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Sean Rad : The Founding Memeber and Former CEO of Tinder

Founder, Social media, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By

Digitalization has made every activity so convenient for us that we can literally do anything with a swipe of our fingers. Moreover, the younger generation prefers doing everything through the internet, starting from shopping, payment, booking shows, and even, finding a perfect date unless they happen to meet under the mistletoe. Now, how great it would be to use a mobile app where you can find a perfect match only by swiping left or right? Tinder is one such mobile dating app, using which you can chat with other users and find a ‘good match’ for yourself.

The app provides the option to swipe right if you like someone’s profile and the other way around if you don’t like any. The app was launched in 2012, and in less than a couple of months, it grew to a million users. Tinder was founded by Sean Rad, along with Justin Mateen, Jonathan Badeen and many other executive members. Rad was also the former CEO of the company. One of the founding members, Whitney Wolfe, left Tinder after some time to work on another dating app, Bumble.

Early Life

Born into an Iranian family, Rad moved to Los Angeles with his parents in 1970s and settled in Beverly Hills. His parents worked in the technology industry, which might be one reason why he knew tech very well. Since his childhood, Rad was passionate about doing something big in life and making his life worthy.

Sean Rad
Image Source: businessinsider.in

When Rad was in high school, he did an internship as an entertainment manager, and that’s how he realized that he can make money even from the things he enjoyed doing. Though Rad and Mateen went to different schools, they knew each other since they were fourteen.

Higher Education and Career

Rad started pioneering in the world of technology since he was just eighteen and launched Orgoo, his first startup that was envisioned to build a webmail service. Both Rad and Mateen went to the University of Southern California, but Rad dropped out after a couple of years, to explore the entrepreneurial world and developed a platform called Adly, in the mid-2000s.

These two young entrepreneurs, along with other members, launched Tinder in 2012 and promoted the app heavily in various college campuses. They knew very well, where they could grab the most attention, and thus, gained a billion swipes per day, within a couple of years of Tinder.

Success of Tinder

A year after the release of Tinder, the app received TechCrunch’s Crunchie Award for ‘Best New Startup of 2013’. In March 2013, the company realised the application was used only in a few localities, and hence, Alexa Mateen, social media director, promoted it in other college campuses as well. And by May 2013, Tinder became one of the top twenty-five social networking apps on the basis of users. The frequency of users kept rising, which made Tinder the first online dating app as one of the top five online utilized applications.

In 2014 Webby Awards, the company was named as ‘breakout of the year’, and by October 2014, the application finally incorporated swiping motion and processed more than a billion swipes per day. It made around twelve million matches per day, which is appreciable for a company, which is only two years old. In 2015, the company launched a new feature to let the user access the profiles they rejected earlier, but chatting of two users was only possible when both of them swiped right. Apart from this, a lot of new features were added and deleted from the app in 2015. Tinder’s main complementing site was Facebook, as the user needed to connect their Facebook account with the app for profile verification.

In September 2016, Tinder came in partnership with Vina, a social networking app, and tested ‘Tinder Boost’ in Australia. In October 2016, it went live around the world, which basically, allowed your profile to be on top in your area for 30 minutes. In the same month, Tinder announced the opening of their first office in Silicon Valley, such that to enhance the quality of the employees. In November 2016, the app introduced more freedom on the grounds of choosing gender, breaking the typical mindset of society. This feature raised the number of users by a hefty amount, and by 2018, Tinder had over 3.7 million paid subscribers. The company is now deciding to launch a lighter version of the app, called Tinder Lite, which will take relatively less storage space and consume lesser data.

Majority of the Tinder, today, is under the acquisition of IAC and its subsidiary, Match Group. Till 2018, Rad changed positions quite a number of times, stepping down from the position of CEO and getting back in the helm again. But, in August 2018 a lawsuit was filed against IAC by a group of Tinder employees including Rad. They are suing IAC of alleged stock information and seeking at least $2billion in damages.

