Facebook to Launch Dating Service
NOTE: while reference was not made to the correspondence between myself and the producer, the story ran in The Telegraph, the dialogue seems to have been removed at the last stage. This is a common practice when the word length is limited.
>> Tinder, while not the first dating application by a long shot, was a first mover in the smartphone space to take advantage of the phone's swipe feature. Tinder has about 50 million active users on its system.
>> Facebook has over 1.2 billion active users, with WhatsApp at 700 million active monthly users. Clearly the size of the potential if Facebook gets the App right is humungous. Otherwise there will be subscribers who use both platforms and exploit different features in each.
>> Facebook today enables a subscriber to connect with people you know, while Tinder allows you to meet total strangers.
>> We have to consider the Tinder Plus users who are committed to continuing with the platform given the ease of use, and the Apps specificity.
>> Facebook has always been about social relationships. Do they have an advantage? Yes, because profiles are already available and they have access to 1/6 of the world's population. On the flip side they do not have permission just to share these profiles with people who wish to date.
>> Yes, already we are seeing a chilling effect take place when Facebook is mentioned in conversation. The CA scandal has meant that some people have deleted their Facebook accounts.
>> But the real issue is that most people on dating web sites do not realise a) that some of their data is already freely available; b) and their data is being used for non-dating purposes.
>> For now the CA scandal was a "blip" on the s-curve of Facebook services. It did raise awareness of what is possible, some people did delete their accounts, or did minimise their activity on Facebook as a result, but most went "now that it's out it is business as usual". The power to connect may seemingly override the power to keep one's "patterns of life" private. >> Facebook does not need to do this but it is trying to grow its market. Commercials in the US play, presently, with the slogan "together".
>> Facebook is trying to reach a different audience. It will provide a new revenue stream. It will also keep people on Facebook's platform longer to see more advertising. Mobile users that use services like Tinder, are willing to pay for services for connecting with NEW people, not just existing people you know (as in Facebook).
Citation: Katina Michael with Chris Graham, Overnight Producer, Commenting on Facebook Dating Service for The Telegraph UK.