net loss was ~$570K, a $1.4M improvement YOY. Net loss was driven by a $576 thousand impairment loss on digital tokens received by the company in connection with the ProximaX technology services agreement. Judy Krandel, CFO, commented, "Subscription revenue from our video properties was stable YOY, offset by a decline in subscription revenue primarily from dating assets.
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What's Next? Augmented Reality Phone Dating
OPW - Nov 8 - Phones will go away when Augmented Reality display tech. gets rolled out. AR phone tech is almost here. AVEGANT shows off the tech at Web Summit. Start planning for AR dating!
Post by Mark Brooks, CEO IDEA
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Sean Rad On Tinder Innovation, And Suing Match
OPW - Nov 8 - Sean Rad spoke at Web Summit yesterday. Here's the OPW.news 4 minute highlight video. Sean talks about:
- getting demoted
- Tinder innovation by cross-examination
- suing Match Group
Post by Mark Brooks, CEO IDEA
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Tinder Doubles Down On Its Casual Nature
TECH CRUNCH - Nov 8 - Tinder has never really shaken its reputation as a "hook up" app, instead of one designed for more serious dating. Now, it seems Tinder is planning to embrace its hook up status. According to Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg, Tinder is launching its first-ever brand marketing campaign that will promote the "single lifestyle" with billboards and other digital initiatives. "The market defined the brand, versus the business defining the brand," said Ginsberg, referring to its "hook up app" reputation. The company will also invest more in Hinge going forward. Ginsberg said Hinge will help the company to address the "previously underserved" audience of 20-somethings looking for a serious relationship. The plan is to make Hinge the anti-Tinder, then pull in users as they exit Tinder in search of something real.
by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch
See all posts on Match Group
See all posts on Tinder
See all posts on Hinge
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Harmonica, The eHarmony Of Egypt
QANTARA.DE - Nov 8 - Lack of compatibility is often cited by Egyptian partners who go their separate ways just a few years into marriage, one of the common reasons behind millions of divorces in Egypt. A group of young Egyptians decided to launch a mobile app called Harmonica with hopes the app will help reduce the divorce rate in Egypt. Harmonica asks users a large number of questions that have been designed by psychology specialists. These questions help pinpoint the interests and way of thinking of each user to a great extent. The answers are then analysed by a certain algorithm; based on the results, the application determines the best potential partners. The founders stress that Harmonica is not a dating app, but rather it has been specially designed for people looking for spouses.
by Mostafa Fathi
See full article at Qantara.de
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