The OPW/iDate Weekly News Summary.

Upcoming Events:
- iDate Dating Industry Conference in Los Angeles June 12-13, 2018

http://idate2018.com
- Stay informed. http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com
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:~ TOP ONLINE PERSONALS WATCH NEWS AND INTERVIEWS ~:


Interview With Eve Peters, Former GM Product At OKCupid Labs
http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/new ... -labs.html

Tom Goodwin - Digital Darwinism
http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/new ... rview.html

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M17 Entertainment Files For U.S. IPO

SEEKING ALPHA - May 22 - M17 Entertainment intends to raise $115M in a U.S. IPO. The company provides an online live streaming and dating app for the more developed countries in Asia. The firm has developed a live streaming platform known as 17 Media. The platform was launched in Taiwan in July 2015. 17 Media had 33.3M registered users as of March 31, 2018. The company also operates Paktor, launched in Singapore in 2013, and Goodnight, M17 Entertainment's main dating apps. The platform allows artists to stream performances at any time and from anywhere with an internet connection. 2017 revenue was $79.5M with gross profit of $14M. The firm will use the net proceeds from the IPO for expansion into Japan and other new markets; for content development, including PGC and new content formats; and the remainder for strategic merger and acquisition opportunities.


ChristianMingle Is Expanding Across Europe

CHRISTIANTODAY - May 24 - Christian Mingle already has an established presence in the UK, Canada, Australia and the US. The platform will go live across several countries in Europe this summer: it began a presence in France, Germany and Spain on March 13, and Russia, Poland and other countries are set to follow soon. The site is part of Spark Networks SE which owns several other dating brands such as JSwipe and Jdate, and the Mormon site LDSSingles.
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Hinge Is Hiring An Anti-Retention &^%$#$^ To Get Users Off The App & Dating IRL

BUSTLE - May 25 - Hinge is hiring an Anti-Retention &^%$#$^ to get users off of their dating app and help turn more first dates into second dates. "In our eyes, the less time people spend on the app, the better," says Hinge's Director of Communications, Jean-Marie McGrath. Apparently 54% of people who delete the app Hinge currently delete it because they meet someone on Hinge - and Hinge wants to take that number to 80%. Anyone interested in the role needs to have a Ph.D. in sociology (or another related field).


LGBT Foundation Appoints Sean Howell Its First CEO

HORNET BLOG - May 23 - The LGBT Foundation, the world's only token and blockchain initiative aimed at empowering the LGBT+ community, has appointed its first CEO, Sean Howell. Howell currently serves as President of Hornet, the gay social network, where he has spent the last six years helping the company grow its user base to 25M. At Hornet, Howell also oversaw the company's corporate responsibility efforts under Hornet Impact, organizing thousands of social justice and health related activations annually, all over the world.
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MyLife makes it easy for matches on dating sites and other marketplaces to see reputation scores and run background checks.
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Seeking Arrangement Under Investigation In China

GLOBALTIMES - May 24 - Authorities in Shanghai have launched a probe into Seeking Arrangement which allegedly sexualize and exploit women. SA's WeChat account has been banned on Tuesday. However, its app was downloadable. "Seeking Arrangement dating platform is definitely not built for sex workers. Any suspicious personal data will be excluded by SA review team," the site said.


Foursquare To Power Tinder's Places

MEDIUM.COM - May 24 - Foursquare is powering a brand-new feature in the Tinder app that helps people find the right match based on favorite places they may share in common. Tinder Places is built on Foursquare's proprietary Pilgrim technology, and delivers new potential matches through the lens of location.
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Moderation Gets a Boost Through Artificial Intelligence - Besedo provides highly accurate AI moderation for some of the biggest dating sites in the world. Using state of the art machine earning Besedo helps clients improve moderation while cutting the cost of moderation by over 50%. Available both with generic and custom models.
Please email lucas.jakobsson@besedo.com
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Match Group Hit With Patent Infringement Lawsuit

REUTERS - May 23 - NetSoc LLC sued Match in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas, alleging infringement of a patent relating to "a social network to facilitate people in life issues."


Grindr Has A New Voice Message Feature

THEM.US - May 21 - Grindr's users will now be able to send voice messages to strangers. Grindr has said it will be an "easy and authentic way to connect and express yourself."
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The OPW/iDate Dating Business Insider is first and the largest weekly news summary in the dating industry. Since 2004.
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