URBAN DADDY - Aug 23 - Video dating app Loko launched this month in the US and Canada. It's a video-based dating app that places an emphasis on getting users face-to-face with a match. First, users create a video-only profile, which is an eight-second max introduction, and an optional "About Me" video, which can run up to 30 seconds. Every profile is approved by an administrator before going live. Then they'll swipe through potential matches, as they would with other dating apps. Once a connection is made, they'll have 24 hours to schedule a virtual "Elimidate" in the app. The "Elimidate" is essentially a pre-date interview: an up-to-15-minute video chat with the match.
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Comedian Norm MacDonald Co-Created A Video-Only Dating App
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OKCupid Makes Breakups Fun With Bingo
GAMING POST - Aug 22 - OKCupid is helping its users to discard old keepsakes of their past lovers by allowing them to add them to a massive prize pool at the All My Exes Bingo Night. The game will be hosted at the Chicago Athletic Association's game room from 6pm to 8pm on three separate Mondays, with the first already past on August 20th, and the next 2 scheduled for September 10, and September 24 this year. Producer and comedian Ashley Tribble serves as the host, helping to add a more jovial and lighthearted atmosphere to the mix.
by Ben Hamill
See full article at Gaming Post
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Q&A With Molly Peckler, Founder & CEO Of Highly Devoted
CT POST - Aug 22 - Molly Peckler created the first matchmaking service for cannabis enthusiasts in 2015.
Q: How did you get into the cannabis business?
A: A member of my family unexpectedly become a cannabis advocate, fighting to treat her young son's seizures. I'd read about cannabis' healing properties, but to see its power up close changed me forever.
Q: What was your vision for the company?
A: When I founded Highly Devoted, the only other businesses related to connecting over cannabis were a few stoner dating sites. I had a vision for creating a service and brand for smart, savvy, successful, well-respected people who used cannabis responsibly. Unfortunately, the stoner stigma runs deep, so pushing back against reefer madness is a constant battle.
Q: What obstacles and challenges have you experienced?
A: Google and Facebook are not welcoming to cannabis-centric brands, so digital advertising on mainstream platforms has been nearly impossible.
Q: How have you overcome these obstacles?
A: My best bet for getting the word out has been pitching stories to the media. Networking is also essential. I’ve realized that the best way to fight the stigma is by putting myself out there.
Q: What's been your greatest lesson learned?
A: Talk is cheap. Be wary of people who promise you the world without any action to back it up.
by Cynthia Salarizadeh
See full article at CT Post
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Momo Q2 2018 Results
PR NEWSWIRE - Aug 22 - Net revenues increased 58% YOY to $494.3M. Net income increased to $117.8M in the Q2 '18 from $60.8M YOY. Monthly active users were 108M in June, compared to 91.3M last year. Live video service revenues continued its growth momentum and the total live video service revenues were $411M with 4.6M paying users. Momo started as an online dating app and has now progressed to being a full social media company.
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Danniella Westbrook Launches Her Own Dating Site For People Who Are Serious
THESUN.CO.UK - Aug 22 - The 44-year-old TV star is launching a brand new dating website called Serious Dating. She says she felt compelled to launch the new website after growing 'sick' of failing to find love via all the other apps that are already out there.
by Jasper Green
See full article at The Sun
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Toffee Is A New Dating App For People Who Went To Private School
BUSINESS INSIDER - Aug 22 -UK dating app Toffee, which caters exclusively to the privately educated, has plans to roll out in other countries over the next 12 months. The app is also launching on Android in September. A Toffee press release stated that it now has 10K monthly active users in the UK.
by Isobel Asher Hamilton
See full article at Business Insider
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The Tinder Lawsuit Is Going To Get Nasty
THE VERGE - Aug 22 - Last week, a group of current and former Tinder employees, including co-founders Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, sued Match Group and IAC for $2B over allegations that IAC hid Tinder's potential for growth in an effort to avoid paying billions of dollars to the startup team. Tucked into the suit is also the claim that former IAC CEO Greg Blatt sexually harassed Tinder VP of marketing and communications Rosette Pambakian, and that Match allegedly merged Tinder into itself to eliminate stock options without telling any of the employees. Match has placed the four plaintiffs who still worked at Tinder on leave following the lawsuit's filing. An old Gawker article, published in March 2013, could potentially suggest that the alleged misconduct Pambakian seeks to expose had been ongoing. The piece, written by N. Michelle AuBuchon, recounts a story in which a man referred to as "Jim," who was the "former head of her department who had been appointed CEO of a major dating site," harassed an employee and then demeaned AuBuchon. But the current Tinder lawsuit isn't about sexual harassment - it's about money and stock options. Meanwhile, a source close to Tinder says that Rad actually sold a great deal of stock following the merger between Tinder and Match Group, and suggested that the co-founder didn't have much faith in the future of the dating app and that Match's valuation was accurate.
