The company behind dating app Tinder has warned investors that it could be hit by a “loss” of up to $60m (€56m) if the final outcome of a probe by the Iris...

Data watchdog’s Tinder probe could cost firm up to $60m | Irish Independent

On top of tapping the likes of LinkedIn and Indeed, Samantha Rogers logged onto her Tinder profile and added the words “seeking work opportunities” to her bio.

Millennial manager took her job hunt to Tinder—and landed 3 interviews as a result | Fortune Europe

Dating app Tinder has promised to tell users in the EU why they are being charged different fees for the same service, after Brussels opened a probe following consumer complaints from Sweden and the…

Tinder must explain fee discrepencies to EU users

By Denny Jacob Match Group isn't feeling the love from its shareholders. Shares of the online dating company fell 17% to $28.87 in early trading

Match Group Shares on Pace for All-Time Low as Investors Weigh 2024 Outlook, Pressure on Tinder

The Loose Women host is currently dating Michael Jones, after swiping 'right' on his Tinder profile during the Covid-19 lockdown. Their romance hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, however, with Coleen splitting from the supermarket logistics worker in ...

Coleen Nolan says her kids 'were not sure' about her on-off Tinder boyfriend

Having a hard time dating online? Tinder's newest feature gives your loved ones the reins. That's not all — I answer your burning tech questions in a new

Tinder lets your friends and fam play matchmaker

Shares in WeWork, Match Group, Advanced Micro Devices, Lumen Technologies, Novovax, and Big 5 Sporting Goods were all active in pre market trading

WeWork shares plunge on report of looming bankruptcy as Match Group stock slumps on Tinder owner’s Israel warning

Online dating giant Match Group has dropped a closely watched antitrust lawsuit against Google’s app store, the two companies said Tuesday, days before a trial set to begin in San Francisco federal court.

Tinder owner Match Group settles antitrust claims against Google’s app store

Oh, the wonderful world of dating. It isn't easy to put yourself out there to meet new people and try and form connections. The older you get, the more difficult it seems to become too. It's scary to be vulnerable and open and show people who you really ...

25 Tinder Moments To Keep You Away From Dating Apps

A woman told police she'd met the suspect on Tinder and that he "overpowered" her in an empty restaurant, according to court records.

