Spark Networks

JDate, a popular dating website for Jewish singles, has launched a new mobile app for its members.

In the past couple of years mobile apps have taken off among daters, especially with the popularity of free and easy-to-use dating apps like Tinder, so traditional dating sites have had to step up their mobile game. After all, most people have their phones with them at all times and are able to log in anytime, anywhere, as opposed to their desktops.

Desktop dating is almost a thing of the past. Since it’s much easier to access phone apps, mobile dating apps tend to be stickier for users – attracting people to check in when they are waiting in line or for a friend to meet them, or just bored. The more often people are logging in, the more attractive it is to other potential users, which is what online dating companies want.

Enter JDate’s new app, which they describe as “a robust, on-the-go experience.” The features however are pretty standard, compared to what is already available via mobile dating apps. The big difference is their loyal user base – singles looking for relationships with similarly religious people.

Some of the new features include a better snapshot of each potential match. For each profile, you can easily see information such as location, religious preference (orthodox, reform, etc.), how well matched you are (0-100%), and from the same screen, you can choose to look at profile details, chat, email, or flirt with your match.

Photo access has improved, too. From the app, you can scroll through hundreds of photos of your matches (a la Tinder), as well as upload your own either from your phone, Instagram or Facebook.

Subscribers have the ability to chat instantly with other members who are either currently browsing the app or on the site from a desktop, and can hold multiple chats at once. They also have the ability to see who has favorited them or viewed their profile, and to see who is nearby via the “Members of the Tribe” feature.

The app also includes JDate’s popular “Secret Admirer” game, where a member can anonymously show interest in another member.

Reviews on the iTunes store have been mixed. Many users are happy with the results compared to apps of other traditional dating sites like Match and eHarmony because of JDate's easy-to-navigate format, but they are frustrated by the search capabilities as well as how long it took the company to make a well-formatted app.

JDate currently has over 750,000 members worldwide. To find out more about this service you can read our JDate review.

Popular online dating company Zoosk announced this week the launch of Dating Insights, a new feature on its site that allows members to see a holistic view of their dating activity and preferences culled from Zoosk’s original “behavior-based” matching technology.

Zoosk has long marketed the benefits of its technology, which tracks how users behave on its site and matches them accordingly. For instance, if Zoosk notices that you mostly reach out to bookish guys, then it will start matching you with more literary types. It works for both daters and Zoosk, because the more you use the service, the better (and more curated) your matches will be.

The new feature Dating Insights will offer members information about their own individual dating preferences, and will also aggregate information about members who have shown some interest. The idea is to help you understand your patterns and preferences so you can have a better overall dating experience.

Dating Insights is divided into three sections:

Who Likes You – this feature provides demographics of matches who have shown the most interest in the user, like those of a particular age, body type, education, ethnicity, religion, and whether or not they smoke.

Who You Like – Zoosk sums up your preferences, not based on your profile, but on your behavior. For instance, Zoosk will let you know that “you put more importance on a man’s level of education than most” or “The Lord of the Rings is the book liked most by the men you’re interested in.”

Your Dating Style – this shows how often (and how well) you are using the dating site, and provides tips on how to improve your experience.

It only makes sense that the online dating company would harness its own technology to offer daters insight into how they are dating, since they use it to match daters anyway. But they aren't the first.

OkCupid has used information gathered from its own users as well to shed light on how people date online. Co-founder Christian Rudder analyzed the extensive data the company collected to understand online dating trends and to provide its members with more services they want (for a fee) – such as the ability to rate dates and filtering out people who don’t physically match your ideal. eHarmony also provides insight to daters as part of its package of services, though it is more personalized. eHarmony offers a “profile book” once you have finished with its extensive questionnaire, where you can find out what your strengths and weaknesses are as a dater and in a relationship.

Helping daters understand the online dating experience and what they want isn’t new, but hopefully the more opportunities daters have to see this kind of information, the better their experiences will be.

For more about this service you can read our Zoosk review.

According to Bloomberg News, the popular dating website Zoosk is scheduled to go public. The company filed earlier this year, but the latest stock market volatility might delay their offering until 2015.

Zoosk has long touted itself as a major contender in the online dating game due to its large international user base, alongside brands such as Match.com and OkCupid. The company has more than 27 million members across 80 countries, and the online dating market is reported to be worth $1.4 billion.

The appeal to investors goes beyond the revenues to be had in the online dating market. Zoosk company executives are betting on their extensive user base and tracking technology to help leverage their value. Unlike many online dating websites that rely on lengthy questionnaires and profile descriptions, Zoosk’s technology is purely behavior-based. That is, when users of the site navigate through profiles, send messages, or set filters to view other members, Zoosk is tracking this data and responding by providing matches that have similar behavior or seem most compatible. In other words, they are honing in to what users really want by seeing what they actually do online.

The more a user interacts with other members in the Zoosk community, the more Zoosk learns about that person to give them better matches. To the company’s benefit, it also gives them a wealth of data about their users, which is a valuable asset for investors.

Zoosk is also integrated so users can log in no matter what platform they are viewing on – phone, laptop, iPad or tablet, and is the #1 grossing online dating app in the iTunes store, according to its website. But its marketing expenses might be cutting into its revenue.

Website SeekingAlpha.com has been speculating about the opening price the company will decide upon, based on current statistics. Zoosk’s options granted in April 2014 had an exercise price of $7.72, so SeekingAlpha.com assumes the pricing discussions are in the range of $8-$16, which might not be an incentive for investors looking for a deal (and also looking at how the company can bring in more revenue). Right now, the dating app is free, but members pay to use features like messaging, chatting, and connecting with viewers who have viewed their profiles.

