Online Dating

In June, Facebook announced a small change to its algorithm. The platform will now be promoting your friends’ posts in your Facebook feed over news posts from relevant media, publishers and businesses. While this is great in theory because it can cut down the clutter you might not want, it puts a lot of businesses in a bind.

According to an article in International Business Times, more than 50 million businesses use Facebook Pages — from big brands like McDonald’s and Nike to small local businesses and tech startups. They will be forced to pay advertising dollars to reach people over the social media platform and increase visibility, instead of relying on Facebook’s grassroots appeal.

The biggest losers in the new algorithm changes however, are dating apps, because many don't even have the option to advertise. Back in early 2014, Facebook introduced restrictions on the dating industry that required all companies, no matter the size, to be pre-approved for advertising. It was an effort to crack down on dating services that were abusing their advertising privileges with suggestive images and messaging to potential users, because their content could be interpreted as too explicit or inappropriate.

As a result, all dating apps are paying the price. Even traditional and reputable dating apps that boast large followings like Match are prevented from advertising until they go through an application process to be whitelisted. Some dating services that applied over two years ago are still waiting to hear if they have been approved.

The rules for approval and advertising guidelines were decided by committee - a roundtable Facebook held with some of the largest dating advertisers in the industry, including Match and Zoosk.

The basic process is this: after being accepted to advertise, approved dating services have to adhere to certain standards, such as only targeting people 18 and older who list themselves as single and interested in meeting men or women. Sites that have a sexual emphasis are not permitted, nor are dating sites that use any suggestive or pixelated images.

Dating apps like HER, which markets to the lesbian community but is a platform for forming friendships as well as dating, was affected negatively by the new policies. In fact, 30% of their users are in relationships, but they use the app to find groups of friends with similar interests. HER is not allowed to advertise to these users over Facebook, only the single users.

More dating apps as a result have been turning to Twitter and YouTube for advertising their services. While Twitter doesn’t allow explicit advertising, their platform is less restrictive for dating services overall. And this might change the way dating services appeal and market to potential customers, as they leave Facebook to spend their ad dollars on other platforms.

EliteSingles is an online dating service aimed at professionals who take their love lives as seriously as their time at the office. The site's intelligent matching algorithm prioritizes long-term happiness and compatibility using a thorough personality questionnaire and profile, helping marriage-minded singles escape the casual nature of most modern dating.

The formula has proved to be a winning one. EliteSingles has seen significant user growth, particularly in the UK where it reported year-on-year growth figures of 37% in Q1 2016. Overall, the company is currently growing at a rate of 25-30% each year.

The latest figures from the UK come hot on the heels of a rebrand in March. EliteSingles’ global makeover includes graphical and user experience improvements to the website and app, as well as significant improvements to the "Wildcard" function, which enables users to enjoy more potential matches every day. The UK, the United States, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa have all been updated with the fresh functionality, logo, and colour scheme.

Two years of solid growth inspired the rebrand. The site receives an average of 215,000 new member sign-ups per month across all its English speaking EliteSingles platforms, with 100,000 from the US, a further 40,000 from the UK, and 20,000 monthly sign-ups in Australia.

EliteSingles has become a premier online dating destination for professional singles looking for long-term relationships since its launch in 2013. The site’s average user is aged between 30 and 45, and the majority (85%) are university educated to at least a Bachelor degree level. All profiles on the site are manually verified and, using a sophisticated algorithm, matched based on a combination of education, profession, and personality.

New users complete an extensive questionnaire upon sign-up that analyzes unique personality traits. After completing the questionnaire, users fill out an in-depth profile that covers passions, hobbies, desires, dealbreakers, strengths, and more. From there the site takes over, presenting users with 3-7 matches each day that meet their personality and search criteria. The system is a perk for busy professionals who have little spare time to dedicate to dating.

Jeronimo Folgueira, CEO of EliteSingles, says “As our business rapidly grows, we want our brand to better reflect our positioning and to stick with our target audience. By adopting a more modern, friendlier, green logo we hope to increase our appeal among our core demographic of university-educated professionals as well as emphasise our commitment to delivering the best premium online-dating experience on the market.”

“Together with the redesign of our mobile app,” he continues, “we want our new more-recognisable brand aesthetic to embody the combination of assurance and excitement our users feel when they join EliteSingles.”