DNA evidence leads to arrest months after alleged Berkeley sex assault

Tinder

tinder

Yaroslav Zubko has crafted a remarkable international career, creating designs for Boeing, Markit, Deloitte, and Tinder. His exceptional work has earned him prestigious accolades, including the DotComm Award and the Clio Awards, one of the oldest creative awards in the US. The latter was received for one of Tinder's most famous projects, Swipe Night. How did he achieve such impressive feats in the competitive world of design? From Law to Designs Zubko’s journey began in the heart of Ukraine, a burgeoning hub for IT and design. Initially, he studied business law at a local college but decided to follow his passion and started studying graphic design online. In 2012, he landed his first job as a web designer at a Ukrainian fitness retail company, Terrasport. That work, along with some other early projects, laid the foundation for his work philosophy, characterized by a harmonious blend of aesthetics and functionality. In 2017, he assumed the role of product design director at UpTop, a New York-based property management startup. There, he was in charge of choosing which product features to research and test and deciding how they would be implemented. “There were nights when I couldn't fall asleep because I was thinking about ideas for the product,” Zubko recalls. Concurrently, he dedicated his time to “Interaction Library,” an ambitious project he had been nurturing since 2016. The initiative aimed to curate a comprehensive collection of interaction samples and interface behaviors, serving as a valuable resource for designers and stakeholders. American Odyssey The library's publication on platforms like Dribbble not only earned Zubko industry recognition but also captured the attention of business leaders. Among them was Tinder's Jonathan Badeen, who extended an offer to the designer, marking the beginning of a new chapter in Zubko’s professional life as the lead product designer at the dating giant in 2018. Zubko was entrusted with reshaping Tinder's user experience, with a focus on monetization and engagement. “I animated and presented over 20 versions of Tinder's app, and used A/B testing methods to understand what ideas were worth implementing,” he recalls. One of the standout achievements during his tenure was the restyling of subscription packages in alignment with Apple Store guidelines. This initiative not only enhanced the user experience but also paved the way for sustainable revenue growth. Zubko’s ability to balance user-centric design and revenue optimization was a testament to his holistic approach to product design. He often noted that his goal was to align Tinder's business objectives with user needs, creating a win-win scenario for the company and its users. His original design solutions helped reinvigorate Tinder's premium offerings, catapulting the app's revenue to new heights. Learning Solutions Transitioning from the realm of dating apps to educational technology and leveraging his previous experience, Zubko launched Fluently in 2019—a mobile application dedicated to immersive language exchange. In 2020, he was commissioned by Riiid Labs, which builds AI-based personalized learning solutions. It is one of the major players in the EdTech field, backed by $250 million in investment funding. At the company, Zubko took on the role of director of product design, contributing to Riiid's mission of revolutionizing personalized learning through AI and gamification. Drawing from his insights into UX/UI design, user engagement, and gamification strategies, Zubko led several notable projects. For instance, he worked on an application that helped American students to prepare for the SAT, a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. He also developed the mobile app DE Saber for Colombian students preparing for the Saber 11, a high school exit examination for college admission. Further, Zubko was invited to join Shiftsmart, a company that developed a platform assisting with team onboarding and training, performance management, scheduling and shift dispatch, and more. Shiftsmart raised a total of $117 million in funding, attracting prominent investment firms such as D1 Capital, Spieker Partners, Oakridge Management Group, and S12F, among others. Zubko served as a Senior Designer at the company and worked on the creation of the mobile app and branding. Towards Rewards Zubko’s original designs have earned prestigious international awards and industry acclaim. For instance, he was recognized as Designer of the Year 2019 by the Ukrainian IT Awards. He also won an international competition, the dotCOMM Awards, and the Italian A' Design Award for one of his freelance projects, FameLab. FameLab is a leading social marketing cloud that delivers authentic engagement on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook Pages. Zubko created interactive designs for the company’s app. He also contributed ideas and concepts to the Swipe Night initiative created for Tinder by the advertising agency 72andSunny in 2019. This was an interactive mini-series about friends trying to save themselves from the apocalypse. Users could participate in the series by swiping, thereby making decisions for the main characters. Based on users' choices, Tinder would then offer potential matches. In 2020, this project won a Clios, one of the oldest awards in the US, recognizing innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication. In 2021, Swipe Night was awarded the Entertainment Grand Prix at Cannes and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Interactive