OPW - Feb 18 - Gay dating app Chappy shutting down, Facebook Dating Launch in Europe Postponed, Tinder's New Social Features, GDI & Global Love Conference.
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FORTUNE - Feb 15 - About two and half years after it first debuted, Facebook's dating service has shown limited signs of progress. Instead, indicators suggest the service may be having difficulty challenging major dating rivals and rolling out in certain countries. Facebook Dating, which the company first introduced in Colombia in 2018, debuted in the U.S. in September and is currently available in 20 countries. Facebook Dating recently hit an unexpected roadblock when it tried to expand to Europe. Former CEO of Match Group Mandy Ginsberg, who announced plans to step down last month, says the company hasn't seen Facebook Dating impact any of its brands, which in 2019 collectively attracted ~ 9.8M subscribers. Gary Swidler, Match Group's CFO who recently also took over the role as chief operating officer said: "You can't underestimate them. But the reality is they're in 20 countries, and when you look at our numbers, there's no impact."
by Danielle Abril
See full article at Fortune
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TECH CRUNCH - Feb 12 - Facebook has been forced to call off the launch date of its dating service in Europe because it failed to give its lead EU data regulator enough advanced warning - including failing to demonstrate it had performed a legally required assessment of privacy risks. Facebook said dating would arrive in Europe by early 2020 but it just didn't think to keep its lead EU privacy regulator in the loop, despite the DPC having multiple ongoing investigations into other Facebook-owned products at this stage. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) had sent agents to Facebook's Dublin office seeking documentation that Facebook had failed to provide. The DPC said Facebook first contacted it about the rollout of the dating feature in the EU on February 3.
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NASDAQ - Jan 24 - Nick Sciple talks with Dan McMurtrie and Alex Draime of Tyro Partners about the bull case paper they recently wrote on online dating. Some topics discussed:
by Nick Sciple
See full article at Nasdaq
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DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - Jan 13 - A small group of Facebook users have been offered the option to switch to FB5. The major new redesign features a brand new layout and improved privacy. The overhaul was originally announced last April at Facebook's annual developer's conference in San Francisco, where the company explained some of the changes it that would be coming. The new update will also see the widespread release of Facebook Dating. The Dating feature will let users create a list of 'Secret Crushes,' and when two people match they'll be prompted to message each other, similar to any other dating app.
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OPW - Jan 7 - Online dating peak season, Facebook Dating survey, Match Group spin-off.
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ADWEEK - Dec 27 - 57% of survey respondents hadn't heard of Facebook Dating, while just 9% were using it, according to a recent survey by global opinion platform Piplsay. Piplsay polled 21K Americans. Respondents who knew about Facebook Dating weren't exactly champing at the bit, as 60% said they were uninterested because there are so many other dating apps, while 18% found it to be better than other dating apps. 16% of millennials were using Facebook Dating, compared with 12% of Generation Z. 50% of respondents didn't trust Facebook to keep their personal data safe on Facebook Dating, while 27% were unsure and just 23% trusted the social network.
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TECH CRUNCH - Nov 22 - Facebook Dating users are now able to add their Facebook or Instagram Stories to Facebook Dating in order to share their everyday moments with daters. Stories can give someone better insight into what a person is like by showcasing what activities they like to engage in, their hobbies, their interests, their personality and their humor, among other things. Facebook or Instagram Stories are not automatically copied over to Facebook Dating by default. Instead, users can select which of their Stories are shared and which are not. Facebook has not disclosed how many people are using Facebook Dating at this time.
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FORBES INDIA - Nov 18 - Barry Diller, the former Hollywood mogul has ground his way to a $4.2B technology fortune. At IAC he has built and spun off ten publicly traded companies, including Ticketmaster, travel giant Expedia and Match Group, Tinder's parent company, worth a combined $70B. "Spinning off Match is a process of renewal in that IAC gets to start inventing again. We are shrinking in order to grow again… shrinking with $5B of cash," he says. Former Diller lieutenant Dara Khosrowshahi, now the CEO of Uber Technologies, says, "Barry's like a shark. If he stops swimming, he dies. So he just keeps going." Diller's current hand looks challenging. Match shares were falling after Facebook said it would redouble its online dating efforts. There are also lawsuits. The co-founders of Tinder, Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, claim they were deprived of billions when the app was consolidated by Match. Diller responds sharply: "Sean Rad is a blowhard and a bad actor." Facebook, Diller adds, has yet to register as a threat to Match. "I'm not overly worried," he quips, then brings up the possibility of regulation. "I think that there are real issues," he says, turning his attention to Google. "It's okay to take our money as advertisers. It's not fine, in my opinion, to then try and get our customers."
