Types (Niche)

Spring is a time of renewal, and in keeping with the theme of the season, Match.com has unveiled a freshly redesigned mobile experience for iPhone users. Match 3.0 for iOS took major cues from Apple's own iOS7 overhaul, even redesigning the Match.com logo for 2014. But the biggest inspiration for the new Match mobile app was its competitors.

Prior to the app’s makeover, it was a carbon copy of the Match.com website. These days, the mobile application includes original features that were built specifically for smartphones and can't be found online. The app now opens to a Discover page containing two brand new features: Stream and Mixer.

Stream serves up photos of singles close to your location utilizing an innovative algorithm that analyzes your preferences. The feature highlights additional photos and a member's profile as well as the primary profile picture, giving a greater glimpse into his or her personality. Match President Amarnath Thombre spoke proudly to TechCrunch about the new feature:

“The challenge was to leverage all the rich data that Match has about users, like secondary photos and information from their bio, and make it super lightweight,” Thombre said. “With the Stream, users can see a lot of information about their potential matches without ever clicking in to anything.”

Mixer is Match’s attempt to capitalize on the explosive success of Tinder. Scroll through a rapid-fire presentation of profiles. Swipe right if you're interested; swipe left if you're not interested. You can also like photos and send messages from within Mixer.

Other new features include:

• Threaded messaging. Messages are now organized in conversations, enabling you to easily preserve the history between you and a match. “Delivered” and “read” receipts are included.
• Easier photo uploading. There are now three different ways to add photos from within the app’s interface.
• In-app notifications. In-app notifications make it easier for users to stay connected.
• In-app purchasing. For the first time, users have the ability to purchase subscriptions and additional features while signed into the app.
• More ways to communicate. Communication can begin as soon as you launch the app and can be continued in multiple different ways, from Stream to Daily Matches, and even directly from a members’ photo. Single-click payment is now available.

Of course, in addition to all the new features, the updated app still includes traditional search and matching, but the experience has been redesigned to be more mobile-friendly. Considering that 50% of Match.com’s sign-ups come from mobile, and more than half of messages sent between users come from smartphones, the new generation of Match's iPhone app is coming not a moment too soon.

Here is our Match.com review where you can find more information on this service.

IAC has released its first quarter 2014 financial results. All in all, the company reports $740.2 million in revenue for Q1 2014, more or less on par with the $742.2 million in revenue of Q1 2013.

Websites revenue increased thanks to the acquisition of the “Owned & Operated” website businesses of ValueClick (which the company acquired in January of this year), the contribution of CityGrid Media, and growth at About.com. On the other hand, applications revenue decreased, primarily due to lower queries in B2B. Adjusted EBITDA decreased as well, as a result of lower revenue in B2B and higher marketing expense in B2C.

The Match Group – which includes Match.com, Chemistry, People Media, OkCupid, and other dating businesses – saw 9% growth in dating revenue (broken down into 7% growth in North America and 12% growth in International). Non-dating revenue grew 53%. Despite the higher revenue, driven mostly by increased subscribers, IAC’s profits declined due to a significant increase in marketing expenses for certain businesses.

Dating revenue for North America totaled $134.5 million in Q1 2014, up 7% from $125.6 million in Q1 2013. International dating revenue jumped 12% to $70.5 million in Q1 2014 from $63.2 million in Q1 2013. Combining both, IAC’s total dating revenue for Q1 2014 is $205 million, an increase of 9% from $188.9 million in Q1 2013.

The question now, of course, is what does the rest of 2014 have in store for IAC?

One major change that stands to make a huge impact on IAC's bottom line is the monetization of Tinder. Though IAC has declined to specify its exact ownership stake in the company, it has said that Tinder is now completely owned by IAC and Tinder executives, with CEO Sean Rad at the helm. The hugely popular mobile dating app is the hottest company in IAC's portfolio, but it doesn't yet generate any revenue. IAC has announced that 2014 will be the year that changes, though they've been vague so far about the exact way that monetization will take place.