Media. Yaroslav Zubko has crafted a remarkable international career, creating designs for Boeing, Markit, Deloitte, and Tinder. His exceptional work has earned him prestigious accolades, including the DotComm Award and the Clio Awards, one of the oldest creative awards in the US. The latter was received for one of Tinder's most famous projects, Swipe Night. How did he achieve such impressive feats in the competitive world of design? From Law to Designs Zubko’s journey began in the heart of Ukraine, a burgeoning hub for IT and design. Initially, he studied business law at a local college but decided to follow his passion and started studying graphic design online. In 2012, he landed his first job as a web designer at a Ukrainian fitness retail company, Terrasport. That work, along with some other early projects, laid the foundation for his work philosophy, characterized by a harmonious blend of aesthetics and functionality. In 2017, he assumed the role of product design director at UpTop, a New York-based property management startup. There, he was in charge of choosing which product features to research and test and deciding how they would be implemented. “There were nights when I couldn't fall asleep because I was thinking about ideas for the product,” Zubko recalls. Concurrently, he dedicated his time to “ Interaction Library ,” an ambitious project he had been nurturing since 2016. The initiative aimed to curate a comprehensive collection of interaction samples and interface behaviors, serving as a valuable resource for designers and stakeholders. Interaction Library Interaction Library American Odyssey The library's publication on platforms like Dribbble not only earned Zubko industry recognition but also captured the attention of business leaders. Among them was Tinder's Jonathan Badeen, who extended an offer to the designer, marking the beginning of a new chapter in Zubko’s professional life as the lead product designer at the dating giant in 2018. Zubko was entrusted with reshaping Tinder's user experience, with a focus on monetization and engagement. “I animated and presented over 20 versions of Tinder's app, and used A/B testing methods to understand what ideas were worth implementing,” he recalls. One of the standout achievements during his tenure was the restyling of subscription packages in alignment with Apple Store guidelines. This initiative not only enhanced the user experience but also paved the way for sustainable revenue growth. Zubko’s ability to balance user-centric design and revenue optimization was a testament to his holistic approach to product design. He often noted that his goal was to align Tinder's business objectives with user needs, creating a win-win scenario for the company and its users. His original design solutions helped reinvigorate Tinder's premium offerings, catapulting the app's revenue to new heights. Learning Solutions Transitioning from the realm of dating apps to educational technology and leveraging his previous experience, Zubko launched Fluently in 2019—a mobile application dedicated to immersive language exchange. In 2020, he was commissioned by Riiid Labs, which builds AI-based personalized learning solutions. It is one of the major players in the EdTech field, backed by $250 million in investment funding. At the company, Zubko took on the role of director of product design, contributing to Riiid's mission of revolutionizing personalized learning through AI and gamification. Drawing from his insights into UX/UI design, user engagement, and gamification strategies, Zubko led several notable projects. For instance, he worked on an application that helped American students to prepare for the SAT, a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. He also developed the mobile app DE Saber for Colombian students preparing for the Saber 11, a high school exit examination for college admission. Further, Zubko was invited to join Shiftsmart, a company that developed a platform assisting with team onboarding and training, performance management, scheduling and shift dispatch, and more. Shiftsmart raised a total of $117 million in funding, attracting prominent investment firms such as D1 Capital, Spieker Partners, Oakridge Management Group, and S12F, among others. Zubko served as a Senior Designer at the company and worked on the creation of the mobile app and branding. attracting attracting Towards Rewards Zubko’s original designs have earned prestigious international awards and industry acclaim. For instance, he was recognized as Designer of the Year 2019 by the Ukrainian IT Awards. He also won an international competition, the dotCOMM Awards, and the Italian A' Design Award for one of his freelance projects, FameLab. FameLab is a leading social marketing cloud that delivers authentic engagement on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook Pages. Zubko created interactive designs for the company’s app. He also contributed ideas and concepts to the Swipe Night initiative created for Tinder by the advertising agency 72andSunny in 2019. This was an interactive mini-series about friends trying to save themselves from the apocalypse. Users could participate in the series by swiping, thereby making decisions for the main characters. Based on users' choices, Tinder would then offer potential matches. In 2020, this project won a Clios, one of the oldest awards in the US, recognizing innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication. In 2021, Swipe Night was awarded the Entertainment Grand Prix at Cannes and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Interactive Media. won won awarded awarded