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TREFIS - Oct 15 - In 2018, Facebook announced that it would launch a dating feature. Facebook has the benefit of a massive user base, and even a small percentage of its users adopting a new dating feature could catapult it to the lead position in this segment. However, the perception of Facebook's treatment of user privacy will act as a major deterrent for potential users. Facebook is no stranger to growing by acquisition, and Match Group looks like a great fit. Tinder represents an asset similar in quality and potential to WhatsApp which Facebook bought in 2014. As of 2018, the following is how Match Group's Key Metrics compared with Facebook:
Valuations: Standalone and that of the combined entity
For Match Group, we expect EV to be 9.2x the 2020 revenues of $2.5 billion. This translates into an implied enterprise value (EV) of $22.8B for the Match Group, and also represents an EV/EBITDA of 25.5x for the company.
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THE ZOE REPORT - Sep 30 - "We found that 40% of online daters don't feel that there's a dating app, site, or platform that meets their needs," said Charmaine Hung, the Facebook Dating project manager. "Facebook Dating makes it easier to find love through what you like," she explains. So, what do online dating experts think of this venture? Mark Brooks, consultant to internet dating CEOs at CourtlandBrooks.com, says he's all for the digital dating platform. "It's vastly superior to the average startup dating app because Facebook is instantly at critical mass," he notes. When it comes to features, he says he's particularly a fan of Secret Crush. "The 'double like' features in HotOrNot, Badoo, Tinder, and POF always made sense," he says, praising FB for offering a similar option. Plus, "putting a cap on crushes by allowing nine is brilliant. It's just enough to quickly identify the very topmost mutual crushes, which should really be thrilling for many." All in all, Brooks has high hopes for the dating platform. "Facebook knows when they've been successful. Over time they should be able to see their patterns of success that will allow them to improve their algorithms over time," he concludes. Fellow online dating consultant Steve Dean, founder of Dateworking and host of the Modern Connection Podcast, has been using the platform himself for a couple of weeks - and so far, he's not impressed. "It currently feels as though Facebook has done nothing whatsoever with its matching algorithms, leaving users with a lineup of truly terrible matches," he says. "Worse, the structure of the app essentially forces users into 'Tinder-ized' dopamine loops where they're simply liking or rejecting users based on photos. He compares its user experience to Tinder and its profile setup to Hinge, giving it an overall vibe that's "disingenuous and very uncreative." But despite his criticisms, Dean admits that Facebook has a unique vantage point when it comes to data, something that could benefit its matching structure in the future.
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SEEKING ALPHA - SEP 25 - Facebook gets a lot of public hate, which has a hard time shaking off. Moreover, management has been repeatedly questioned. Investors even voted to dethrone Zuckerberg as the company's board chairman and overhaul the current voting structure. Such events have held the stock price away from all-time highs. Investors often forget that Facebook has arguably the best financials in Wall Street. A potential rivalry between Match Group and Facebook Dating makes no sense. Both companies can coexist because they serve two different consumer groups. While Tinder can serve as the more spontaneous, adventurous, and with limited context App, FB dating can attract the middle-age, professional, and mature audience.
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DAILYMAIL.CO.UK - Sep 25 - It has only been a few weeks since the launch of the matchmaking feature and users are already flocking to Twitter to share their not so positive experiences. Many have expressed their disappointment, calling it 'trash', 'ratchet' and only '5% less annoying than Tinder'.
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WIRED - Sep 24 - Facebook Dating's US rollout includes a few new updates, including safety features and more Instagram integration. Users can now feature permanent Instagram posts in their Dating profiles. By the end of the year, Facebook says it will also allow them to share Instagram or Facebook Stories. Instagram will also become part of Secret Crush, an existing Facebook Dating feature that lets users select up to nine Facebook friends they want to express an interest in. User can turn off matching with friends of friends, they can also block people from seeing their Facebook Dating profile. Before meeting someone in person for the first time, many people tell a friend or family member where they're going and when they expect to be back, in case something happens. More recently, people have been sharing their location using tools like Apple's Find My Friends. Facebook will allow them to automatically open Messenger from Dating and tell a friend the name of the person they're going on a date with, as well as the time and place where they plan to hang out. Fifteen minutes before your date happens, that person will receive a notification reminder and access to their live location. But unlike Find My Friends, the location is only shared for up to an hour, at least for now.
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SEEKING ALPHA - Sep 20 - Facebook Dating isn't likely to kill Tinder, but investors seem to be forgetting that Match also owns other dating properties that may be under threat from Facebook. Facebook Dating focuses on long-term relationships and skews towards older people, which puts it in direct competition with apps like Hinge or OurTime. Match's current valuation is also far higher than when Facebook Dating launched.
See full article at Seeking Alpha
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