Features

How Match Stories Works

One of the oldest players in the online dating industry is betting on the next big thing since swiping. Match plans to launch a new video feature for its dating app this summer.

Match is still a brand name, and it retains a large database of users (though its demographic skews a little older – the company captures a large portion of daters thirty-five and older, many of them divorced and getting back into dating). But Match is looking to broaden its horizons, and the dating game along with it, by focusing on video for product development, according to a report by Mashable.

The video feature, dubbed Match Stories, varies a bit from the old-school video dating services and other video dating apps that haven’t quite taken off. Instead of stilted introductions from users who aren't used to being in front of a camera, Match Stories allows its customers to be a bit more creative. They can incorporate video and images into a 60-second “story,” and use the voiceover tool to explain to potential dates what they are seeing.

Are you a mindful single and looking for someone who’s also interested in meditation, green living, and conscious eating? Then look no further than Denver-based dating app MeetMindful, who recently raised $1.8 million in investment money in the saturated dating app market.

This seed round included funds from top investors in mindfulness, dating, and SaaS technology, including the CEO of Hay House, a popular publishing company among the mindfulness crowd, and Bridge Builders Collaborative.

"We see significant potential in MeetMindful to facilitate authentic relationships for the millions of people pursuing more mindful, healthy lifestyles," said Bridge Builders Collaborative's Operating Partner Charlie Hartwell in a statement.

See how Bucket List works

We’re headed into summer, and online dating company Match conducted a survey to assess how many singles feel more adventurous this time of year. The results are in – 85% said that a potential date’s sense of adventure was an attractive quality, and 76% said they’d like to try something new in the coming months.

In fact, the results were overwhelmingly clear – singles crave a sense of adventure. Seventy-three percent said they would actually be more attracted to someone if they had a bucket list item in common, and 66% of singles said they would likely check off one of their bucket list items on a date.

Because of this, Match decided to create a new feature on their dating app called ‘Bucket List’ to highlight potential dates’ sense of adventure.

IRL - In Real Life

Why won’t my dating app connections respond to my messages? Is my job turning off potential partners? Is it honest to photoshop your dating app pics? Should I Google the people I meet on dating apps before going out with them? Is meeting in real life over?

These are some of the questions Hinge is tackling in its latest venture, a digital magazine called IRL. Launched last month, IRL is updated daily with advice drawn from the heaps of data Hinge has collected on users over the years.

Justin McLeod, Hinge's founder & CEO, told Mashable, “Our Member Experience team constantly receives emails from members asking for a wide-range of dating app advice.” He said it was clear that “singles wanted a safe space to ask dating app related questions and receive reliable, data-backed advice.”

Slack, a popular messaging app used in workplaces to schedule meetings and chat with your co-workers, has entered into new territory. Now, you can date your co-workers over Slack, too.

Dating app Feeld announced its integration onto the Slack platform late April. It works like this: when you download the Feeld app in Slack, you can let the app know who of your colleagues you’re interested in. If Feeld notices your co-worker has admitted to being attracted to you, too, it will let both of you know and you can take it from there (and start your flirtatious messaging over Slack). If your co-worker doesn’t return the affection, he’s never alerted to your interest.

So essentially, you can get confirmation of your crush without him or her knowing.

Match.com Chatbot Laura

In Her, Spike Jonze's 2013 romantic science fiction film, a man falls in love with an intelligent computer operating system voiced by Scarlett Johansson. The concept is futuristic, but feels increasingly less so by the day. With the introduction of Lara, a new Facebook chatbot from Match.com, the reality of Her is closer than ever.

Lara is designed to help singletons navigate the tricky world of dating in the digital age. Via the Facebook Messenger app, the bot uses contextual understanding and speech recognition to provide advice and guidance.

"Throughout a casual conversation, Lara will ask for some personal details, including age, location and sexual preference before inviting users to set up a Match account, all without leaving Messenger," explained Match.com in a press release.