Hinge has "swiped left" on a culture of dating apps that they say fail to foster meaningful connections. Instead, they're doubling down on efforts to help their users find genuine relationships.
The company, once a peer of Tinder, OkCupid, and Happn, has been pursuing a new look for the past nine months. Following user surveys and various pilots, the new service launched Tuesday, introducing a "story" interface Hinge says sparks five times more conversations than in the past.
Some Millennials – the target market of the proliferation of dating apps – say they aren't actually looking for relationships, but there may be many more who are. Hinge hopes to appeal to that demographic, and possibly even change the conversation about dating apps.
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The company's reincarnation was spurred by a 2015 Vanity Fair story that came down hard on dating apps, saying they encourage a culture that has destroyed romance, dating, and relationships. The article prompted Mr. McLeod to reflect that, "When I started Hinge as the first social-media-integrated dating service in 2011, this was certainly not the world I imagined."
Can they displace eHarmony as the "seeking meaningful relationship" app?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @06:07PM
Sometimes the process is AFU though. My very first girlfriend (the one you never forget) calls me after 30 years telling me she never got married because I was the only one. What a bombshell that was.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 17 2016, @06:33PM
> (the one you never forget)
Not always a bombshell, more like a fizzle. She came back to town when a mutual friend died of a brain tumor (after about 30 years). While she didn't actually come out and say it, it was pretty clear that she's gay. Might explain why she cut our high school relationship off suddenly and with no explanation. Hurt like hell at the time, and the teenaged-me was depressed for months.