« May 2013 | Main | July 2013 »
Second-time Brides Fuelling Rise In Weddings
IOL - June 27 - The number of marriages has gone up for the second year in a row, partly thanks to a growth (6.5% increase) in couples in their late 50s and 60s getting hitched for a second or third time. 15% of all weddings involved a husband and wife both marrying for the second time.
by Steve Doughty
See full article at IOL
| |
Let’s Date Names New CEO
ALLTHINGSD - June 25 - Let's Date, the mobile matchmaking app startup, named Adam Huie its new CEO. Huie was a co-founder and director of strategy and operations at Hatch Labs, the development shop responsible for creating Tinder. Tinder is Let’s Date’s largest competitor. After Tinder was built, parent company IAC shut down Hatch Labs and shuttered many of the projects within. Tinder, the most successful app to come out of Hatch Labs by far, is still up and running under IAC’s ownership. Huie and Let’s Date prefer the more detailed, full-profile approach. “We actually want to match folks together to go on a date, so we provide extra features after the match,” said Huie.
| |
Online Matrimony On The Rise, So Is The Divorce Rate
TIMES OF INDIA - June 26 - Online matrimony portals are concerned that the rising tide of divorces across India could threaten their businesses. They are offering counselling services and free books on the dos and don'ts of a happy marriage. It is estimated that nearly half of marital break-ups involve partners who met online. "About seven cases out of every 10 that I handle are of marriages arranged through matrimonial websites," said UjwalaMandgi, a divorce lawyer. The online matrimony market is growing ~30% annually. Posting incorrect information on age, religion or marital status are the most common problems in online marriage portals, as is lying about salary.
by Harsimran Julka & Apurva Vishwanath
See full article at Times of India
| |
Dating Sites Are Not Appealing, Survey Finds
BUSINESS WIRE - June 24 - What started out as an enjoyable way for people to connect and interact with each other is turning into a time-consuming chore, according to a recent survey conducted by E-Score, a consumer research service. The survey identified the social media sites with the most consumer awareness, as well as the appeal of those sites.
Site Awareness Appeal Unique monthly users (US) ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- Facebook 85% 50% 140 million ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- Twitter 76% 18% 92 million ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- Google+ 58% 45% 28 million ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- eHarmony 56% 6% 18 million ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- Match.com 47% 6% 72 million ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- Pinterest 38% 42% 75 million ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- Instagram 37% 27% 26 million ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- MySpace 36% 10% 6 million ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- Yelp 25% 51% 15 million ---------- --------- ------ ------------------------- LinkedIn 23% 24% 64 million ---------- --------- ------ -------------------------
Match.com and eHarmony were among the top five most recognizable brands yet were among the lowest when ranked by appeal, indicating consumers' displeasure with the process of using social media to find a companion.
The full article was originally published at WSJ, but is no longer available.
| |
DateEvent.com Focuses On Getting Users Offline
BUSINESS WIRE - June 25 - DateEvent.com is a new dating site that allows users to create or join 'date events', essentially a date for 2 people at a set location. The service launches today in London. Users are free to create or join date events but require 1 token at the point of confirmation. At launch, a token is 3.60 pounds, though a deal allows 5 for the price of 3.
The full article was originally published at Market Watch, but is no longer available.
| |
Tinder Getting Popular In Australia
WATODAY - June 24 - Tinder, the new social dating app, is taking off in Australia. Tinder created 63M matches worldwide since its launch late last year. Tinder extracts user's Facebook data to find matches based on his/her likes and mutual friends. Users scroll through peoples' profile pictures and either 'like' or reject each one. If they happen to 'like' someone who's taken a prior liking to them, they're then introduced in a private chat. Tinder is currently growing at a rate of 4-5% every day in Australia, which is in line with the growth of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
by Jerrie Demasi
See full article at WAToday
| |
Airport Dating Is Taking Off
CANBERRA TIMES - June 24 - MeetAtTheAirport.com is for people who want to kill the extra time they have before their flight to meet like minded people. "People always tell you to meet in a public, safe place. What's safer than an airport?", said Steve Pasternack, the website's founder. Vino Volo is a small wine shop at the airport in Northern Virginia. Many people start their Parisian vacations with a glass of wine, and because seating is limited, Vino Volo often asks strangers if they wouldn't mind sitting together. At least one couple met there while waiting for a flight and later got engaged.
