General News

Forget Ziggy Stardust. The award for ‘Most Exciting Rise And Fall’ this week goes to SeekingArrangement, the notorious sugar daddy dating website founded by Brandon Wade in 2006.

The US-based service suddenly soared to the top of the popularity charts in China’s iOS App Store, moving up 765 places on May 22 to take the number one spot for free social networking apps. Though SeekingArrangement has been in China since 2015, this marked the first time it topped the App Store rankings in the country. By comparison, according to Quartz, it ranks only 63rd on the same chart in the United States.

It is unclear what caused SeekingArrangement’s unexpected ascent to the throne. The company connects users -- usually an older, wealthier man and a young, attractive woman -- for what it politely calls “mutually beneficial relationships” or “compensated dating”. Considering the notoriously conservative culture in China, as well as the government’s recent crackdown on violent and sexually suggestive content on dating sites, the app’s download boom is all the more mystifying.

eHarmony announced a free communication weekend this holiday weekend in the United States (eHarmony.com only). It starts Thursday May 24^th and runs to end of day on Monday May 28^th.

Whether you are new or existing eHarmony member you can take advantage of this event. Once you have created a profile and answered the personality questionnaire you will be able to receive matches daily on eHarmony. During this extended Memorial weekend you will also be able to message any of your matches (and they will be able to reply) for free. The Free Communication weekend includes the eHarmony website and dating apps (which are available on the Apple App Store and Google Play). Please note, the main thing Free Communication weekends do not include is profile photos.

To find out more about the eHarmony dating service, you can read our indepth eHarmony review.

DateHookup.com on April 28, 2018

Well after waiting a bit and some more digging (and thanks to the Way Back Machine) it is official that DateHookup.com closed for good on May 9^th, 2018.

We initially reported at the beginning of May DateHookup was experiencing technical difficulties and by May 10^th the service was no longer accessible. We did find out that in the last 2 weeks of April, Datehookup.com did display a message (as seen in the photo) in bright red on their homepage stating:

Datehookup will discontinue services on May 9, 2018. Please contact support@datehookup.com for any questions.

Did you eat at a new neighborhood cafe for lunch? Do you want to share this over Tinder? There’s a new feature the dating app is testing called “Places,” which lets potential matches know where you’ve been.

Website The Verge broke the story with screenshots of the new feature, showing how GPS tracking can now be used as a way to connect with your dates. The idea behind Places is similar to dating app Happn, where users can see if they had any missed connections during the day, depending on where they’d been. Let’s say you stopped for morning coffee at your local shop and one of your potential matches also happened to be there. Places will alert you so that you can message your match to let her know you were there too, and start a conversation.

Image: Verge

A concerning issue with the new feature is that Tinder is in charge of documenting and revealing your locations to other users. Instead of allowing users to “check in” when they want to share their location, Tinder automatically chooses to reveal or hide the location. For example, you might go to your dentist appointment and then stop for coffee on the way back to work. Tinder won’t report that you’ve been to the dentist, but it might choose to reveal the coffee shop you visited.

Image: bumble

Bumble announced the launch of its new creative endeavor: granting five female filmmakers and screenwriters in the U.K. $27,000 each to make a short film. This marks the company’s first official move into the original content space, following in the steps of Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes.

Bumble’s content shingle, dubbed The Female Film Force, came to fruition after the 2018 awards season, where only 15% of Oscar winners and 20% of BAFTA winners were female. Bumble wanted to ensure more women’s voices were heard and reflected in film, so its executives decided to launch this initiative.

Bumble writes on its website:

With the explosion of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, there has never been a more public conversation around sexual assault, abuse and consent. Gay social network Hornet is the latest company to take a stand against sexual violence, partnering with Planned Parenthood and the Los Angeles LGBT Center to support survivors and provide education for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“Sex education is where sexual assault prevention begins, for all people — not just LGBTs,” says Sean Howell, President of Hornet. “The public deserves this kind of information. We must work to take care of our community and will continue to provide helpful information that gives the community skills to navigate healthy relationships, sex and consent.”

As the largest global LGBT newsroom, Hornet stands to play an important role in this initiative.