Types (Niche)

Dating apps are trying to step up their game and attract more users in order to compete with each other more effectively. After all, quantity means success in the online dating game, as we’ve seen first from established online dating sites like Match.com and now from popular apps like Tinder.

Because of the stiff competition, HowAboutWe is taking extra steps to distinguish itself in the online dating world – namely, by cultivating relationships instead of keeping more people in the dating game. This month, they launched a new standalone messaging app for couples that lets two partners share multiple types of content and create a story together.

The new app is You&Me, and it gives users a chance to have a little mobile fun with their relationship. It is an app that provides direct, exclusive communication between you and your partner.

With You&Me, you now have options for the types of messages you can send your love – photo, text and video messages – as well as the ability to send voice memos and a favorite song. “This made me think of you” is one response you can send, along with a picture or video, or “is there anything you need me to pick up at the store?” if you are looking for something more practical.

Plus, there are extra features like Photobooth, which offers a similar experience to the old-fashioned kind you used to do with friends at an amusement park or arcade, with a screenshot resembling a film strip of the different faces you made. Halfsie takes a Front-Back style photo of half of your face on top (nose up) and half of your partner’s (nose down) on the bottom. Secret sends a “steamed up” photo that the recipient must wipe clear to see. Sexy.

Interestingly, the app is responsive and knows when you are physically together in real life. The interface changes to reflect that. This makes me a little uncomfortable. Do I want my phone to be so aware of my movements with my partner?

HowAboutWe has ventured into new territory with online dating, first offering an online dating site that was driven by creativity – that is, a date idea – instead of based solely on profiles. They then extended the brand to include married couples in HowAboutWe for couples, providing date ideas and services to help you plan and execute the date. Plus, it offered discounts on unique local experiences to each city.

Recently, the company has acquired a series of media properties that discuss all things sex, love and dating, including Nerve.com.

The app is free and available only on iTunes, so you must both have iPhones to be able to use it.

For more on this dating service including the new couples app please read our review of How About We.

Launched in August 2011, Chinese dating app Momo was one of the first location-based mobile apps in China. Like its American counterparts, the app allows members to upload personal information and photos, then locates the positions of other users in the area. And, again like its American counterparts,  Momo is plagued with a reputation for being a service for one night stands. Though Beijing Momo Technology Co. claims the app's purpose is to assist users in making friends and broadening their social networks, its salacious reputation just won't go away.

Despite being thought of as “a magical tool to get laid,” BMT is now working with banks including Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group AG for the IPO in US, which Wall Street Journal reports is likely to happen later this year. According to WSJ, Momo was recently valued at around $1.2 billion in private fundraising. An earlier fundraising 1 1/2 years ago put Momo’s market value at just $500 million. The app seems to be on the right track, whatever reputation it has.

Professional online dating assistance has been around almost as long as online dating. For a fee, you can have someone write or “spruce up” your profile, craft email messages, or help you get more responses for your outreach efforts.

Now, a company called Personal Dating Assistants is taking this business to a whole new level. Men are hiring professional PUAs (pick-up artists) like the team at PDA to help write their online dating profiles and email messages. So if you’re a woman on sites like OkCupid or dating apps like Tinder, that cute guy might not be as clever as you think. A professional could have written that flirtatious email from your online match to help him get laid.

Personal Dating Assistants has been making headlines around the web for offering this new service, but I’m sure they aren’t the only ones marketing PUA business. The PDA team helps daters choose photos, ghostwrite messages, and even scout for attractive women, depending on their physical preferences (i.e. blondes or brunettes?).

The company website explains it like this: “Dating online for men is more than just a numbers game. Locating, and attracting beautiful women is also a fiercely competitive sport, and requires a significant time commitment if you want real results. To win dates regularly, a typical approach isn’t gonna cut it.  For that, you need an industrial strength solution."

This is where PDA comes in, promising to “play the online dating game.” They offer to spruce up your profile and converse with matches (“a la Cyrano de Bergerac”) until the object of your affection discloses her contact information.

The service boasts a high response rate for their creative efforts, but it’s not cheap. Packages range from $380 per month (“Weekend Casanova”) to $1520 per month (“International Playboy”). The company backs its efforts by stating on the site: "After our pimping process, you will be amongst the top tier of men online for response rate %, standing out amid the crowds of commoners.”

The appeal to men is tempting, if for no other reason than they are tired of sending out a disproportionate number of emails to women on online dating sites. This could save them a lot of time and trouble. On the other hand, women aren’t really getting a fair deal. After all, they might think they’re chatting with a charming, likeable and creative guy, but then what happens when they meet in person? And will this be yet another hurdle for women to jump in the online dating game, discerning who is real and who might just be using a PUA service to lure them in?

Dating takes time and requires effort. Cheating the system won’t work in the long run, so guys – I suggest saving your money and using it for your dates.

Have you ever thought about asking out one of your LinkedIn contacts? Maybe the idea of mixing your professional and personal life seems sketchy at best, terrifying at worst. Or maybe you’re already a networker, and have been waiting for a dating app to make things easier when you’re wondering if that new vendor or client is single.

Your new answer is LinkedUpApp.com, an app based on your LinkedIn profile. Visually, it works like Tinder where you see photos and basic information, then you accept or reject your matches. The difference? It's based on your LinkedIn profile, not Facebook. You get to see the more career-focused side of matches – like what they do for a living and where they went to school.

While it could be awkward to run across a work colleague or boss on Tinder – daters who use apps always run that risk – LinkedUp! is willing to bet people want to take those risks. Let's say you send a flirtatious note to someone who could end up being a client or recruiter. Would the object of your affection be offended, or since they are on LinkedUp! is it to be expected that sometimes business connections can get a little flirtatious?

It makes the line between work and play a little more murky, kind of like out-of-town conferences or happy hours on Friday night with your work pals. What do you do if someone rejects your advances, or if you reject theirs? What if you have a one-night stand that ends badly, but you still have to interact professionally? Or does LinkedUp make networking and work in general a little more exciting to know who is single and looking?

Luckily, LinkedUp! has thought of all the awkward ways this kind of dating app could go wrong. Developers have created the app so that you can anonymously like or pass on the profiles you see. Nobody has to be embarrassed the next day at work or wonder how to get past the rejection and have a purely professional relationship.

Obviously, work is a way for people to meet each other. Office trysts happen all the time. LinkedUp! is just expanding that office pool to your career social network.

Max Fischer is LinkedUp’s CEO, and says he got the idea by seeing so many people using LinkedIn as a way to find dates. “LinkedUp! users get a very true sense of who someone is, where they are from, where they go to school and what do they do, giving users a sense of comfort and trust,” Fischer said.

LinkedUp hasn’t revealed how many people are using the app, but it does seem to get more traffic in cities where there are a lot of networking singles like L.A., San Francisco, and New York. The app is currently available only for iPhone users.

Move over Tinder, there’s a new Facebook-based mobile dating app in Los Angeles.

Hinge likes to call itself the “anti-Facebook” for good reason. Instead of relying on GPS and matching whoever happens to be close by, Hinge tries to connect you to potential love matches through your Facebook friends and their networks. So, you’re not meeting “randos” like you might through Tinder.

Recently, The Huffington Post interviewed the founder and CEO of Hinge Justin McLeod, who mentioned that Tinder didn’t even exist when he was developing Hinge. Because of the app’s slower roll-out to the major cities – first in Washington D.C. and next in New York, and a lot of word-of-mouth advertising - many people have caught on and downloaded it before it was even available in their cities, including 6,000-7,000 L.A. singles.

When asked what the main difference is between Hinge and Tinder, McLeod says: “It’s interesting because Tinder started in LA, and I think it’s one of the places where it’s worn out the quickest. From what I hear, people thought it was cool when it started, but people burned through all of their matches and now the quality has gone down. I think [with Hinge] we have a great long-term solution for that because we have a curated app that gives you a limited number of matches each day.”

The app skews a little older and more professional than your typical Tinder users, too. Ninety percent of users are between the ages of 23 and 36, and 99% are college-educated. Most work in either consulting, banking, law, tech or media. McLeod believes the entertainment and legal industries will be strongest in L.A.

The best part? Hinge doesn’t seem to be loaded with guys looking to get laid. In fact, women comprise a little more than half the users at 50.2%, whereas 49.8% of men are using the app. It is a more equal distribution. (Hear that L.A. guys?)

According to Hinge’s website, there are many reasons to go with Hinge rather than relying on Tinder or the bar scene. It states that “if you meet someone at a bar vs. through friends, your date is 5 times more likely to lie about his relationship status, 14 times more likely to lie about his age, and four times as likely to have a one-night stand and never call you again.”

While these are good selling points for Hinge, there are still problems the dating app is working out, like how fast people can move from being matched to actually communicating and setting up a date. Because Hinge only matches you with a maximum of 15 people a day, you’re less likely to go through all of your connections. However, it makes the communication process a lot slower – with Tinder, it’s easier to sort through matches and meet up quickly.

Hinge is now available to L.A. residents, and is free to download. If you are interested in this service you should check out our new Hinge review.

Most of us know about dating apps like Tinder that can help you meet people. But what if you need help picking out a good restaurant to meet a date, or what line should you use to approach a woman at a bar? Don’t worry, there are apps for those things, too.

Apps can give you a wealth of creative ideas for everything from where to go on a first date to how to pick out a good wine. An app can be a lifesaver if you get lost on your way to someplace new, or if you need last-minute tickets to a concert. It can also be a good source for discounts, since dating can get expensive.

Following are some apps you must download today to help your dating life – just be sure to put your phone away once you’re on the date: