Is a company that's only 20 months old and has no revenue model really worth $5 billion? Spoiler alert: no.

IAC/InterActiveCorp recently bought back 10% of mobile dating service Tinder. Although it's easily the hottest mobile dating app on the market, it’s hard not to approach Tinder with a healthy dose of skepticism. $5 billion is, to put it bluntly, a completely insane number for such a young company.

According to the market research company IBISWorld, the entire online dating industry is worth just $2 billion. How on earth could a company that gives away its dating app for free be worth more than the entire dating industry? The answer is simple: it can't.

The number, first reported by Bloomberg and quickly picked up elsewhere, was based on the $500 million IAC had allegedly paid to buy a 10% stake in Tinder from venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, but it's far from accurate. Sam Yagan, CEO of IAC’s Match Group (which includes IAC’s online dating companies) recently confirmed that a deal was made, but declined to comment further.

“I can confirm on the record that we did a transaction with Chamath, but this valuation is nowhere near the truth,” he told Forbes. Tinder CEO Sean Rad added that the Bloomberg report was “meaningfully incorrect.” Forbes found that an e-mail to Palihapitiya did not receive an immediate response, but noted that his statement on Twitter read “My Tinder sale for $500M is inaccurate. I sold my stake but value was much less. Thx @samyagan for official IAC pos’n. #wishfulthinking”

That being said, it's far too early to write Tinder off as worthless. Just because it has no revenue model to speak of to date, doesn't mean it has no value to investors. With 10 million active daily users, Tinder is fundamentally changing the way a massive number of people behave and engage with each other. That's bound to be worth something.

“Tinder’s really doing something that has been the Holy Grail for online dating: it becomes fun,” says Mark Brooks, a consultant to the Internet dating industry. Unlike traditional dating sites, surfing profiles on Tinder is fun, low risk, and not time-consuming. Users don't have to fill out tedious surveys and the swiping process practically eliminates the fear of rejection. Thanks to Tinder, mobile dating is exciting and mainstream, a major coup that the rest of the dating industry has never been able to figure out.

“IAC’s not valuing Tinder based on what it’s worth,” Brooks notes. “They’re valuing it based on what they’ll lose if they don’t own it. If Tinder can own mobile and own the younger demographic, then IAC is owning the future with Tinder. It’s an international phenomenon.”

Are you online dating? Chances are, you’re spending some time searching through profiles, emailing, and trying to meet new people. This can get overwhelming if your time is tight between work, school, and family obligations. But it doesn’t mean that you should put online dating last on your priority list.

Have you ever come home from a rough day at work, knowing that you’ve set up a coffee or drinks date to meet one of your online matches, and just didn’t feel like going? Did you cancel? After all, you’ve never met this person, and you have nothing invested in whether or not you see each other again. What’s wrong with canceling or rescheduling for another night?

A big problem with online dating is that people can get really flaky. Other parts of your life take priority from time to time, so your personal life gets put on the back burner. Or maybe you're just not that interested in pursuing a relationship. Unfortunately, this means a lot of people are cancelling at the last minute and just don’t care how it might come across to your dates.

Have you ever been frustrated with an online date who kept canceling or rescheduling? Did this make you rethink your own behavior?

Following are some tips to help you avoid being flaky yourself:

Confirm the date in advance. This shows that you are respectful of the other person’s time which makes a good first impression. It also helps you stick to the plan you made without texting a cancellation at the last minute.

Don't schedule to meet someone if you’re not interested in getting to know them. If you aren’t feeling it, then why make plans to meet? There has to be a spark of interest for both of you to be motivated to try and connect.

Cut it short if you need to. If your work schedule is an issue with dating, there are ways to work around it without canceling at the last minute. Book your dates close to your office. Cut them short if necessary instead of canceling altogether. Make it work if you really want to meet someone.

Don't text if you're cancelling. Call. If an emergency has come up, don’t text to say you won’t make it. Call your date. It shows that you are considerate of his time and makes a good first impression.

