General News

Tinder might have gotten a lot of action in 2016, but according to a recent article in The Washington Post, niche dating apps are poised to get more attention this year.

Research from online dating sites and apps have shown that the biggest increase in memberships and activity occur from New Year’s Day through Valentine’s Day. It’s the time when the most people are looking for love, or at least a few dates. Traditionally, people have gravitated to the bigger sites like Tinder or Match in the hopes of having the widest pool of daters to choose from. But this year, people are looking for new ways to connect.

Part of the problem according to the Post is that dating apps don’t necessarily lead to users getting more dates. It’s easy to swipe endlessly, but that doesn’t seem to translate to meeting in real life. In the past year, poor and flaky dating behavior has left a lot to be desired, and daters are increasingly frustrated.

JDate is currently having a sale on 3 and 6 month subscriptions. The sale starts January 26th and runs to January 29th, 2017 and gives you up to 30% off. No coupon is required for this promotion.

JDate is a popular online dating service for Jewish singles which has been in operation since the late 90s. Thousands of members are online at any one time looking for a match making it very easy when you are on the service to find local Jewish people to date in your neighbourhood. When you visit Jdate.com you can create a membership for free. Once you have filled out your profile you can then go ahead and search for your ideal match using a number of different criteria you can choose from. If you spot any profile you like in the results, you can go ahead and view their full profile and photos. If you want to contact the member you would then have to purchase a subscription for a low monthly fee.

For more information about this popular Jewish dating service please read our review of JDate.

A Social Game With Dating?

Think Tinder is grueling? A new app promises an even more vicious take on mobile dating.

Already a source of controversy, FMK turns the classic boredom-busting game ‘F*ck, Marry, Kill’ into the newest way to find a mate (or, at the very least, kill some time). FMK presents users with three photos and three blunt choices:

• F*ck: Perfect for a one night stand, but you’d only introduce them to your parents if you were trying to piss them off.
• Marry: The complete package of looks and personality. Someone with serious long-term potential.
• Kill: Not even if you were the only two survivors of a zombie apocalypse. In fact, you’d rather hookup with a zombie.

HitWe App Profile View

Another day, another new dating site that’s trying to hit it big.

Hitwe calls itself the “fastest-growing online discovery network” and promises to offer “the best opportunities for communication and new acquaintances.” They’d be big claims coming from anyone, but they’re downright gargantuan coming from a service most of us haven’t heard of. Naturally, it makes you curious… does Hitwe live up to its own hype?

A quick investigation reveals a colorful but simple site. Hitwe is clearly a product of its time. New users can sync their account with Facebook to automatically populate their profiles and save time. Pictures can be imported directly from Facebook or Instagram. The profile layout has both a featured image and a cover photo, a design that will be intimately familiar to any social media user. The profile also has tallies of visitors and likes, another resemblance to many social media profiles.

The last place many love weary daters would go for advice on how to date is consulting a dating app. Especially Tinder, which has often been accused of being a “hook-up” app, and recently taken to task by competitor Hinge for that reputation.

But last month, Tinder launched a brand new podcast offering online daters some much-needed advice.

Branded podcasts are popping up everywhere, since the platform has really caught on with the way the public consumes information. According to Edison Research, about 21% of Americans over the age of 12, or 57 million people, listen to a podcast monthly, up from 17% last year. It seems Tinder is trying to capitalize on its success and pave a more helpful and hopeful path while expanding its user base.

Hornet, a dating app that touts itself as “the world’s second largest gay social network,” has announced that it has raised $8 million in its first round of institutional financing. The Series A round adds to a $500,000 angel round raised in 2012.

Founded in San Francisco in 2011, Hornet set out to strengthen the gay community by providing quality social interactions and being the most inclusive, diverse service in the LGBT dating market. CEO Christof Wittig has previously said the company aims to “jump in where Grindr dropped the ball” by focusing on lasting connections rather than quick flings.