The opening price of the company’s stock is a matter of concern, but what does it mean to go public during such a risky market?

“Nobody wishes they went public today or over the last week,” Max Wolff, the chief economist at Manhattan Venture Partners, an investment firm focusing on late-stage private technology companies, told Bloomberg. “A regular bout of intense selling, like we’re seeing now, makes people feel like it’s smart to stay private longer.”

So the next move is up to Zoosk, but the company anticipates that investors are willing to bet on it.

Please read our Zoosk review for more information on this service.

Breakups are never easy, especially when it means losing your job. Spark Networks, the company behind dating sites like ChristianMingle.com and JDate.com, has announced that it's cut its workforce and has made substantial progress in expense reduction initiatives. The measures are expected to save the company $4.5 million to $5 million a year.

Although Spark did not disclose exactly how many jobs were cut, the company had previously reported that it had 201 full-time equivalent employees as of December 31. The company expects to incur pre-tax cash charges of approximately $1.3mm for severance benefits and other related expenses.

The cuts come at an interesting time for Spark Networks. Lately, its sites have seen an increasing number of their customers turn to competing services. The company has also undergone a number of recent changes in its corporate structure. David Hughes, formerly chief executive at a digital marketing firm in West Los Angeles, resigned as a director after joining Spark Networks’ board just six months prior. He will be replaced by Jonathan R. Mather, a former Netgear chief financial officer.

Hughes’ exit comes only two months after a very public ousting of four of Spark's six directors (including Chief Executive Greg Liberman). The hope is that a fresh crop of directors will be better able to help the company rise above the competition in difficult times.

Free dating sites like OkCupid and mobile apps like Tinder are dominating the market and have made life difficult for services like Christian Mingle and JDate. Spark Networks experienced a 10% drop in revenue during the second quarter, to $15.8 million. The company reported a total of $29 million in net losses over the last three years.

Looking to future, Spark Networks plans to head back to basics. It's putting its focus on three things in hopes of boosting subscriber count and revenue:

1. Upgrading its product offerings
2. Improving its processes for subscriber acquisition, retention, and renewal
3. Refining its marketing strategy

"Much has been accomplished over the last 30-days to refocus the business on its core properties and to drive operational efficiencies,” said Executive Chairman Michael McConnell in a statement.

“Moving forward, I believe the opportunity to profitably grow our business is significant and we are prepared to execute on strategic growth initiatives that meet our return on capital hurdles. Further, the team is operating with a sense of urgency and commitment to drive improvements in all areas of the business. Importantly, I am confident in the resilience and resonance of our brands within our targeted communities."

We live in a crazy world. And at the moment, nothing is greater proof of that and the fact that there is a Christian Mingle movie.

Yes, that Christian Mingle. The dating website that promises devout singles it will "find God's match for you." Someone in Hollywood apparently thought that sounded like a rip-roaring good time of a rom-com, and here we are, wondering what led us to this strange and confusing place.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that the lead role is played by Lacey Chabert, most notable for her turn as the ditzy Gretchen Wieners in Mean Girls? It just gets better and better.

Allegedly there is also a plot. It follows Chabert’s character, a 30-something marketing executive named Gwyneth Hayden, whose life is perfect except for one thing: it's missing a man. In a moment of desperation, she joins the Christian Mingle dating site in hopes of changing her fortunes – even though she is not a Christian. Here’s a synopsis of the rest of the film:

If you want to put your best foot forward and drum up the most interest from potential partners, you won't be surprised to learn that it all comes down to your profile photo.

Okay, not all of it. Some people do actually read the words you painstakingly chose. But let's be real: the profile pic is the first thing someone sees, and it has a lot to do with how well you sell yourself online.

Before you start contemplating plastic surgery, remember that the perfect profile picture isn't about conventional beauty. There are plenty of other factors that go into a photo that catches eyes, and none of them have to do with how well you apply eyeliner or how much time you spend in the gym.

Zoosk conducted a study of 4,000 online daters and discovered some of the more unexpected elements that attract attention online:

• Yes, your pet is cute, but your furry friend is not helping you find a date. Photos with animals lower the average number of messages received by 53% for both men and women.
• Posing with human friends also lowers your average – by 42%.
• Women get a 60% boost in messages received if their profile picture is taken indoors.
• On the other hand, men get 19% more messages if their photo is taken outdoors.
• A full body shot is must, regardless of your gender. It'll give you a 203% bump in your incoming messages average.
• Ladies: your selfies earn you 4% more messages. Gentlemen: sorry, your selfies lower your incoming average by 8%.

What you're seeing here are some similarities, but also a couple of key differences. Take that last one: why is it we think it's normal for women to take selfies, but think it's vain for men to do the same thing? Shocker – we have double standards were beauty and gender norms are concerned.

Those double standards continue into the text of the profile. Zoosk's research came to the unsettling conclusion that honesty is the best policy for men, but that women should keep their mouths shut about the big issues until later on. Looking at the data, Zoosk found that:

• The words "separate" and "divorce" up men's incoming messages by 52%. Mentioning children means another 7% boost.
• For women, on the other hand, mentioning the same words causes the incoming messages average to drop by 7%.

So what does that mean? Does that mean women should hide their pasts while men should celebrate them? Does it mean that online dating is fundamentally broken?

What it really means, more than anything, is that online dating sites serve as a microcosm of society as a whole. Regardless of gender, double standards are firmly in place – and we'll never beat them online until we beat them offline.

For more on the dating site that commissioned the study you can read our review of Zoosk.