Follow up after the date. Don’t leave your date hanging if you weren’t all that interested. Be polite and direct instead by saying thank you for a nice time, but he’s not the right fit for you. When you practice doing this, you’ll notice fewer people “disappearing” on you in return.

Traditionally, online dating websites match users based on things like shared preferences, interests, and goals. There's no doubt that all those things are important elements of a successful relationship, but there's one hugely important factor that dating algorithms don't take into account: physical attraction.

Sure, online daters can list vague specifications about things like height and body type preferences, and of course most of us are guilty of spending more time on photos than profile essays, but matchmaking formulas give very little weight to attraction. Until now, that is. A new potential matchmaking formula created by computer scientists at the University of Iowa puts mutual physical attraction front and center by only matching you with partners who are likely to find you attractive.

The formula works by analyzing your message history in order to make date recommendations based on shared tastes and the kinds of people you found attractive in the past. The scientists who designed the algorithm described it using a fictional online dater named Mike: “It is Mike’s taste that affects whom he approaches through initial contacts, and his attractiveness that determines whether he can get responses.”

In other words, Mike – or any of us – can initiate conversations with anyone he wants, but he won't get very far if he continually reaches out to people who don't find him attractive. If the people you contact never reply, all the recommendations in the world will never be of any use. The most effective online dating algorithm would be able to suggest matches based on the likelihood that they will respond to your messages.

“Considering the match of both taste and attractiveness, our model tries to improve dating partner recommendations by boosting a user’s chance of getting responses,” the researchers write.

To test their theory, they used anonymized data on 47,000 users from a real dating website over the course of a period of nearly 200 days. Their program analyzed the replies each user received and used them to evaluate the user's attractiveness or unattractiveness based on the assumption that people who receive more replies are more attractive. When compared with other methods of matchmaking – like pairing people based on shared interests and other variables they had in common – the results showed that the beauty-based method was significantly more effective.

“If a user approaches a partner recommended by [our engine], he/she will have a better chance of getting responses,” the researchers say. So far the attractiveness sorting formula is just a concept, but it's probably only a matter of time before a dating service seeking to be the next best thing turns it into a reality.

Embarking on an office romance might seem like a nerve-wracking idea, but many people in long-term relationships have met each other this way. It’s easy to get close to a co-worker, because you get to know them a friends and colleagues first. There is a comfort level that you just can’t get on a first date.

Not to mention you’ll get an extra little bounce in your step on Monday mornings when you get to see each other again. Your focus, time and dedication to work will become even more commendable. Plus, the workday will fly by with a little flirting over texts or IMs.

Unfortunately, carrying on an office romance can also make things much more complicated at work. Chances are your co-workers will notice, and they might assume that it either affects your work quality or you’ll have an unfair advantage if you’re dating a supervisor or someone at a higher level than you are.

So what can you do? Following are five tips if you’re thinking of dating your co-worker:

Know the company rules. If your office doesn’t permit workplace relationships, then you have a choice: stay in your job and let go of the relationship or be willing to change jobs. Don’t take a chance with your job and risk being fired. The rules are in place for a reason, so know how the company operates.

Know your career goals. Are you in a job that leads to your dream career, or are you willing to sacrifice your career trajectory for a chance at a great relationship? You are the only person who can make that decision. If you want to keep your job and get promoted, then reconsider getting involved with someone at work.

Visualize what happens when things go wrong. I know it’s not a pretty thought, but you have to go there – what happens when you break up? Will you have to walk by his cubicle every day? Can you tolerate him flirting with other women? If the thought of working with an ex makes you crazy, then reconsider dating a co-worker.

Don’t date a supervisor or subordinate. If you’re going to pursue a workplace relationship, it’s better if there isn’t a power struggle between you. Don't date your boss or someone in a higher position, and don’t take advantage by dating someone who is a subordinate. If you’re hiding your relationship, assume that everyone already knows. Office gossip spreads fast and likely it will be hard for you to hide.

Be professional. Don't let your work suffer. In many ways, when you’re dating a co-worker you might have to go that extra mile to ensure your personal life doesn’t overshadow your job.

