3/5/2017 0 Comments Case studyDating Apps: An Overview Online dating has been around for awhile. Back in the 90s it was a much more archaic form of trying to find love online, but it was also a much sketchier proposition and more stigmatized. Websites like Craigslist, Match.com, JDate, and OKCupid all launched before 2000 and started the online dating phenomenon. The social media and technology revolution in the last two decades have made this form of communication and connection much more common. So much so, if you watch closely enough you can usually determine which couples are tinder dates when you go out. Tinder is redefining romance and influencing the way we find love. There are dating apps that are geared toward matching people based on religion, music taste, ethnicities, Facebook friends, genetic makeup (DNA), sexual preference, and even fetishes. So why, in a world full of specific dating apps, has Tinder risen to prominence above its competitors? It’s probably because they had the first mover advantage. Tinder was launched in 2012 before many of its competitors like Bumble, Grindr, Coffee Meets Bagel, Hinge, etc. That and the big data they have about their users which comes from the connection of other social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Spotify. Although some sites did beat them to the matchmaking punch they were the first to create an app. This combined with their focus on a younger target market, much like Facebook, they started on a college campus to help students make connections. Their entrance into the market set in motion a cultural and technological phenomenon. Tinder creates value for customers by filling a gap in the market of online dating as an app that provides affordable, local, and instantaneous way to meet potential partners that are outside the user’s circle of friends. You are given access to a few pictures and a short bio and then you’re able to “swipe” through potential mates. Filtering can be done to potential matches based on distance, gender, sexual orientation and age. If you have both “swiped right” on each other, meaning that you are interested in the person’s profile, you unlock a chat screen that allows both users to communicate. Tinder makes their profits by providing a subscription service and through paid advertisements. Tinder has been experimenting with different features to continue to grow their business and keep that #1 dating app spot. Tinder is valued at 1.2 billion dollars according to Deutsche Bank and has 9.6 million daily users, which is the main reason we chose Tinder for our project. FUN FACTS: General:
How Does It Work: The Algorithm Behind It All To understand the whole concept behind Tinder's interworking's, you must first know what ELO is. ELO is a scoring system used by the company to determine user results and potential matches that come up. Each score is based upon profile views and the number of "right swipes" (aka likes) acquired, essentially determined by other people's perceptions of your level of attractiveness. Once your score is given, you are placed into groups made up of people with similar ratings which is dynamic as you continue to use the app. People that receive large amounts of positive feedback and have a higher ELO will be more likely to meet more attractive users, whereas lower ELO scores will be connected with their commonly rated counterparts. Scores can be very subjective and is understood to lower confidence levels if ever discovered. If someone did want to see how they were being rated against the rest of the population, they can request it from Tinder but the scores are not made readily available to the public. If one were to match with another who has a higher ELO score than them, their score will increase, working the other way around just as easily. Tinder a game of interest which separates the key player from any of the outcomes. Evidently, users do not have much control over any of the content made available to them. "It took us two and a half months just to build the algorithm because a lot of factors go into it." -Sean Rad (CEO) Whenever a tinder user travels to a new location the first 20-30 profiles viewed are of very attractive people who have high ELO scores. In example, if someone is from Seattle, but goes on a vacation in Tampa, they will see the most appealing people at the beginning but after using the app for awhile they will be presented with more coequals. This is a marketing tool Tinder uses to reel you in and persuade you to continue using the app. This makes people think that they can match with these top tier people boosting their confidence even if it is just out of reach. Everyone wants to be thought highly of and this trick targets society in a way that makes them keep coming back for more. Security: Before the end of 2013 a security flaw was discovered in the app that allowed users to locate other people. By using three different accounts someone could triangulate a matches location by overlapping each accounts radius. The accuracy would provide you with a location within 100 feet increments away from their actual location. Whether or not people actually took advantage of the weakness in the system is unknown but it was revised so that the location accuracy is less precise being in one mile increments instead of a few hundred feet. During testing done on tinder's security, researchers found many gaps that revealed user's sensitive information. Besides being able to take people's photos and connect with their Facebook profile, it was shown to be able to obtain Facebook ID numbers as well. This ID number gives a person access to all social media accounts with all of their information included. With the data that has been collected on Tinder's security we can conclude that they are lacking in some areas and yet seem to put these issues on the back burner. Although Tinder has its flaws they do make an effort to keep people safe. The company warns users that their system isn't creeper proof and that everyone should always practice caution when meeting up with people they match with. Along with these warnings they also monitor the system to make sure nothing comes up that could harm consumers, such as their efforts to correct the location accuracy problem stated earlier. Tinder's Impact on Society: The