Amazon Closes Down Spark Before it Completes its Two Years Anniversary

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Most of the people might not know, but approximately two years ago, Amazon had launched a social networking platform named Spark. And since it has not made it to the global audience, it seems, Amazon has shut the platform down, even before it completes its two year anniversary.

Amazon Spark
Image Source: sownagency.com

Amazon Spark was a similar platform to most of the other social media platforms, where users could post pictures, stories and could connect with people. One of the most important features, that Amazon had added to it, was the ability to sell and purchase things over it. The app was launched in a hope that people will come to the app through their influencers and will make purchases, accordingly. Users were even allowed to tag the products available on the Amazon website.

Like Instagram, the users could react to the posts through smiles and post comments on it. In fact, Spark was considered as one of the competitors of Instagram. But the platform was primarily developed for the Amazon Prime members and was focused more on shopping and sales.

“Whether you’re looking for inspiration for home décor or seeking advice for the best long-distance running shoes, Spark makes it easy to discover and shop stories and ideas from a community that likes what you like.” Amazon has said during the launch of Spark in 2017.

Though the platform entirely focused on sales and shopping, it had copied a few features from its rival Instagram, like the posts from fashion and travel bloggers. But the problem was that it was restricted to only the Prime members, and only they were able to use it. The reach of the platform was limited, and the users did not have anyone familiar to connect with over this very platform.

Though Amazon has not given any statement on the matter, meanwhile the link to Amazon Spark is redirecting to #FoundItOnAmazon site, one of the other easy shopping tools from Amazon. Earlier the Amazon’s notification section had been changed for including updates from Spark. But now the navigation has once again been simplified.

orkut

Orkut Buyukkokten : Founder of Orkut, One of the First Social Media Network

Founder, Google, Social media, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By

The power of social networking sites has made our public life more scintillating and invigorating. Updating every single incident occurring in our life and getting to know about other people’s status, all at once, have attracted the audience, especially, the youngsters around the globe. But the history of social media dates back to long before you used a filter on Instagram or even updated the status on Facebook. On 24th January 2004, Orkut Buyukkokten created one of the first social networking websites, Orkut, which was under the acquisition of Google. Buyukkokten is a software engineer who worked at Google and did much more than creating Orkut.

Early life of Buyukkokten

Orkut Buyukkokten was born on 6th February 1975, in Konya, Turkey. After a year of his birth, the family shifted to Germany and came back to Turkey a few years later. Buyukkokten had already adopted a German accent by then and got admitted in the second standard after they moved back to Turkey. Buyukkokten always maintained good grades in school and started coding when he was only in the fourth standard. Büyükkökten, in one of his interviews, said that a bunch of students always bullied him at school.

Higher studies and career

Buyukkokten went to Bilkent University in Ankara, from where he graduated with a B.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering and Information Science. The time he had to go for his master’s, he almost had thought of dropping the idea of applying in Stanford, due to the high application fee. But, he eventually applied and made it to Stanford University.

Orkut Buyukkokten
Image Source: vox.com

After completing his M.S, he pursued a PhD degree from Stanford as well. He researched mainly on how to create a better and more efficient way of web browsing based on the devices used by individuals. And during his days in Stanford, while working for his thesis, he created a social network, Club Nexus, in 2001, for the students of Stanford University. The students of the university used the platform for chatting, finding people with similar interests, buying and selling products and many other things. He received a good response from the students, especially the undergraduates, and by opening this platform, he actually enhanced the interaction between the undergraduates and graduates.

Buyukkokten also introduced another social network, inCircle, which was for the Stanford Alumni Association. He wrote the entire code for these networking websites in C#, and as the number of users increased rapidly, he started using different serves to reduce the traffic.