How a Designer Landed a Job at Tinder and Achieved International Recognition

Dating apps are a growing market, with more and more options getting released and even more users joining, day in, day out. . In this slogging thread, our community discusses their views on dating apps and their future. In 2020, 270 million adults used dating apps worldwide, and by 2024, the global dating app market size is expected to exceed $8.4 billion This Slogging thread by Mónica Freitas, Elmehdi Dahbi, Melissa Brown, Sara Pinto, Jack Boreham and Cris Silva occurred in slogging's official #technology channel, and has been edited for readability. Mónica Freitas Jan 13, 2022, 11:22 AM To download or not to download: dating apps edition. In 2020, 270 million adults used dating apps worldwide. By 2024, the global dating app market size is expected to exceed $8.4 billion. What are your views on dating apps' and this market's future? Elmehdi Dahbi Jan 15, 2022, 10:53 AM Nobody can deny its growth in business terms as well as its impact on human interaction and how we handle love and relationships, but the architecture or the strategy by which they use data is unknown. Melissa Brown Jan 15, 2022, 9:57 PM I think it is a genius move in the society and world we live in. I found my partner on Hinge: 'The dating app designed to be deleted' - genius, just genius! Mónica Freitas Jan 17, 2022, 12:23 PM Elmehdi Dahbi, do you have any theory on how they base their algorithm? Mónica Freitas Jan 17, 2022, 12:24 PM Melissa Brown, Congrats! It's a rare story - at least from my experience 😅 if you don't mind me asking, were you a long-time user, or was it beginner's luck? Melissa Brown Jan 17, 2022, 12:38 PM Thanks! I had been on it for about 4/5 months before I found him, but he had only been on it a week! I never thought I would find the right person for me on an app, not gonna lie :rolling_on_the_floor_laughing: I always wanted to meet someone organically, but in this day and age that can be quite difficult! Mónica Freitas Jan 18, 2022, 11:33 AM Melissa Brown, oh, I get it! Dating apps make it both easier and harder to meet people if that makes sense - we get this immediate catalog, but to establish real connections, it can be tricky. But, like you said, doing it organically, it's not easy either. I guess he was the lucky one, getting it right on the first try 💚 good for you guys! 😊 1 Elmehdi Dahbi Jan 18, 2022, 1:55 PM Mónica Freitas, they're implementing some AI algorithms that rely on your personal preferences (data) and some psychological facts for matchmaking between users. 🔥 1 Sara Pinto Jan 18, 2022, 3:39 PM Mónica Freitas, my experience with dating apps is limited, but it's a good strategy. Our world is becoming more digital each time. If there are already apps that let us socialize, it makes sense to have one that allows us to meet others romantically. Especially, given the pandemic situation. It's a good option to be able to meet people through them when it's risky to go to gatherings. Melissa Brown Jan 19, 2022, 2:36 PM Mónica Freitas, there are definitely many benefits as mentioned, but there is a part of me that does find it a little sad that we are relying on a digital app to find our partners 🙈 -despite the fact it worked for me! I work at a hospice, I always find it so heart-warming when patients say they met their husband/wife at a dance -maybe the answer is to bring back barn dances? 😄 😂 1 Mónica Freitas Jan 19, 2022, 9:34 PM Elmehdi Dahbi, fun that you mentioned psychological facts - I get this is highly dependent on the app you're in, but an app like Tinder isn't big on getting one's personal interests, so what psychological facts do you think are being used. Mónica Freitas Jan 19, 2022, 9:34 PM Elmehdi Dahbi This reminds me of a TikTok rumor that was going around some time back, where someone claimed that the catalog of people you got on Tinder was based on an attractiveness scale within the system. I've always been suspicious about this as attractiveness is subjective. So unless it was built around one individual's preferences or a eurocentric point of view, how could you teach an algorithm to measure beauty? Mónica Freitas Jan 19, 2022, 9:37 PM Sara Pinto, that's true. The pandemic actually pushed dating apps to adopt new features like video chat to bring online dating to a new level. What do you think is missing in these dating apps (feature-wise, goal-wise, etc.)? Mónica Freitas Jan 19, 2022, 9:40 PM Melissa Brown, I share that feeling :smiling_face_with_tear: I actually have this recurrent thought about how we as kids would so quickly go up to another kid and make a new friend - just like that, in an instant; it's a bit strange how we lose/repress that ability growing up. I'm not a dancer but I'd go to a barn dance 😂 Sara Pinto Jan 20, 2022, 11:20 AM Mónica Freitas, I think it would be good if there was a feature that gave you a more oriented choice, given your goals for the use of the app, like "if you are there to make friends, here are more people looking to meet new people" or "if you are here looking for a romantic relationship, here is some other person also interested in that." Mónica Freitas Jan 20, 2022, 8:43 PM Sara Pinto, the only dating app I know has that distinction is Bumble. And it makes it easier for people o make new friends, especially when they move to a new city and all. Unless you're a lousy texter, then it's more tricky. Mónica Freitas Jan 24, 2022, 12:06 PM Abeer, Jack Boreham, Limarc Ambalina, what's your take on this? Jack Boreham Jan 24, 2022, 6:08 PM Mónica Freitas, I think they are great. It brings like-minded people together, and I've had really good success with them! have you used many, any app you like better than the rest? Mónica Freitas Jan 25, 2022, 11:55 AM Jack Boreham, I've only ever tried out Tinder and Bumble. I'd say Bumble has more room for showing your personality. Tinder seems to be a bit more focused on looks. And I feel like there are two different audiences in those apps. What apps have you tried? If you don't mind me asking. Cris Silva Jan 25, 2022, 12:08 PM Dating apps are a money-making industry for sure. It's strange how you can profit from people's loneliness, but there you go. I think we already have a lot of dating apps, but there may be room for more variations of the concept. Mónica Freitas Jan 26, 2022, 11:37 AM Cris Silva, what variations would you like to see on dating apps? Sara Pinto Jan 26, 2022, 1:19 PM Mónica Freitas, oh, I didn't know! That's pretty cool. What feature would you like to see? Mónica Freitas Jan 27, 2022, 9:05 PM Sara Pinto, I'd like apps where you could match by answering specific questions like a favorite song, book, movie. And the algorithm would match you with people with the same interests. Cris Silva Jan 28, 2022, 12:09 PM Mónica Freitas, maybe something like a dating app where, based on your interests, you'd be connected with like-minded people. The app could even give you a date night suggestion based on that. Mónica Freitas Jan 28, 2022, 1:20 PM Cris Silva, I love that! Hopefully, someone will listen to this conversation and develop that kind of dating app.

Should We Swipe Right for Tinder and Bumble?

What do Tinder, AirBnB, Pokemon Go, and Pinterest have in common? All of them run on the Kubernetes platform. This article explains why IT executives should be evaluating using this technology, how it can help businesses, and the circumstances it should not be used in. We will take a look at enterprise IT use cases in the real world, as well as some of the challenges this technology faces, and how to properly utilize Kubernetes to get the most from it. What is Kubernetes? What is Kubernetes? For those who keep abreast of the latest in tech news, it may suddenly seem like Kubernetes is appearing all over, having become increasingly popular. First rolled out to developers in 2015, Kubernetes has gradually become a platform almost universally loved by developers. But does Kubernetes make a similarly perfect fit for technology executives? And if so, why? is an open-source platform developed by Google, allowing users to coordinate and run containerized applications over a series of multiple devices or machines. Kubernetes’ purpose is centered on total control of the entire lifecycle of a containerized application, with methods providing improved availability and scalability. Kubernetes Kubernetes users are able to manage how their applications interact with other applications outside of the Kubernetes platform, and govern how and when these applications run. Users can easily scale down or up as needs require, can roll out updates seamlessly, and can test features and troubleshoot difficult deployments by switching traffic between multiple versions of the applications. What is the Difference Between Kubernetes and Docker? Frequently, discussions about Kubernetes and Docker will take the form of – ‘Should I choose to use Kubernetes, or Docker?’ But this is a slightly misleading framing, as these two platforms are not strict alternatives. It’s absolutely possible to run Kubernetes without Docker, and vice versa. But Docker frequently can benefit from concurrent use of Kubernetes, and the same goes the other way. is all about containers, and is frequently used to help with the containerization of applications. Note that Docker is able to be installed on any machine as a stand-alone for running containerized apps. Docker The core of containerization is the concept of running an application in a way that isolates it completely from the other elements of the system. In essence, the application acts as though it had its own instance of the operating system, even though in most cases multiple containers are on the same OS. Docker acts as the manager for this process, handling the creation and running of these containers within a given OS. Now, imagine you’re using Docker on multiple hosts. This is where Kubernetes can come into the picture. Each host, or node, can either be virtual machines or physical servers. Kubernetes is able to automate and manage elements like load balancing, scaling and security, and the provisioning of containers, linking all these hosts through a single dashboard or command line. We refer to a collection of Docker hosts (or any group of nodes) as a Kubernetes cluster. The next logical question is: Why would it be necessary to create more than one host or node? There are two primary reasons for it. 1. First, to make your applications scalable. If the workload on the application goes up, you’re able to create more containers, or else increase the number of nodes within the Kubernetes cluster. 2. Second, to increase the robustness of the infrastructure. Even if any node or individual subset of nodes go offline, your application remains online. Kubernetes is able to automate the removing, adding, managing and updating of containers. In fact, Kubernetes can perhaps best be thought of as a platform for . Meanwhile, Docker allows for the creation and maintenance of containers to begin with, at a lower level. orchestrating containers When and Why to Use Kubernetes Beginning with a series of Docker-created containers, Kubernetes manages the traffic and allocates resources for this service. In doing so, it makes numerous aspects of managing a service-oriented application infrastructure simpler and easier. In conjunction with the latest (continuous integration/continuous deployment) tools, Kubernetes can scale these applications without requiring a major engineering project. CI/CD We can take a look at a few of these cases more closely. CONTAINER ORCHESTRATION Containers, in a vacuum, are wonderful, providing a simple way to bundle and deploy your services with a lightweight creation process. This allows for positive attributes like efficient use of resources, immutability, and process isolation. However, when you’re actually implementing your project in production, it’s very possible that you’ll end up dealing with anywhere from dozens to thousands of containers, especially over time. If this work is being done manually, it’s likely to require a dedicated container management team to update, connect, manage and deploy these containers. Simply running the containers isn’t sufficient. You’ll also need to be able to accomplish the following: - Scale either down or up in line with changes in demand - Orchestrate and integrate various modular parts - Communicate across clusters - Ensure your containers are fault tolerant It’s natural to think that containers should be able to handle all that without the need for a platform like Kubernetes. But the reality is that the containers themselves operate at a lower level of organization. In order to gain the significant benefits of a system built with containers, it’s necessary to use container orchestrator tools like Kubernetes, tools that sit on top of and manage containers. MICROSERVICES MANAGEMENT The concept of is far from a new idea. Software architects have worked at breaking up large-scale applications into broadly reusable components for decades. Microservices offer multiple benefits, from a greater degree of resiliency to faster, more flexible models for deployment to simpler automatic . microservices testing Microservices also let decision makers choose the best tool for any individual task. One piece of your application may benefit more from the productivity boost of a high level language like PHP, while another piece may get more from a high speed language like Go. But how does Kubernetes fit in with this microservices concept? It’s true that breaking down your large-scale application into these smaller, less rigidly connected microservices will allow for more freedom and independence of action. But it’s still necessary for your team to coordinate while making use of the infrastructure all these independent pieces use to run. It will be necessary to predict the amount of resources these pieces will need, as well as how your requirements shift under load. You’ll need to allocate partitions within your infrastructure for your various microservices and restrict resource use accordingly. This is where Kubernetes is able to help, offering a common framework that gives a description for your infrastructure architecture that allows you to inspect and work through resource usage and sharing issues. If you’re planning on creating a microservice-reliant architecture, Kubernetes can be massively beneficial. CLOUD ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT It’s no wonder that containers and the tools that manage containers have become increasingly popular, as many modern businesses are shifting toward microservice-based models. These microservice models allow for easy splitting of an