Introduction of Tinder has continued to contribute to the increasingly digital communication culture that is dominating a lot of ways we connect with one another. Meeting people face to face is becoming less important and has now become primarily internet based. As technology has progressed from the telephone to social media and Tinder, we have had to rely less on in person contact and more on new messaging platforms. Tinder follows this progression by allowing people to connect with each other that they might not normally meet. Aside from the benefits given by being able to expand our communicating outlets, Tinder uses a design that can create judgment and a somewhat lazy society. By including the simple swipe feature it makes dating seem so much easier, but is indirectly influencing our understandings of work ethic. By using a binary decision scheme we start to believe that most things can be obtained through minimal effort when in reality that is not the case. The swipe feature also contributes to immense judgement based on a small selection of information from each profile. This helps to make the app as simple and easy to use as it is today but isn’t necessarily the most comforting of concepts. Impact on the Business World: Tinder’s creation of the swipe feature has really interested consumers and companies alike. As its popularity has increased, becoming a verb used in various settings, other products have adopted similar aspects in their design. There are even Tinder modeled apps that connect you with animals, in which swiping right says you like them just as Tinder does with people. This discovery shows that success can come from the simplest of ideas. Not only did Tinder create a new way to express you like something, but it continuously molds consumers minds to be less involved. People are growing indirectly more indolent because the app is designed for you to make a judgement within seconds of seeing a profile and then deciding if you are interested in them. This has forced a new evolution of product designs on businesses. Apps among other goods and services have become focused on simplicity and speed rather than content. Consumers nowadays have an attention span of about 8 seconds, so if the business doesn’t hook the consumer right out of the gate, then one might as well just give up, because their mind is already on to something else. Competitive Advantage: Features like the “swipe”, its simplistic design, and overall casual concept has contributed to Tinder obtaining a competitive advantage. By designing the app in such a way, it has successfully gained their target markets attention. Millennials are known to be social media professionals because it provides a creative communication platform in which they can participate. Tinder focused on this use of technology adopting the same type of product but with it’s signature twist. The application has increasingly grown in popularity since its first introduction to the world. Although Tinder has its fair share of competitors, they manage to stay at the top due to their first mover advantage, developed customer base, and ability to appeal to their target market. To stay at the top of the food chain Tinder is going to have to constantly evolve its design with the market or risk fading away. The Future of Tinder:
Tinder has been experimenting with different features to the app like Tinder Boost, where the app will put your profile at the top of the deck for 30 minutes so that you get the most views and hopefully the most matches. They’ve also added a group option, where you can add your friends to your group and then on your individual phones can swipe through other groups you might want to meet up with. This feature is for romantic matchmaking and friendly connection making. Tinder also launched a new podcast called DTR (Define the Relationship) which offers online dating advice. There will be 6 episodes in total. If they can spread to areas in our life beyond matchmaking, they may be able to create the sustainable advantage. As we’ve learned in class, managing the technological transition and creating the sustainable advantage is extremely difficult. Tinder’s platform is no different. To stay on top they will need to differentiate themselves even further. Tinder most likely won’t last more than 5-10 years from without diversifying further and setting themselves further apart from their competitors. We think if Tinder can incorporate some of the features of the other apps on the market, they could continue to be the top dating app. Lets Discuss! What influence did tinder have on dating apps and online dating in general? What is tinder’s strategic positioning in the market? What is the first mover advantage for Tinder? What second mover problems may have come up with the introduction of Tinder? What might be done to create a sustainable competitive advantage? See if you can find statistics relating to Tinder's security and users understandings of it. If you were competing with Tinder, how would you go about outranking them in popularity and usage? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Due to the three page limit, not all information could be explained but it is advised to continue reading about the topic at hand. Sources: http://www.onepoll.com/_wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Online_dating_2_tinder.gif http://www.pandasecurity.com/mediacenter/social-media/tinder-app-heart-stolen-but-also-your-information-pictures/ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/tinder-secret-algorithm-matches-based-desirability-article-1.2493070 https://storify.com/lhmccabe/tinder-current-success-and-future-plans http://www.geekwire.com/2015/tinder-founder-sean-rad-explains-why-the-dating-app-is-so-popular/ http://www.geekwire.com/2016/generation-app-tinder-sexual-politics-millennial-dating-revolution/ https://growthhackers.com/growth-studies/what-ignited-tinders-explosive-growth http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-culture-is-hurting-retailers-2016-10 http://www.datingsitesreviews.com/staticpages/index.php?page=Tinder-Statistics-Facts-History https://rctom.hbs.org/submission/tinder-business-vs-operating-model-is-it-a-match/
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AuthorsAlexandra Smith, Dane Lennon, and Brianna Broadwater |