The most obvious strategy would be to run ads on the service. In fact, it wouldn't be the first time it's happened. Fox used fake profiles to promote The Mindy Project, as did the USA Network program Suits, though they did not bring Tinder or IAC any revenue and a company spokesperson maintains that the campaigns were "strategic partnerships" rather than advertising.

Happily ad-free Tinder users should enjoy the experience while it lasts – with all the money-making potential the app packs, it’s probably only a matter of time before ads become the new norm.

Dating and communication between two potential romantic partners has reached a whole new level thanks to the growing popularity of apps. If you’re nervous or shy, you can approach a woman or man through an app and never experience firsthand rejection. You can swipe left or right, without having that uncomfortable conversation if one of you isn’t interested.

Tinder is an app where users interact with each other through profiles and information pulled from Facebook. You can see, at least through photos, who is messaging you. But other apps are surfacing to channel all of that flirting through a new, underground form of communication.

Truth is the latest in a series of anonymous messaging apps that sends private flirtations or missives to people on your contacts list. It's undercover one-on-one messaging between friends.

So, if you like a guy but aren’t sure if he likes you, you can hide behind an avatar and anonymous username with Truth to message him and see if he might be interested. If he doesn’t have Truth on his phone, he can download it to read your message, making him another user. This is a cool and exciting feature for shy types.

On the other hand, if you want to slam your friend without her knowing who did it, you can do that, too.

Truth is different from popular apps like Secret and Whisper because it utilizes your own contacts list instead of broadcasting through a feed like Twitter. So, the focus of communication is between friends. But all of these apps share one thing in common – they allow you to be anonymous. Which means in the online world – you can say or do whatever you want with no accountability.

One of the objectives for the app is to allow people who are uncomfortable flirting or asking someone out face-to-face a means to do it without having to feel the sting of rejection. On the other hand, it’s a perfect platform for bullying.

Truth’s co-founder Ali Saheli tells website Mashable that, “We try to keep it light and playful,” but acknowledges that from day one they have seen the potential for abuse. He estimates content reported as abusive represents less than 5% of all messages. "The most common usage is flirting with classmates. And obviously we've seen a range of uses, like people giving feedback in workplaces.”

The app has taken off among the most vulnerable age groups – specifically high school and college-aged people. But is it making dating any easier or a better experience? As one young woman told Mashable, “You're just playing a game to figure things out."

If you would like to try the Truth app you can visit their site called Use Truth.

Many singles have tried at least one online dating site. Some have found success right away while others get frustrated and wonder why they decided to try online dating in the first place. Unfortunately, many people don’t know all of the options available, or one dating site might work better for them than another.

There is a lot of competition among online dating sites, but most people flock to the few they know, like Match.com. But it’s important to first ask yourself before you sign up: what do I want out of my dating experience?

People date for different reasons, and the same goes for online dating. Not every member is interested in finding a long-term relationship. So it’s good to ask yourself if you just want to date and have fun, or if you’re looking to meet someone special and settle down. Your intention is an important part of your dating experience.

Next, you have to know yourself. Are you very shy? Are you more at ease on a date where you’re doing something together rather than sitting across the table from each other? Or are you really confident and slightly intimidating? Do you know what you want and you’re not afraid to say it?

People date differently – some go into it like a job interview, asking questions and checking boxes off of their “must-haves” list. People place importance on different things – like religious beliefs, career, location, or even how close you are with your family. Others are a little less choosy, and go from date to date unsure of what they want but recognizing that they aren’t meeting the “right one.”

This is why it’s important to ask yourself these questions. From there, you can try a few different dating sites to see what’s right for you.

If you’re looking for a serious relationship, then eHarmony or Chemistry are your best bet. They have a significant number of members to choose from, and you have to go through a pretty rigorous and time-consuming sign-up process before you can search through matches. So from the start, people on the site are a little more serious than your average online dater. But I would also suggest Christian Mingle or a niche dating site if you have particular beliefs that are most important to you when looking for a partner. Again: know yourself and what you want.

If you’re looking to dip your toe back in the dating pool after a long absence, but aren’t sure if you want a long-term relationship, then sites like Match and OkCupid are a little less intense than the relationship-focused sites. They also have a large subscriber base and so you can meet a variety of people. Keep your options open if you’re unsure. Date outside of your “type.”