Kids these days. What crazy shenanigans will they come up with next?

The latest word is that online dating may be on its way out – and that even includes explosively popular mobile apps like Tinder – and that social networks may be on their way in.

“But wait a minute,” you say, “weren’t social networks always in?” Of course they were, but it's only now that people are starting to appreciate them for their full romantic potential. And it may surprise you to know that the social network leading the dating charge isn't Facebook or Twitter – it's Instagram.

Elizabeth Wisdom and Dennis Lafargue, a now-engaged and now Internet famous couple, met using the photo sharing service and documented their courtship on the app. They started out trading flirty comments, then moved on to swapping numbers, and even involved their Instagram accounts in their engagement. When Lafargue made their relationship official, he called Wisdom his “instalady” (not entirely sure if that's cringeworthy or cute). Together, they officially declared that “Instagram is the new Match.com.”

It's one thing for a happy couple to document moments of their lives on Instagram, but Wisdom and Lafargue took it to a whole new level. Lafargue prepared a timeline of their relationship via Instagram photos, combining both their moments together as well as their own separate, first moments using the app. It was a fitting tribute to the service that brought them together in the first place.

For those of us who aren't so involved in sharing our every moment with Instagram followers, it sounds a little crazy, but Wisdom and Lafargue are far from the only couple to tell this story. Even celebrities are getting in on the game, like iCarly actress Jennette McCurdy, who connected with NBA star Andre Drummond using social networks.

“I backtracked on his Twitter page a few months and checked out his Instagram,” she wrote in an op-ed. “He appeared personable, youthful, and fun. And judging by the amount of me-related posts he had shared, it seemed he had been expressing his crush on me for quite some time. I found it sweet, gutsy, and flattering. It’s hard not to be impressed by a boy who will express his feelings for you in front of hundreds of thousands of people.” The relationship didn't work out, but while it lasted the two documented their time together on Instagram (of course).

There isn't yet any research to determine whether Insta-dating is just as effective as traditional online dating, but no research is needed to prove it's a real trend. And given that more and more young people are abandoning Facebook and Twitter in favour of Instagram, it sounds like it stands a real chance of becoming the next big thing.

There are certain codes of conduct we are expected to abide by when it comes to love. We shouldn’t cheat on our partners, and we shouldn’t go after another friend’s boyfriend / girlfriend.

But what happens when you enter into the murky territory of dating your friend’s ex?

Let’s say your friend has moved on, or at least she’s over the break-up and dating again. Does this mean that you can act on those feelings you suppressed while they were dating, harboring a secret crush? After all, he’s not with her anymore. He’s single. That means he could date anybody, even you.

But how would your friend feel?

This is a tough spot to be in, because you want to pursue love. However, if your friend considers you making a move a betrayal, then it’s good to ask yourself how you would feel in her situation.

There are many factors to consider. How long did they date? How recent was the break-up? Did either of them cheat? Were they planning to marry, or was it something less serious?

If the relationship was serious or they were planning to marry, this can be a real shock to your friend. It’s good to consider how your new romance will be perceived, and have a plan of action. It’s not a good idea for your friend to discover that you’re dating her ex by seeing you together holding hands, or gossip from a mutual friend.

Instead, it’s important that you be brave and let her know how you feel and that you’re seeing her ex. It won’t be a comfortable conversation, but you owe it to your friend to be honest and upfront. She will appreciate it more than the humiliation of finding out through someone else. Have some respect for their previous relationship – it goes a long way.

While technically you aren’t doing anything wrong by dating your friend’s ex – he’s a free agent after all – you need to consider the importance of your friendship, too. Is she a person you want to maintain contact with? Will you see her at gatherings of family and friends? If she is upset by your actions, then she might decide that she doesn’t want you in her life. That decision is up to her. Are you willing to let the friendship go?

It’s important to consider what kind of man your new boyfriend is. Will he treat you and his ex with respect? Is he man enough to let his ex know that he’s fallen in love with you? His actions speak loudly, so listen.