by John Kelly
See full article at Canberra Times
| |
iDate Beverly Hills Photos
OPW - June 24 - Photos are up for iDate Beverly Hills. See them here. The conference focused on mobile dating and was well attended by established Internet dating companies, along with upstart entrepreneurs and service providers. We highly recommend attending iDate Cologne in September and iDate Vegas in January. This is where the industry gets together to share thoughts, and where entrepreneurs can get a reality check on their fledgling business strategies.
| |
Cupid Gets Approached For Casual Dating Sites
REUTERS - June 20 - Cupid said it has been approached by multiple parties for its casual dating sites and added that it expects core earnings for the first half to be hit by higher marketing costs. Cupid was in talks to sell its casual dating business that operates benaughty.com and flirt.com. EBIDTA for the six months ending June 30 is estimated to be ~2.5M pounds ($3.9M).
| |
Match.com Introduces Offline Game Nights
PR NEWSWIRE - June 20 - Match.com is kicking off a 25 market Stir Game Night series by partnering with seven board game manufacturers to provide singles with a combination of icebreakers and party games. These live events will take place at bars and restaurants in select cities throughout the summer and fall.
The full article was originally published at WSJ, but is no longer available.
| |
AYI App Download Up 200%
PR NEWSWIRE - June 19 - AYI, owned by Snap Interactive, reports strong mobile growth (200% increase) on its iOS and Android platforms. New subscriber counts also increased by 91% for the iOS platform and by 147% for the Android platform in May 2013 as compared to April 2013. The increases are primarily attributable to increased marketing through Facebook's Mobile App Install Ads. Facebook's Mobile App Install Ads enable companies to target users on very granular levels including by age, gender, location, and user's specific interests.
| |
YouShouldTotallyMeet: Six Degrees Of Online Dating
BLOGTO - June 18 - YouShouldTotallyMeet is an
app that lets Facebook friends play matchmakers and make introductions
into their social circle.
Q: Where did the idea come from?
A: The best way to meet quality,
non-crazy people is through the friends we know. If they can vouch for a
potential suitor they're no longer a stranger.
Q: What differentiates you from Match.com and POF?
A: We rely on your Facebook friends and we don't claim to match people with fussy algorithms or compatibility formulas.
Q: How do I set up an account?
A: It's easy and free. Go to facebook.com/youshouldtotallymeet
and install the app. It'll ask for basic permissions to your profile.
Then, you choose whether you want to be a wingman for someone, or the
one who wants to be set up.
Q: If wingmen are required to set up accounts, don't people get concerned about who knows their business?
A: We don't see it that way. The only notification your Facebook friends will see is when you install the app.
Q: Are there other options similar to YouShouldTotallyMeet?
A: A couple, but they don't have the simplicity. There's LikeBright who we think is great.
Q: What's your perspective on the future of Online Dating?
A:
It's still a very independent system where you do all the work by
yourself. No one should feel embarrassed for wanting a relationship. The
more people who know you're on the lookout for someone special, the
better your chances of finding that person.
by Jonathon Muzychka
See full article at BlogTO
| |
Dallas Singles Dating Service Delivers Duds
NBC5 - June 19 - A former employee of a local, high-priced dating service, Dallas Singles, said some individuals with a criminal past are allowed to be members. The owner said in some circumstances members can have a criminal record. On its website, the company promises to perform “a thorough background screening including a criminal history check on every client.”
by Deanna Dewberry
The full article was originally published at NBC5, but is no longer available.
| |
Top Dating Sites In UK
METRO.CO.UK - June 18 -
- MySingleFriend
- £13.17 a month - Plenty Of Fish
- Free - Guardian Soulmates
- £16 a month - Lovestruck
- £16 a month - Doing Something
- £10 a month - eHarmony
- £9.95 a month
| |