application into discrete pieces portioned off into containers run via separate cloud environments. This allows you to choose a host that perfectly suits your needs in each case. Kubernetes is designed to be deployed anywhere, meaning you can use it on a private cloud, a public cloud, or a hybrid cloud. This allows you to connect with your users no matter where they’re located, with increased security as an added boon. Kubernetes allows you to sidestep the possible issue of ‘ ’. vendor lock-in When Not to Use Kubernetes While Kubernetes is powerful and flexible, it’s not the right tool for every use case or project. Keep in mind that Kubernetes was created to solve a certain set of potential issues and challenges. If you’re not actually facing those challenges, it’s very possible that Kubernetes will be more unwieldy than helpful. If your project seems to be reaching a point where scaling and deployment necessitates its own dedicated resource, orchestration starts to become a viable choice. The concepts of orchestration and automation tend to go hand and hand. Automation benefits businesses by increasing efficiency, allowing decreased human interaction with digital systems. With software handling these interactions instead, we see a reduction in errors and cost. As a general rule, automation means automating one discrete task. In contrast, orchestration refers to automating an entire workflow or process consisting of multiple steps, and frequently multiple systems. First, you build automation into a workflow. Then, if the complexity grows to a certain point, orchestration takes over governing them and making them work in concert. Kubernetes is for: not the best choice 1. Simple or small-scale projects, as it is fairly expensive and too complicated. 2. Projects that feature a tiny user base, low load, uncomplicated architecture, and no plans to increase any of that. 3. Developing an MVP version, as it’s better to begin with something smaller and less complex, such as Docker Swarm. Then, after you’ve solidified a vision of how your app runs, you can think about switching to Kubernetes. How is Security Implemented in Kubernetes For systems run on Kubernetes, general should be provided in order to protect against malicious attacks and accidental damage. web application security measures How Kubernetes is Impacting Enterprise IT in 2021 The Cloud Native Survey, which polls Technology/Software organizations, that the use of containers in productions has increased by 84% from the previous year, up to 92%. Use of Kubernetes is up 78% from the previous year, reaching 83%. reports How are large companies using Kubernetes? Pokemon Go on GKE (Google Container Engine) using Kubernetes, allowing it to orchestrate a container cluster that spans the entire globe. This let its team focus more efficiently on putting out live changes for their active player base of more than 20 million daily users. worked Tinder from their legacy services to Kubernetes, a cluster made up of more than 1,000 nodes and 200 services, with 15,000 pods and 48,000 containers. This reduced waiting time for EC2 instances from multiple minutes down to seconds, delivering significant reductions in cost. made the transition KUBERNETES USE CASE #1: DATA ENGINEERING FOR AI-BASED DEMAND FORECASTING SYSTEM PROJECT DESCRIPTION MobiDev had been developing a POS software & venue management adopted by a lot of bars and restaurants. Over time, a huge amount of historical POS sales data accumulated, and MobiDev’s tech experts came up with an idea to apply artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to the data, to find patterns in the previous sales and make predictions for the next period for each venue. An AI-based system was developed, as an independent module integrated into the system. system demand forecasting THE PROBLEMS TO SOLVE As AI computations required significant resources, initially, virtual machines in the AWS EMR cloud service were used. The more venues that adopted the system, the more expensive the infrastructure became. The AI module’s high CPU load occurred overnight, when machine learning algorithms were processing the daily sales data, and were idle during the day. In order to decrease infrastructure costs, manual management of computing resources was implemented with the help of Docker Swarm. At the MVP development stage it didn’t make sense to use Kubernetes as it would require a lot of research and adoption time. However, as the number of venues were supposed to grow, a new approach to data engineering was needed to provide automation and scalability along with cost optimization. TECH TASKS SOLVED WITH KUBERNETES 1. Historical data gathering scripts on scheduled basis 2. Data storage in database that runs inside Kubernetes 3. AI scripts after successful historical data update 4. API that interacts with AI dashboard 5. AI dashboard which shows results of the AI scripts BUSINESS TASKS SOLVED WITH KUBERNETES Kubernetes allowed us to implement auto-scaling and provided real-time computing resources optimization. Performance and cost optimization It was noticed that on Kubernetes, the AI scripts, which calculated the same logic for the same amount of data, returned results much faster than on AWS EMR, at the same time consuming less computing resources than EMR did. On Kubernetes, the average time required for running the AI module scripts decreased 10 times for the same number of venues, in comparison to the previous EMR production environment. Reliability improvement System stability was the key reason that made us switch from AWS EMR to Kubernetes. On EMR, script start failed sometimes for unknown reasons, and the logs didn’t give any helpful information. Scalability improvement While on EMR, the project development was limited by a maximum number of new venues to be added in the future. Kubernetes withdrew the limitation and automated scaling, which is critical for fast growing projects. Amazon PROJECT SUMMARY The system on Kubernetes provides results faster, consumes less computing resources, allows the client to reduce costs of the AWS billing and ensures stable and predictable product delivery. KUBERNETES USE CASE #2: DATA ENGINEERING FOR AN AI VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM Another real-world business use case for Kubernetes MobiDev was involved in, is a smart computing resource auto-scaling for a face blurring feature in a video surveillance system. The system consists of the following applications: front end, back end, back-end queues, and an AI-based feature for face blurring. Kubernetes is used as the Orchestrator for all these applications. When new video processing requests appear, back end auto-scales with the help of Kubernetes API, and automatically adds more workers to process the requests. The Future of Kubernetes Kubernetes’ distributed architecture and scalability pair well with Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. As these technologies continue to mature, 2021 is the year to watch for growth in this space. Enterprises should keep in mind that tools support business goals, and are not an end to themselves. 2020 was a year in which nearly every business was forced to reckon with unexpected changes. Kubernetes has the capability to accelerate the application development services through solutions built with a cloud-native ecosystem, while at the same time allowing for malleable use of applications and data, so that a company can succeed through the modernization of its platforms and apps. Written by Anton Logvinenko , PHP Team Leader at MobiDev

