STANDARD.CO.UK - May 16 - Justin McLeod founded Hinge after graduating from Harvard in 2011 and rebranded it three years ago, after a 14-year love story culminated in him winning back his now-wife, Kate. Hinge has since become the UK's fastest growing dating app. Now, a date is arranged between users every four seconds. For him, it's all about data. Users are invited to like parts of others' profiles, rather than the profile as a whole, which allows Hinge to "zero in" on their tastes. Instead of lining up 1K potential matches to "mindlessly" swipe through, it is "thoughtful" about who is shown to whom. A feature called Most Compatible uses a combination of AI and a Noble Prize-winning algorithm called Gale-Shapley (aka the "stable marriage algorithm") to send users daily match suggestions. The idea isn't that you're shown "the person you most want in the world" but "someone you like who's also going to like you back", McLeod explains. "A "We Met" feature follows up after the initial match to see if users went on a date and if so, how it went. So far, results have proven the new algorithm is eight times more likely to lead to a date than other apps," he says.
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Hinge CEO Justin McLeod on Bringing Data to Dating
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Toffee, Tinder for Snobs, Launches in Australia
DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - May 16 - Toffee is a dating app aimed at privately educated singles. The app has already launched in the UK, and launches today in Australia. Founder Lydia Davis said the aim of her app is to connect people with 'similar backgrounds'. The app claims 30K active monthly users.
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'Twitter' Tax Break in San Francisco Ends
BLOOMBERG TAX - May 16 - San Francisco's eight-year-old tax break to encourage tech companies to locate in the city - a.k.a the "Twitter tax break" - is ending on May 20th. The tax break saved businesses $70M since San Francisco enacted it. The climate for tax giveways has changed dramatically, with emerging tech companies blamed for everything from rising housing prices to clogged city arteries. Over the last month the average San Francisco home price was $1.4M, up 1.7% from last year. That's nearly double the $665K median sales price in the Q1 of 2012. Online dating company Zoosk took advantage of the break in exchange for providing internships, $10K to a neighborhood nonprofit, and tutoring, in addition to patronizing local restaurants and bars, its agreement said.
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Blued Launches Blued Queer Flicks
THE SIASAT DAILY - May 15 - Blued, a gay dating app, has launched their first ever queer film making contest called Blued Queer Flicks. The contest will be followed by a screening scheduled to be taken place on June 8, 2019, in Delhi. ~60 entries have been received since the contest was launched in April. Out of the total received entries, there are 10 selected contestants whose short movies will be shown at the fest and the winners will be awarded the cash prizes and awards. The movies are based on queer themes, struggles, love, fun, education and social perception.
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Ontario Judge Rules Against Xtreme Labs co-founders in Tinder-focused Lawsuit
BETAKIT - May 15 - Former Extreme Venture Partners (EVP) founding partners Sundeep Madra and Amar Varma, as well as Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya, have been ordered to pay $15.6M to plaintiffs in an Ontario Superior Court ruling that found the three had conspired to acquire mobile software development shop Xtreme Labs at a discounted price, in addition to breached contractual obligations with EVP. The lawsuit began in 2014 when Sharma, Bashir, and Teslia filed a claim of ~$200M in damages against Madra and Varma, alleging that the pair had conspired with Palihapitiya, also a former Facebook VP, to hide an interest in dating app Tinder as part of a sale of shares in dev studio Xtreme Labs. The plaintiffs alleged that the two partners "misrepresented the financial status of Xtreme Labs," including the equity interest they maintained in Hatch Labs and the existence of Tinder. They argued that this misrepresentation led the trio to sell their shares in Xtreme at a discounted price.
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Google Is Overhauling Its Store Rating System
TECH RADAR - May 15 - Speaking at the Google IO 2019 developer conference this week, the Google Play team revealed that the most recent, and theoretically more relevant, app reviews will be given greater weight when considering ratings. The change follows similar moves made by Apple two years ago, when it introduced a feature that optionally allows developers to reset an app or game's rating when a new update is released. The new ratings system changes will come into effect for users starting in August, however developers can already preview the recalculated ratings of their apps by logging into their accounts.
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This Is Why Michelle Battersby Quit Her Job to Join Bumble
VOGUE - May 15 - Whitney Wolfe, the founder of Bumble, was looking for someone to spearhead the businesses launch into Australia, and Battersby's friend had put her forward. The stars aligned, and Battersby was the new Bumble country lead. She has since been promoted to the Associate Marketing Director of the Asia Pacific region.
Q: What was it about Bumble that spoke to you initially?
A: I had an immediate connection with Whitney and was so aligned with her vision for the Bumble brand. I had a strong gut-feeling that Bumble was going to be big and I needed to be a part of it.
Q: In your role, what does a normal day look like?
A: I'm thrown into new experiences all the time. A constant part of my job is forming Bumble's business strategy, both in Australia but also in Asia Pacific.
Q: What are your resources for keeping up to date with the industry?
A: It's so important to be across news, culture and the latest trends in business and technology. I'm consistently on social media for work, but the best resources are our users and the brands we work with.
Q: What do you do when you're feeling uninspired?
A: I'll often reach out to my sisters or friends. I also think you just need to take a break, change up your surroundings and get other people involved. I'll call a meeting if I'm stuck on something, move everyone out of the office and go somewhere else to work on the task.
Q: What's the most difficult part of your job?
A: Knowing when and how to switch off. Separating personal and business opinions is something I am consistently working on.
Q: When it comes to networking professionally, what are your three top pieces of advice?