I suggest trying two or three sites and seeing which format you like best. Most sites offer a free trial period so you can at least set up a profile and check matches. It’s worth the time to really look and see what’s right for you.

Online dating has become a typical way to meet people outside of your own social networks. In fact, the majority of people have tried it at least once.

But what about the opportunity to connect via social media? Most people have a Facebook or Twitter account, and they contain a wealth of information about what we like, who we are, who are friends are, and what we do. The natural progression of social media is to harness this information and look to who might benefit from it – including online daters.

In fact, eHarmony released a study recently which found 7% of people who married after meeting online had met for the first time on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and ClassMates – not through matchmaking chat rooms, online dating sites or other romance-based online connections.

In an article in Time Magazine, Jeffrey Hall, associate professor of Communication Studies at University of Kansas, decided to investigate this connection. He wanted to learn more about who was meeting their significant others through social media, and how well these marriages fared.

He surveyed over 19,000 people who had been married between 2005 and 2012, and asked them how they’d met. Those who met on social networking sites were more likely to be younger and married more recently compared to those who met online in other ways. He was surprised to find that those who met via social networking sites were just as happy as those who met online, and those who met online in general were happier than those couples who met in more traditional ways, such as through friends.

Social networking sites have potential advantages over online dating sites, Hall noted. For one, you can meet people through networks of friends, which means there is some connection first. This puts many people – especially women – more at ease. Also, people are more likely to represent themselves in an honest light over Facebook, because their friends are reading their posts and making comments. You get a more complete view of the person you’re meeting – where she likes to eat, what TV shows she watches, what she does for a living. A Facebook page is a little more personal than an online dating profile.

Another interesting finding in the study was that most of the marriages resulting from social media connections were among African Americans. Hall attributes this to the fact that African Americans and Latinos were over-represented on social networking sites between 2005 and 2012, and use social networks to engage with their already close network of friends.

Social media is an important part of making romantic connections, and is growing in popularity every day. Maybe it’s time to check Facebook if you want to meet someone new.

Aaron Schildkrout and his friend Brian Schechter founded HowAboutWe four years ago as an alternative to traditional online dating. In a recent article in The New York Observer, he said that the fundamental problem with online dating sites was that they needed to keep subscribers. The sites work best when people are looking for dates, not when they are in relationships and dropping out. Dating sites depend on a huge database of subscribers.

HowAboutWe’s focus is a bit different for an online dating site. For one, they have branched out from their online dating platform to creating a valuable resource for all people interested in dating and relationships.

The primary goal of their dating site is to help people meet offline (and get them there as quickly as possible), so they can move towards forming relationships. Instead of searching through profiles, members can create an idea for a first date, put it out to the network, and see who’s interested. Schildkrout says it’s a way for people to meet more organically.

Because of the site’s focus on date activities, it was a natural progression to create a site for couples who are looking to be inspired. Many couples are bored with the same old dates they do all the time, but don’t have the time to research or a lot of money to do something more unique. This is where HowAboutWe comes in – they curate dates particular to each city they service, and set the whole thing up for a discounted price.

It’s an appealing idea for couples. As Schildkrout says, “We make the booking process and the reservation process extremely easy — you never have to show a voucher, your name’s already on the list. We do all the work for you. We take care of all the details.”

The company is also getting into media content, acquiring sites like The Date Report and Nerve.com and creating two additional new blogs related to dating and relationships. “We built out a world-class editorial team,” says Shildkrout, “and for the last three months, we’ve been working really hard to create a media wing focused on becoming the authoritative voice on all things love, and have grown traffic dramatically in that process.”

Popular apps like Tinder and the bigger or more traditional dating sites like OkCupid don’t seem to bother Shildkrout. He sees Tinder as more of a lightweight hook-up experience and OkCupid as an algorithm-matching experience which might not match you with someone outside your type. He is focused on his product, on connecting people in a real-world way. And he’s looking to build content that gets a conversation started.