Why Tinder, AirBnB, and Pokemon Go All Use Kubernetes

2 Years. That’s the amount of time it took the dating app Tinder, to acquire 50 million users. Not too many startups can say they’ve achieved that level of success. Let’s unpack how they did it. First, we need to understand what the market was like when Tinder launched. The dating app/service market was not new. There was match.com, OkCupid, and a plethora of other dating apps. So what did Tinder do differently? User Experience & Product First In 2012, the only way to really get sign-ups for an app was on Facebook. You could run ads on Facebook, or you could drive traffic to your website, and people would fill out a long-form, answer a ton of personal questions, and then have access to the dating app or site. Both of these were not optimal for app registrations; they led to a poor user experience when people were on-boarding. Long, complicated signup forms, users having to place trust in services they’ve never used before. It definitely didn’t make for an easy, simple, and feel-good user onboarding experience. Tinder realized that traditional dating apps were broken and decided to do two things differently. And yes, these are product features, but if you don’t think the secret to good marketing is to nail the product… good luck. 1. Effortless set-up. No more filling up of forms. You just had to register with your Facebook profile. There were no more questionnaires, forms, or q&a’s to fill out. One click, and you were in. Then you could swipe to your heart’s desire. 2. Safety. The Tinder swipe feature, requiring both parties to “swipe” on each other before they were able to chat. This removed some of the “creepiness” factors that plagued other online dating apps, where random people could message you without your consent. This made the virtual dating environment, which was already a scary place, feel a little bit safer. They were solving a need in their niche, but they were also making the user experience safer and more comfortable. Safety, security, and comfort were major blockers for many individuals who were dipping their toes into the world of online dating. “Outside The Box” Customer Acquisition Tinder’s early growth success is largely due to the strategy implemented by their original co-founder/CMO Whitney Wolfe. Obviously, you should take some notes because after Whitney left Tinder, she went on to start Bumble, a competing platform that recently IPO’d, making her the world's youngest self-made female billionaire. We should take a page out of her playbook. Whitney was involved in the Greek scene at USC and was a member of a sorority. She leveraged her social network to get some quick early adoption at Tinder. In an with Bloomberg, Tinder’s technical co-founder Joe Munoz explained it perfectly. interview (Whitney Wolfe) would go to chapters of her sorority, do her presentation, and have all the girls at the meetings install the app. Then she’d go to the corresponding brother fraternity — they’d open the app and see all these cute girls they knew. Tinder from 5,000 to 15,000 users by the time she finished this college tour. Next, as part of their word-of-mouth strategy, Tinder enlisted college campus reps to host parties. Their requirement to get into the parties was: . show that you had downloaded the tinder app at the door They first launched this initiative with a small team, and after seeing incredible results, they double-downed on the strategy by hiring on-campus reps at colleges across the US to replicate the “download tinder to enter” party strategy. Tinder didn’t bother with paid ads or focusing on an organic strategy to drive traffic and optimize conversions. They knew exactly who their audience was and who would be most likely to become a raving fan of their app. They not only found that they could easily acquire users through this organic, word-of-mouth method, but the customers they acquired this way were the “right” customers. They were sticky. They used the app, loved the experience, and evangelized it to their friends and network. There’s a difference between paying to acquire customers who use the app once and then never open it again versus a user who uses the app religiously and not only wants to use it but wants to speak about using it. Remember that 50 million users they scaled to in two years? Those users opened the app on average 11 times a day. Not. Too. Bad. Lessons Learned From Tinder 1. Product & User experience Led Marketing & Growth Every great explosive growth story begins with a crucial ingredient. An amazing product that works well and solves an existing problem. The market was saturated, but it wasn’t optimized. Tinder brought a product to market and addressed several issues, but most importantly, led with the best possible product features. If you are taking a product to market, of course, you want to move with speed and agility and get that MVP (minimum viable product) out, but always focus on working towards the best possible product you can, as that will always lead to raving fans and customers who will evangelize your product to their own networks. If you get feedback on your product, take that feedback to hear. Interview your customers, get their feedback and implement changes accordingly. Don’t make it harder than it has to be on your sales and marketing teams. Product is always at the core of a stellar sales & marketing strategy. 2. Know Your Audience Tinder identified their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) very early on. They focused on college students. This fit into their target user demographics, as well as their marketing strategy, which relied on a highly social, highly evangelical user. Tinder built their marketing strategy with their ICP at the core of that strategy, and once they proved that it worked, they didn’t experiment with multiple ICP’s or different customer types. When you’re starting out, you may feel as though everyone can be a user of your product. However, the chances are that there’s always that “one” customer profile that fits slightly better than all the others. Not only did they choose to double down on that perfect customer profile, but they went a step further built their marketing plan around the behaviors and habits of that customer profile. This is realistically the only way you can win when you’re in the early stages of taking your product to market or building out your business. Avoid the “ ”, where you try to sell to every possible customer under the sun. shiny object syndrome ONLY focus on the ones that will yield the most growth and ROI. For the short term, it may be hard, but in the long run (hopefully), you’ll enjoy some results, like Tinder. 3. Think “Out Of The Box” Tinder could have easily decided that they had a great product, and they wanted to invest in organic traffic or paid ads to drive sign-ups. But sometimes, “out of the box” works best. Remember, marketing doesn’t have to be sexy. It just has to work. In every single market and in every single industry, there are niche outlets where your buyer/audience likes to hang out. Those places could be online, or they could be offline, but as a marketer, your job is to find them. You can always explore traditional channels, but spending the extra time to find the niche outlets will always pay off. Tinder actually went on record saying that they tried a paid ad strategy to acquire customers in Turkey, and they ultimately killed the experiment just because the users were different. They didn’t log on as much. They didn’t share the app as much. They didn’t care about the app as much. They just didn’t have the same ‘word of mouth’ impact that the original organic adoption strategy had. So the moral of the story is to try and search for new ways to find customers. Ways that may not be through traditional paid or organic channels. These mediums or strategies won’t be listed anywhere on the internet, or in a newsletter, or in some guide, but they’ll be the result of you knowing your product, you identifying your customers, and you meeting them where they’re at. Also published on . https://newsletter.roioverload.com/p/roi-overload-700