In 2002, When Buyukkokten was in his final year, he eventually, started receiving job offers, and finally, he ended up in Google. Even after he joined Google, he worked hard to develop better social networking sites. He believed in bringing the entire world together on a single platform where people can enjoy, make new friends and socialize. Buyukkokten also launched a company, Affinity Engines, which later, sued both Google and Buyukkokten for trading secrets.

Success of Orkut.com

Since Buyukkokten gave 20% of his time to create a new social networking site, he finally, built one and, named it Eden. And then, after a suggestion by Eric Schmidt and Marissa Mayer, the name was changed to Orkut.com. Google launched Orkut on 22nd January, Buyukkokten being the creator of the platform. Starting it as a 20% project, it turned into a massive success that the company and Büyükkökten, himself, never expected. Though Affinity engines claimed the code of Orkut to be theirs, the lawsuit they filed against Google and Buyukkokten was settled in 2006. A lot of new features were added once the website went live. A logo was resigned in 25th August 2007, followed by second redesigning in 27th October 2009.

As the number of people making profiles in Orkut increased, Buyukkokten declared that it will also be released in 6 different languages (Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu). Orkut was launched worldwide and gained the most popularity in Estonia, Brazil and India. Buyukkokten decided to leave the team of Orkut.com in 2008 and started working as a product manager at Google.

In 30th June 2014, Google announced that it will be closing Orkut.com by 30th September 2014. But for the time span it existed, Orkut changed the face of social media by giving the common people a real experience of communicating virtually and socializing.

Hello

Buyukkokten launched another social networking site Hello, in 2016, which is having users from all over the world, and he, still, thrive to make the world a better place by connecting people through technology.

Personal life

His parent’s names are still unknown to most of the world. He was in an openly gay relationship, and eventually, married to Derek Holbrook. But later, they got separated. He has two children.

UK Govt is Preparing New Guidelines for Social Media Platforms to Protect Children

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According to the recent reports, Facebook, Instagram as well as Snapchat will have to remove the like button and in the case of Snapchat, the streaks for the users under 18. The ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) has said that it is going to impose 16 new rules for various social media platforms in order to make those platforms safer for young kids.

social media platforms
Image Source: wsj.com

One of those rules is indicating towards removing the like button from the different social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as according, to ICO the like button nudges the kids to stay online on those platform for a longer time.

“We’ve launched the draft of our Age Appropriate Design code, which sets the standards for those designing, developing and providing online services to children.” a tweet from the official account of ICO stated.

ICO is also working on the other rules to stop the social media companies from nudging the users younger than 18 years old, to reduce the screen time for them and to control their privacy. According to the new rules the social media platforms will have to keep the user information private by default, and until necessary, the kids should not be asked to share their private information.

The new guidelines will also prevent the companies to ask the kids under 18 to share their geolocations in any circumstances, as the geolocations map the accurate location of the phone.

The initiative of crafting new rules, for keeping the kids under 18 safe, has been taken by the government of UK, after the MPs and other public figures criticised those social media platforms for bad effects on the children. In fact, the Duke of Sussex has called those platforms more addictive than drugs and alcohol.

Though it is a great initiative, for now, it has been only taken in the UK. In fact, in the UK too, the rules will be imposed only in 2020, after the consultation will be over in May 2019, for the other rules. The ICO will start working on making the guidelines starting from Monday, and will consult and take opinions from the public as well as experts. After the guidelines come into effect, the companies would need to pay fine in millions and billions, if it failed to follow.

Houseparty : A Social Network that Claims to Connects People in More Real Way

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Social media not only provide you with the means to connect with your dear ones but is also a place where you can share your thoughts with the world. But with the rise of social media, the pressure on the users have also increased, and the originality of connecting with the people close to them has lost somewhere. Houseparty is also a social network which has been specially built to solve this problem.

The founder of Houseparty Ben Rubin and Sima Sistani, came together to build a platform, which is solely for the people who want to spend real time together even being physically apart. The app allows a group video chat of up to eight people, giving the feel similar to friends sitting in a living room.

