General News

The online dating market is hot right now and projected to grow to $12 billion by 2020. This is in part thanks to bullish analysts targeting a price point of $66 for Match Group stock, based mostly on the incredible revenue growth of Tinder.

This projection by Nomura Instinet came on the heels of a downward market in early October. Match Group stock was projected to be 28% higher than what it was worth on Thursday October 11^th before the announcement. The $66 valuation gave Match Group a bump on Friday.

Facebook’s entry into the online dating market could have an effect on these projections, though Nomura Instinet analysts say the valuation is based on Match Group’s effective strategy of buying competitors before they scale. Most particularly, Match Group was very successful in its purchase of dating app darling Tinder, which has seen unexpected revenue growth since launching its paid premium service Tinder Gold.

Online dating revolutionized the way we meet and is seen worldwide as a modern approach to finding love - but according to a recent study from the University of Oxford’s Oxford Internet Institute (OII), the experience of online dating is not nearly as progressive as the technology is.

Researchers at the OII analyzed 10 years of eHarmony UK user data to find out how gender norms and social attitudes have evolved over the last decade. The study, Computational Courtship: Understanding the Evolution of Online Dating through Large-scale Data Analysis, reveals their surprising conclusion: little has changed, and what has is not for the better.

Traditional gender roles continue to dictate how men and women connect online. The study found that men are 30 percent more likely than women to initiate conversation on a dating service. The number has actually increased over time, from six percent in 2008 to 30 percent in 2018. When women do initiate, the response rate drops by 15 percent.

Bumble is on track to debut in India later this year, with an unexpected investor and advisor by its side: actress and philanthropist Priyanka Chopra.

"I've always believed that investing in women is key to social transformation and economic growth,” Chopra explained in a statement released by Bumble. “Women want love, they want friendship and they want to find a career, and that's the uniqueness of what Bumble delivers.”

“I’m inspired by the real, positive change Bumble is creating and I’m proud to have the opportunity to contribute to this movement as a partner,” she added.

It’s said that you should practice what you preach. For dating app Hinge, that means supporting employees with an exceptionally on-brand workplace perk: a $200 monthly stipend to go on dates.

Companies are working harder and harder to attract and retain talented candidates. Sufficient compensation is a must, but employees are increasingly looking for positions that offer benefits beyond salary. Perks like free food and beverages in the office, flexible work hours, and gym reimbursements are practically standard for businesses in competitive industries, and startups are getting increasingly creative in their approach to employee benefits.

Hinge’s dating stipend is a unique addition to the company’s more familiar perks, which include weekly catered breakfasts and lunches, unlimited annual leave, and exercise benefits. Employees can use their monthly allowance anywhere in the United States to spark a new romance or nurture long-term love. After cashing in, they are encouraged to leave reviews of their experiences on the app to help Hinge members succeed in their own dating endeavors.

Tinder users can breathe easier this week. Following the Facebook hack that compromised 50 million user accounts, Tinder has announced there is "no evidence” to suggest its own accounts have been breached as a result.

On Friday, September 28, news of the hack broke. An unknown attacker, or attackers, exploited a weakness in the social network’s systems to take over millions of accounts, gaining access to their profiles, photos, friend lists and, possibly, private messages. More than 90 million users were logged out of their accounts by Facebook as a precaution, including the accounts of company CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg. It is one of the most significant cyber attacks in Facebook’s history.

"We do not yet know whether these accounts were misused but we are continuing to look into this and will update when we learn more," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post published on Friday.

It is the beginning of October so that means it's time to start thinking about the Dating Sites Reviews Choice Awards. Looking back I see we have been running these awards for 12 years now. All I can say is WOW! 😀🤪😀

The 2019 Single's Choice Award poll has been now setup and we have decided to change a few things around this year. The Single's Choice Award before always asked 2 questions of our visitors. The first was, which Paid dating site or app they recommended as the best service, and the second was, which Free dating service they recommended. This year we have decided to take the free vs paid out of the mix and just ask which dating site or app they recommend. The online dating industry has changed a lot in the last few years. There are a lot less major players in the industry now and as a result they are a lot bigger. Mobile phones with their dating apps have also made online dating completely mainstream for young adults and seniors alike. People are not worried as much about free vs paid anymore, it is still a consideration, but not enough in our opinion to ask separate questions on.

The Single's Choice Award poll allows you to help decide which dating service is considered the best of the year. This is the top award by Dating Sites Reviews (DSR) and is given out on Valentine’s Day in 2019.

What is your favorite service? Let us know by casting your vote in the Single Choice Award: