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| Company type | Dating website |
|---|---|
| Website | www |
Jdate is an online dating service aimed at Jewish singles. The service is one of a number of demographically focused online match-making websites operated by Spark Networks, Inc.
Because of the focus on relationships between Jewish singles, Jdate is considered a special-interest online dating site. Former CEO Adam Berger calls this type of service "niche" dating. [1]
Jdate was founded in 1997 by Alon Carmel and Joe Shapira following the failure of their previous venture, Matrix Video Corporation. After the launch, membership grew rapidly by word of mouth in tight-knit Jewish communities. [2]
The site won a 2006 Webby award for social networking. [3]
On November 10, 2014, Jdate launched a dating app designed for Jewish singles. [4]
Jdate has members worldwide, with users concentrated in the US and Israel. Individuals do not have to be Jewish in order to join Jdate. While Jdate is oriented towards the Jewish population, it has also attracted those seeking Jewish mates. The reasons cited often have to do with perceived cultural traits, whether stereotypical or true: "nice" or wealthy Jewish men who treat women well; take-charge, and independent Jewish women who hold on to tradition. While many Jdate members respond in kind, others view the phenomenon as an intrusion that defeats the purpose of the site. [5]
Members can mark their Jewish affiliation on their profile. Options include Conservadox, Conservative, Hasidic, Orthodox (Modern, Baal Teshuva and Frum), Reconstructionist, Reform, and "Culturally Jewish". Members can also select options like "Willing to Convert". [2]
Jdate members have the option to seek heterosexual or homosexual relationships on the site. Profiles include options like "men seeking men" and "women seeking women" to help users connect with their desired matches. [2]
Past and present celebrity Jdate members include:
Previously based in Beverly Hills, Spark Networks is now based in Berlin, Germany, with additional offices in Lehi, Utah. [10]
In 2013, the company authorized the repurchase of $5 million of its outstanding common stock as a reflection of confidence in the long-term business. [11]
On November 2, 2017, Spark Networks SE (NYSE American: LOV) announced the successful completion of the previously announced merger of Spark Networks, Inc. and Affinitas GmbH in a stock-for-stock transaction. [12]
Online dating, also known as internet dating, virtual dating, or mobile app dating, is a method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An online dating service is a company that promotes and provides specific mechanisms for the practice of online dating, generally in the form of dedicated websites or software applications accessible on personal computers or mobile devices connected to the internet. A wide variety of unmoderated matchmaking services, most of which are profile-based with various communication functionalities, is offered by such companies.
OkCupid is a U.S.-based, internationally operating online dating, friendship, and formerly also a social networking website and application. It features multiple-choice questions to match members. Registration is free. OkCupid is owned by Match Group, which also owns Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, and many other popular dating apps and sites.
International Securities Exchange Holdings, Inc. (ISE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of American multinational financial services corporation Nasdaq, Inc. It is a member of the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) and the Options Industry Council (OIC).
Friend Finder Networks is an American internet company founded in 1996 by Andrew Conru and Lars Mapstead. Its corporate headquarters are located in Boca Raton, Florida, with additional offices in California, New York, and Taiwan.
BabyCenter is an online media company based in San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles that provides information on conception, pregnancy, birth, and early childhood development for parents and expecting parents. BabyCenter operates 9 country and region specific properties including websites, apps, emails, print publications, and an online community where parents can connect on a variety of topics. Users of the website can sign up for free weekly email newsletters that guide them through pregnancy and their child's development.
Badoo is a dating-focused social network founded by Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev in 2006. It is headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus and London, United Kingdom, with offices in Malta, Russia and the United States. It operates in 190 countries and is available in 47 languages, making it the world's most widely used dating network. The app is available on iOS, Android, and the web. Badoo operates on a freemium model, whereby the core services can be used without payment.
The Meet Group, Inc. owns several dating app networking services including MeetMe, hi5, LOVOO, Growlr, Skout, and Tagged. The company has offices in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dresden, and Berlin.