by Ashley Carman
See full article at The Verge
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Inside The League's $3,500 Singles Boat Cruise In Paris
STANDARD.CO.UK - Aug 22 - Selective dating app The League, which is aimed at young, successful individuals, launched in London last summer. The San Francisco-based club is gearing up to open in Paris next month, and in the lead-up has just hosted 70 of its users on a week-long boat trip in France. They mingled over morning yoga, long brunches, and an all-day free bar while cruising down the Seine in Paris. The League screens applicants wishing to join the app on a number of different criteria, including job title, education and industry. To help vet prospective members, users must sign up using their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. And the selection process for the cruise was just as meticulous. "We had ~5K applicants for the trip," said The League's CEO and founder, Amanda Bradford. The majority of guests reserved private balconies and private studios, she said, which averaged at ~$3,500 each, plus flights. And according to club, three couples have already sprung from the trip.
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How The Internet Has Changed Dating
ECONOMIST - Aug 20 - Personal ads never accounted for more than 1% of marriages in America. Today dating sites and apps account for about a sixth of the first meetings that lead to marriage there. As early as 2010 the Internet had overtaken churches, neighbourhoods, classrooms and offices as a setting in which Americans might meet a partner of the opposite sex. In a 2013 study from Harvard University and the University of Chicago showed that marriages that started online were less likely to end in break-up. The business is worth $4.6B globally, growing fast and highly competitive. Match Group had revenues of $1.3B in 2017. Facebook is getting into the market, too. Many users, while welcoming the broadening of choice that the online world offers, are also becoming aware of its downsides. For those who find popularity on the apps, endless choice can become something of a burden. Others talk of the exhaustion of trawling through endless matches. New services are looking at ways to make their users happier.
See full article at The Economist
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The Meet Group Launches Quick One-on-One Livestreaming
BUSINESSWIRE - Aug 21 - The Meet Group has launched Quick, its new one-on-one live video chat feature, to users of its MeetMe mobile app in the US. The Meet Group's video monetization now exceeds $42M a year. With Quick, users can either choose to match with another user for free or choose to be matched with users of a specific gender for a fee. In addition, similar to one-to-many livestreaming, users can give virtual gifts in Quick, which they may do to show interest to the broadcaster, break the ice or start a conversation.
See full article at Businesswire
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Tinder Officially Announces Tinder U
SEEKING ALPHA - Aug 21 - To log in for the first time, users must provide a .edu email address and be geolocated on campus. Tinder U works the same way as the regular version but comes with an updated UI with a badge showing a user's university on their main profile picture. Tinder U is rolling out to iOS users attending four-year, accredited, not-for-profit schools in the US.
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Bumble Users Can Now Turn Off The Dating Mode
POPSUGAR.CO.UK - Aug 21 - Bumble started as a dating app but over the years, it's become a social networking app. In October 2017, it launched Bumble Bizz for professional networking, and its Bumble BFF feature helps women forge friendships. Until now, the three features were a package deal. That all changed today, when Bumble began offering the ability to turn off dating mode.
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Grocery And Dating Are The Fastest Growing App Categories
EMARKETER - Aug 20 - In the latest episode of eMarketer's "Behind the Numbers" podcast, analyst Rahul Chadha and forecaster Showmik Podder break down some of the key data in eMarketer's new estimates for mobile app usage. Which app categories are growing fastest, and why? Today, 94.2% Americans with a smartphone are using an app. There are two app categories that 4 years ago ~5% of smartphone owners were using - dating & grocery shopping. Currently ~ 25M Americans are using dating apps, that represents ~ 22% of all singles in the USA. Nearly half of 18-25 years old are open to the idea of using a dating app. Half of dating apps' users login daily.
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Matchmaking Institute CEO Arlene Vasquez Washburn Resigns
MENAFN - Aug 18 - Matchmaking Institute CEO Arlene Vasquez Washburn has officially resigned from her two-year post. In her statement, Arlene explained she wanted to put all of her focus on her passion for relationship coaching, business consulting and training of other love industry professionals. Arlene Vasquez Washburn is herself a Master Executive Certified Matchmaker and Relationship Expert who got her start in the industry in 2012 when she founded AVConnexions, a boutique matchmaking company.
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