A: My number one tip is to trust your instincts. My second tip: I overcame my lack of professional confidence by finding a mentor with a wealth of experience. My third tip is to never be afraid to put yourself forward and speak up.
Q: What does it mean to you to be a woman in a position of leadership in 2019?
A: That I have a responsibility to inspire positive change.
Q: What's something about the tech industry right now that has you excited?
A: I'm excited at the idea that we all need more time away from tech.
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Match Rolled Out Coaching Service - AskMatch
BUSINESS INSIDER - May 14 - This week, Match rolled out its new member service, AskMatch, a one-on-one phone call with a dating coach. Members can discuss issues like dressing for a first date, defining a relationship, or even pick up line workshopping. According to Match CEO Hesam Hosseini, the service performed best with young men in its beta test, with three times more men opting into the service than women. Hosseini joined as CEO in January 2018 and was swiftly tasked with helping the service appear to his millennial peers. "I'm a millennial, and this is a service my generation wants and needs," Hosseini said. "Yes, they don't want to talk on the phone and are automating grocery delivery, but they also seek one-on-one advice for relationships. It's kind of like a personal trainer."
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Royal Malaysia Police Issues Safety Guidelines on Facebook Dating
THE STAR - May 14 - Royal Malaysia Police has listed guidelines on how to stay safe while navigating Facebook Dating. The guidelines include common sense (but worth repeating) steps as refraining from disclosing one's personal information. Users were also encouraged to do a background check on anyone they planned to meet with in real life before actually doing so. Malaysia is one of 14 countries where Facebook Dating is available.
by Angelin Yeoh
See full article at The Star
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Beijing Kunlun Tech Must Sell Grindr by 2020 Over US National Security Fears
BLOOMBERG - May 14 - Beijing Kunlun Tech, The Chinese owner of Grindr, is required to sell the app by June 2020 under an agreement with US officials who raised national security concerns about the app's ownership. Under the agreement, Beijing Kunlun Tech can't access information about Grindr's users and transmit any sensitive information to any entities based in China.
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Momo and Tantan Suspend Social Feeds in Content Cleanup
TECHNODE - May 13 - Shares of dating app company Momo fell on Friday after announcing it would temporarily shut down the social newsfeed on its platform for a month amid tightening government scrutiny. Momo users are restricted from posting on the newsfeed until June 11. Dating app, Tantan, made a parallel announcement on Friday night, saying its social feature, "Moments," would be suspended for a month as it is conducts a comprehensive investigation and works to enhance its screening capabilities. The incident follows Tantan's removal from major Chinese Android app stores in late April. Tantan responded by saying the removal was due to the "violations" of relevant rules and it had launched a total investigation on the platform. It remains unknown when Tantan will be available on app stores again. Momo had acquired Tantan in a $600M buyout in February 2018.
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80% of LGBT People Say Dating Apps Benefit Their Community
PINKNEWS - May 13 - A new survey from Tinder has found that 80% of LGBT+ people believe dating apps have benefited their community in a positive way. 46% of them said it had provided more diversity in people they could date. 36% said it had provided them with the opportunity to date more people of other races and cultures.
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Why People Pretend to Be Jewish on JDate
REFINERY29 - May 13 - For some, it's a numbers game: online dating can be a slog, and joining more than one service increases the pool of perspective matches. "For some reason, a lot of men want Jewish girlfriends," says Toni, a Jewish user, of a trend she's noticed in her own circles since she was in college. "I think it had something to do with sex. Supposedly Jewish women are better sexual partners." Maria Avgitidis, founder and CEO of Agape Match in New York City, remembers a client who said "she only wanted Jewish men because they're really great providers." It's generally a good PR move for any company to land on the side of inclusivity when it comes to religion or ethnicity. Also, allowing non-niche users to join a niche dating site, especially when the niche itself comprises a tiny margin of the larger population, can make a site more profitable. "I think it's beautiful," says David Yarus, founder of JSwipe and Global Ambassador for JDate, of non-Jewish users looking for love on his platforms. "Ultimately, we have been very intentional in fostering more refined, digital dating within the Jewish community or for those who celebrate the Jewish culture. But it's so important that we recognize and honor the universality of the world."
by Rebecca Linde
See full article at Refinery29
See all posts on JDate
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See all posts on JSwipe
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Tinder Is Preparing to Launch 'Tinder Lite'
TECH CRUNCH - May 11 - Tinder is preparing to launch Tinder Lite in emerging markets. The light version will offer a smaller, more lightweight version of the current flagship app. Most major tech companies now offer "Lite" apps for the large and rapidly growing online user base coming from these emerging markets - and specifically India, as of late. For example, Google has a full suite of lightweight "Go"-branded apps, like Google Go, Gmail Go, Files Go, YouTube Go, Google Maps Go and Google Assistant Go. There's also Facebook Lite, Instagram Lite, Messenger Lite, Twitter Lite, Uber Lite, Spotify Lite and even TikTok Lite. The company didn't share an exact launch date for Tinder Lite, but, according to Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg, the app is "coming soon."
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Bumble Hires Global Creative Director
THE DRUM - May 11 - Bumble has hired Drew Jaz as its first global creative director, handing him a remit to grow the brand’s internal creative team into a functioning in-house agency. He led the Intel account at Mcgarrybowen in San Francisco and worked closely with the brand's now-defunct in-house shop, Agency Inside. Jaz will contribute in a creative capacity to Bumble's ongoing projects, including its print magazine that launched recently in collaboration with Hearst's branded content studio.
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