Plenty of Fish (POF) is a Canadian online dating service, popular primarily in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Brazil, and the United States. It is available in nine languages. The company, which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia generates revenue through advertising and premium memberships. While it is free to use, Plenty of Fish offers premium services as part of their upgraded membership, such as allowing users to see who has "liked" a member through the service's MeetMe feature, and whether a message has been read and/or deleted.
Spark Networks GmbH is an American-German dating company with a portfolio of brands designed for singles seeking serious relationships. These online dating brands include Zoosk, SilverSingles, EliteSingles, Jdate, ChristianMingle, eDarling, JSwipe, AdventistSingles, LDSSingles, and Attractive World. Formed in 2017 through the merger of Affinitas GmbH and Spark Networks, Inc., the company has a presence in 29 countries worldwide.
The Matzo Ball is an annual Christmas Eve nightlife event and party held in a number of major cities in the United States targeted primarily at young Jewish singles and organized by Mazel Events, LLC.
AfterCollege is an online service that connects job-seeking college students and alumni with employers who want to hire them through faculty and career networks at colleges and universities in the U.S. The service uses a patented matching process to deliver jobs to jobseekers, basing matches in part on a user's academic affiliation and field of study. Recruitology is a division of AfterCollege created in 2016, serving media companies and employers.
FanDuel Group is an American gambling company that offers sportsbook, daily fantasy sports, horse racing, and online casino. The company operates sportsbooks in a number of states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia, as well as an online horse race betting platform, and a daily fantasy sports service.
Joe (Yoav) Shapira is a digital media entrepreneur who resides in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Los Angeles, California.
Julie Spira is an author and media personality on the subjects of online dating, social media, mobile dating, and netiquette. She wrote The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Spira has written about the intersection of love and technology for numerous publications.
Interactive Brokers, Inc. (IB), headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, is an American multinational brokerage firm which operates the largest electronic trading platform in the United States by number of daily average revenue trades. In 2023, the platform processed an average of 3 million trades per trading day. Interactive Brokers is the largest foreign exchange market broker and is one of the largest prime brokers servicing commodity brokers. The company brokers stocks, options, futures contracts, exchange of futures for physicals, options on futures, bonds, mutual funds, currency, cryptocurrency, contracts for difference, derivatives, and event-based trading contracts on election and other outcomes. Interactive Brokers offers direct market access, omnibus and non-disclosed broker accounts, and provides clearing services. The firm has operations in 34 countries and 27 currencies and has 2.6 million institutional and individual brokerage customers, with total customer equity of US$426 billion as of December 31, 2023. In addition to its headquarters in Greenwich, on the Gold Coast of Connecticut, the company has offices in major financial centers worldwide. More than half of the company's customers reside outside the United States, in approximately 200 countries.
This timeline of online dating also includes broader events related to technology-assisted dating. Where there are similar services, only major ones or the first of its kind are listed.
Match Group, Inc. is an American internet and technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It owns and operates the largest global portfolio of popular online dating services including Tinder, Match.com, Meetic, OkCupid, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, OurTime, and other dating global brands. The company was owned by IAC until July 2020 when Match Group was spun off as a separate, public company. As of 2019, the company had 9.3 million subscribers, of which 4.6 million were in North America. Japan is the company's second largest market, after the United States.
Christian Mingle is an online dating service that caters to Christian singles. The service is one of a number of demographically focused online match-making websites operated by Spark Networks.
An online dating application, commonly known as a dating app, is an online dating service presented through a mobile phone application. These apps often take advantage of a smartphone's GPS location capabilities, always on-hand presence, and access to mobile wallets. These apps aim to speed up the online dating process of sifting through potential dating partners, chatting, flirting, and potentially meeting or becoming romantically involved.
JSwipe is an online dating application targeted at Jewish singles. It was launched in April 2014, over the Passover holiday, by founder David Yarus and three co-founders under the business entity name Smooch Labs. Yarus, who was also working for Birthright Israel and Hillel at the time of JSwipe's creation, initially viewed the app as a lark before seeing the development of the Jewish dating app as combining his professional interests, passion, and expertise.
