Online Dating Insider was the primary resource covering the online dating industry. It explored the needs of online dating and social networking companies, and the technology providers, value-added services, financial resources and consumer brands participating in the marketplace.
David Evans wrote about the business of online dating at Online Dating Insider from 2002-2018. As Digicraft, he provided consulting and advisory services focused on advising online dating and social networks and associated markets on growth strategies, social media and product development initiatives. In this capacity, David performed due diligence on social and dating properties and participated in fundraising and M&A activities for the institutional investing community.
July 2018: Interviewed for Fortune Magazine article, “Match Is the Sweetheart of Online Dating—But Can It Fend Off Facebook and Bumble?.”
December 2017: I was quoted several time in this Forbes story about Bumble Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd.
April 2016 Interview (PDF) with David.
MEDIA
I have been educating journalists about online dating trends, novel topics, research and story ideas for sixteen years. I work with journalists diligently to tell the larger story about the online dating industry, mobile apps, growth and emerging trends, predictions, key players, niche upstarts, and much more.
Online Dating Insider has been been mentioned in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Fortune, NPR, BBC, CNBC, Businessweek, Boston Globe, Washington Post, TechCrunch, Newsweek, Inc., Trendwatching, Betabeat, Business Insider and many other international media outlets.
Contact me for my unique perspective on the online dating industry, insights and commentary and trends & predictions about the online dating industry.
INVESTORS
You’re probably here because you want a straightforward conversation about investing in a dating business. I have been educating investors about the online dating industry for a decade. No matter where you are in the research process, I’ll share valuable insights into the dating industry you won’t hear anywhere else. Our calls are not about spreadsheets. We’re talking a bit of history, hot topics like IAC and Tinder, and I’m giving you my take on things having watched the dating industry for many years.
Services: Social & dating industry analysis, due diligence and gut- checks.
Contact me to schedule a call.
Recent Blog Posts
AdultFriendFinder Acquisition Update
Techcrunch is now saying that the potential suitor for adult dating site AdultFriendFinder and scores of other sites owned by parent company Various, Inc., may be Penthouse, and that the price was closer to $500 million.
On Saturday I mentioned Michael Arrington wrote that AdultFriendFinder may have been acquired for more than the $1 billion. This is a juicy rumor that continues to be embellished by various sources.
Mark Brooks at Onlinepersonalswatch posted a transcript with AFF CEO Andrew Conru, who denied that the company is for sale.
His response was to be expected. Andrew plays things extremely close to the vest and wouldn’t dare do anything on his part to spoil a potential deal.
If The FriendFinder network has revenues of $300 million, I’m not clear why the purchase price would only be $500 million, that seems quite low.
This would easily be the largest largest transaction ever in the online personals space. It also helps put a number of PlentyOfFish, which is also most likely positioning itself to be acquired. Stay tuned for more details.
Rumor: FriendFinder Acquired for $1 billion
TechCrunch is pushing a rumor that FriendFinder was acquired for more than a billion dollars. What a windfall for founder Andrew Conru if it’s true. Just a few months ago people were saying that Friendfinder (and parent company Various, Inc.), was not a palatable acquisition target due to the nature of the some of the business units (Adult Friend Finder in particular). More as the story unfolds.
Last nights TechCrunch party was a blast, ran into people I knew 12 years ago, several clients and I got to finally meet Michael Arrington.
Eharmony Chat Transcript
The unofficial eHarmony blog has published the November 14 chat transcript for a conversation with J. Galen Buckwalter, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Development at eHarmony.
Getting Ready for Techcrunch Party Tonight
Tehcrunch is throwing a party for 700 people in Boston tonight. Judging from previous parties, this one should not disappoint. My liver is shuddering at the thought of hitting the after party.
European Kiss Launches
Tony Parusis wrote to announce the launch of European Kiss, a dating & community site for Europeans living in Europe, Canada & USA.
EuropeanKiss.org, a new 100% free online dating site, is the first online dating site to implement “Windows Vista” gadgets. Gadgets are easy-to-use mini programs that give you information at a glance in real-time. “This release is version 1.0 of our gadgets. We plan to continue developing future versions that will build more functionality right onto our members desktops and will make the dating process easier, quicker and more effective.
European Kiss has some fancy features based on Windows Vista (which I can’t test at the moment, Mac guy here waiting to buy next generation MacBookPro so I can run various Windows apps.)
When I think of Europe I think of Meetic. Can any other site step in an make a dent in the EU dating market at this time, especially when the primary selling point is operating system-specific gadgets?