For more on this dating service you can read our review of Elite Singles.

eHarmony sent us a reminder that there is free communication for all members this week. The event starts today Wednesday August 3rd, and runs to Monday August 8th, 2016 for the United States.

eHarmony is an ideal dating service for those looking for a long-term relationship. Their entire site from the profile questionnaire to how communication works has been designed to bring people together who will have a higher success rate of finding love, a partner, and marriage. When you first sign-up to eHarmony you will need to fill in your profile. Most questions are multiple choice and they have been designed to determine what your 29 dimensions of compatibility are. This process along with uploading your photos will take just over 30 minutes for most people. It is important to answer the questions to the best of your ability because your answers are used by the eHarmony matching algorithm and compared with other eHarmony members who live within the area you define to determine your best match. Your first set of matches are sent to you right away, and you can expect new matches delivered to you most days afterwards. Once you receive your matches you can then review them and start communicating with those that spark your interest.

No coupon code or credit card is required for free communication at eHarmony which includes sending emails and messages. The event is available for all members on the website eHarmony.com and the eHarmony dating apps (for iOS and Android) who live in the United States. Free communication ends at 11:59PM PSTon Monday, August 8th. Free Communication does not include photos, secure call (phone service which hides your number), or skipping the guided communication process to go straight to email.

For more about this popular matchmaking service, you can read our review of eHarmony.

Jason Hill was in for a surprise when he attended a meetup of OkCupid users in 2009. Sam Yagan, co-founder of OkCupid and current CEO of Match.com, dropped by the gathering and spoke to Hill. When Hill told him he joined the site in March 2004, Yagan was shocked.

“That was less than a month after we started,” Yagan exclaimed. “You must be our longest user!”

Fusion recently spoke with Hill about his status as OkCupid’s longest continual user, and the lessons he learned along the way. His story offers key insights into the world of online dating:

It’s almost unfathomable: a dating app with no swiping and no ability to chat with other users. Is it possible for such a service to break into the crowded online dating scene? helloTruly hopes so.

The new Chicago-based app is taking the Goldilocks approach. helloTruly wants to give singles just enough technology to get the ball rolling, but not so much that they’re glued to the app and neglect actual, in-person meeting. Not too much, not too little - just right.

Father-and-son founding team Andy and Jack Kenoe describe the app as a “digital icebreaker” focused on connecting people in physical spaces like coffee shops and bookstores. Users of the free iOS and Android app are alerted when another user is in the same location and matches their indicated preferences.

If you are a millennial, chances are you’ve heard of an app called Venmo, even if you haven’t downloaded it. It’s a peer to peer app owned by PayPal that lets you split things like cab fares and utility bills, to make it easier to share expenses among roommates, family and friends.

But now, there’s a phenomenon reported by The New York Post that claims Venmo is being used by stingy daters to get out of picking up the check.

When you have a Venmo account, it can be linked to a bank account or debit card, or you can keep money directly in your Venmo account to draw from (much like PayPal). The app allows you to connect with people so you can easily split expenses for things like a birthday gift or sharing a hotel room with friends when you go on vacation together.

But daters are starting to take advantage of this app, too. Guys are inviting their dates out to dinner or drinks, paying for it initially, and then after the couple says their goodbyes at the end of the night, the guy sends a Venmo request to ask the girls to cover their half of the bill.

It’s a passive aggressive way of simply asking to split the check. The guy gets to look good buy pretending to buy the drinks while he’s face to face with his date, but then he backs out as soon as she’s gone. This is a good tactic for men who aren’t interested in a second date.

The good news? The dates who are sent the Venmo request for payment can refuse to pay.

Money and dating has always been a sensitive topic in dating. Many men wonder if it’s appropriate to ask to split the check, or if the woman should offer to go dutch. Guys also worry they will look cheap if they don’t pick up the tab, but if they can’t afford this ritual 2-3 nights per week, it can get awkward.

Still, Venmo makes it easy for people to get away with some bad dating behavior. Instead of being upfront and honest about splitting the check, they are avoiding any type of direct confrontation or conflict. It would be much simpler to avoid any confused, hurt feelings if he was upfront and asked his date to split the check before they part ways.

It is similar to the influence texting has had on dating behavior. Texting has made avoidant behavior easier. Instead of having a difficult or uncomfortable conversation in person or over the phone, daters are instead choosing to “ghost” their dates by simply not returning any messages, hoping their dates get the hint that they aren’t interested.

Using Venmo is another avoidance tactic in dating – please, just ask to split the check.