The Founders

Ben is an entrepreneur of Israeli descent, who had joined the army when he was 18 years old. He had always intended to become an architect and even studied architecture but ended up building mobile applications.

When Ben was in the third year of his college, he was introduced to the famous social media platform Instagram, which became the inspiration for his first project ‘Yevvo’. Yevvo was a social media platform, which became popular in no time. Ben started adding new features to the app, but was unable to handle the pressure and soon he had to shut down the app.

Next startup app that Ben came with was Meerkat launched in February 2015. Meerkat was a social media app that enabled its users to tweet live videos and comment on the tweet.

Houseparty co-founders
Image Source: greylock.com

Sima Sistani is an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and was working as the head of media at Tumbler when she met Ben. The two got introduced through a common friend. Sima was already aware of his startup Meerkat and was quite impressed by the success of Meerkat.

After four months from the inception of Meerkat, Ben and the co-founder of Meerkat, Itai, realised that the tweeting live video was only working for people who were famous or were celebrities, and the common people were not getting much of the benefits from the service. At the time Sima had also joined the team Meerkat.

Founding HouseParty

The problem with meerkat was that it was not applicable for the common people, so it led the two future co-founders, Ben and Sima, brainstorm about the concept of live video streaming for the common people. Since it was clear that not many people are interested in watching common people live stream, they reached to the conclusion that why not make the live streaming more personal?

The answer to this question was the private synchronous social network Houseparty. In the first six months of its development, Sima went to different schools to test the features of the app and Ben was constantly working on adding relevant features to it, including personal notifications and locked room.

Houseparty is not only providing its service to common people for live video chats but also offers the advertiser a cheaper platform to advertise their services and products.

By September 2016, after a rewrite of the code, the company was serving over 1 million people in all 50 US states and other countries. Houseparty is mostly focused on Generation Z: 60% of its users are 16 to 24 years old. Currently, Ben is serving the board of the company, and Sima is promoted to the post of CEO of the company, who previously held the position of COO in the company. Till now the company has raised over $70 million from Silicon Valley investors and is growing at a rapid rate. For the success of Houseparty, Ben says that he is happy that his first two startups were failures and he came up with a more feasible business model, that has its own future.

Instagram is Trialing a Shopping Checkout Feature to be Available for its US Users

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Instagram on Tuesday, announced that it is testing a new checkout feature for its US users and will be rolling out the same in the next couple of weeks. According to a statement from Instagram, its US-based users will be able to shop items with tags for sale, directly from Instagram.

instagram-shopping
Image Source: esquire.com

Currently, Instagram is one of the most engaging platforms operated by Facebook Inc., and many retailers are using the same to selling their products online. But the News Feed of this platform is not enough to engage people for a longer time. Also, shopping through the app is not convenient as there is no payment feature embedded to the app and people are forced to contact the retailers even to know the price of the goods. This is one of the steps that Facebook has taken to monetise its one of the most popular platforms, in order to enter into the eCommerce business.

The users now will be able to see and order products directly through the app. For the payment, the users will be offered with options like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, PayPal, etc.

Though the feature will only be available for the US users, and for now, only a few famous brands including Adidas, H&M, Kylie Cosmetics and Michael Kors will be able to use it to sell their goods on Instagram. Noticeably, the company has already partnered with twenty different brands.

Though the company has not commented on the worth of the partnership with different brands, it has confirmed that it will be charging a fixed fee from the various brands interested to sell on Instagram. The fee will also be covering the purchase protection policy for those brands, and it will be Instagram which would pay for any damage to the items or lost items.

According to an Instagram spokesperson, the users will only be able to buy one thing at a time, and the feature is only available for the mobile app users. However, the company is still working on improving the shopping experience for its users.

While it is a piece of exciting news for the Instagram users, and also, this step will help many brands with their business, many people are also worried about the Facebook’s track record on privacy, which may also affect the launch of this new in-app purchase feature of Instagram.