How Tinder Acquired 50 Million Users

For those of you who are Tinder users or just watchful to the tech news, you should know that the App is , helping people to have virtual dates during this time of pandemic crisis. offering the option to match with anyone in the entire world Why is this relevant for Hackathons and other Innovation Challenges? Imagine you’re participating at an online hackathon. How do you create your team? I bet you invite the same old gang from the university days, your colleagues at the office or your closest friends. This may work if you’re doing it for the kicks, but not if you want to take it to the next level and to do this in a recurrent way. There’s a challenge that is perfect for you, but you’re missing that crucial team member or even the whole team. How do you do it? Do you just give up from participating? What if you had a Tinder for Hackathons that could match you with the best Mobile App Developer available? Hold that thought! Let me recall my last story “ ”, regarding the subject: Coronavirus and other crises that force people to reinvent themselves A team composed of Japanese, French and Canadian participants that together collaborate to build a solution? This may seem like the beginning of an old joke, but it can actually be the reality of the future. When I said “the future”, I didn’t mean less than a month, but what can I say? My team got excited with the idea and actually made it happen 😱 But we both know that this Matchmaking Magic takes time to perfect, so what can you do at the moment? Right now, at the , you have 2 options to build the perfect team to create an amazing project for a challenge: TAIKAI platform 1. Create your project without a team and then create project positions you want to be filled (kinda like a job board of a company) 2. Go to the “Innovators” tab and look for those who are available, according to the skills you’re looking for (a tinder based on skills instead of looks) and invite them to your team. Of course that at the moment, the right person has to be available for you to matchmake them with your project, which is obviously not perfect… How could we take it to the next level? From the Innovators specific data such as skills, experience and challenge history, we could do the matchmaking process in a more automated way, in which you would be suggested people to create a project with, adjusting to your needs as a team builder. That would be possible by building Henry, our future Matchmaking Bot, that could build the perfect team for the challenge you’re facing. Why Henry, the bot? If you’re an fan, you know that was the father of this concept and we’ve decided to do it as a homage for all the great work he has done (and still does) in this field. We hope he doesn’t sue us! 😅 Open Innovation Henry Chesbrough How can you start using our Matchmaking engine? At TAIKAI we have 2 ongoing initiatives in which you can start using this new feature: 1. “Game to Save the World”, the first TAIKAI Game Jam — https://taikai.network/gamejam 2. “Fight COVID-19 Open Challenge” by TAIKAI — https://taikai.network/covid19-challenge Feel free to give us feedback or report bugs 🐞 you encounter! Follow TAIKAI | | | | Website LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram References and cool stuff you should look into “Innovation Imperatives from COVID-19” from Henry Chesbrough — https://www.forbes.com/sites/henrychesbrough/2020/03/18/innovation-imperatives-from-covid-19/#5238628f6fb11 “COVID-19 crisis will create the next Googles and Amazons” from Sifted — https://sifted.eu/articles/covid-19-new-google-amazon/

Tinder for Hackathon Teams

Nice. You’re actually going to do it. You scored a hot date with a lady and you’re bringing her to the company picnic. Nothing like fun, sun, and the staid monotony of trust falls to really let your freak flag fly. Who said you can’t mix business with the off-chance of pleasure? Here are six Loaf tips on surviving your Tinder date at the company picnic. 1) Relax - this is just as weird for you as it is for her and every single one of your coworkers Pump the brakes, kemosabe, you actually brought a total stranger to your company picnic. Hooooo boy. What, did you really think Joanne in Finance and her would hit it off? Over what? The plushie toys Joanne has on her desk? This girl said she “hates drama” in her profile and if there’s one thing Joanne loves it’s drama. And GAAP. Boy does that lady love her some Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. If everyone weren’t icing their tug-of-war rope burn they’d be giving you some serious side eye. 2) Make sure you have an exit plan, not for your job which is clearly going to end soon, but for your date if there's not a fit Cheese and crackers, you for real brought a woman in the flesh that you met on a dating app to your company picnic. Is this not your promotion year? Is any year your promotion year? 3) Remember to bring protection, not for after the date but for Crazy Ryan in Analytics, your coworker who is going to fight someone at the kickball game over the 'no curveball' rule Honey Bunches of Oats, your boss and his boss and her boss are all wondering why you brought a living, breathing, single human who does not work at the company to the company picnic. You’ve known Uber drivers longer than her. You’ve known clients who never emailed you back then churned longer than you’ve known her. And now you want her to play shortstop at the kickball game? You know Crazy Ryan in Analytics isn’t client-facing and he takes company picnic kickball way too seriously. He’s going to take a hard slide into your date the moment he gets on base. My goodness, man, here’s to hoping you get to second base before he gets to second base and takes her out. He is going to fight someone and it’s going to be your date and you. 4) Stay present, even as your coworkers gossip about this on the #general channel Spice Girls Almighty, there’s still time to bail on this whole ill-wroughted endeavor. You’re really going through with this aren’t you? Then you might as well live in the moment, even as your coworkers furiously lampoon you publicly in the company’s #general channel where your decisions will digitally live forever on the Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge. Why did they choose #general and not #random? Well, pal, there’s nothing about a complete lunatic like you bringing a strange woman to the company picnic. I mean, yikes, she clearly did not even know this was your company picnic. 5) Dress to impress Kim Jong Un’s Meatball Stains, there she is. And look what she’s wearing. Is that a tasteful-yet-flowy summer top? Wait, was this a casual thing? And here you are wearing a suit jacket. But all of your coworkers are wearing color coordinated jerseys stating their team names. Better get used to wearing that collared shirt and jacket, pal, you’re going to be interviewing soon. 6) Tell that joke about Sean Connery showing up to Wimbledon at ‘Tennish’ That one always kills. Crazy Ryan in Analytics also kills. NEWS IN PHOTOS Skills section of resume even more useless than candidate Vegans rejoice: Rothy’s releases Impossible Flats to compete with Allbirds Beyond Shoe Imperfect Produce in peril due to new batch of sexy broccoli > read the rest of this newsletter. WANT MORE TECHLOAF? The disruptors are about to get disrupted. Start receiving the weekly email. ( ) preview

Bringing Your Tinder Date to the Company Picnic: 6 Tips From Techloaf

Research on Tinder profiles reveals a generation aiming to tease Generation Z (b. 1995–2009) is unique — and not just because they gave us videos of themselves . Z are the first true digital natives; they’ve never known a time before the Internet, unfettered access to social media, and life improved with smart tech. To better understand their generation’s identity, I took a swipe at Tinder. The virtual meat-market is an identity hotbed. It’s a place where you are forced to succinctly say who you are, while spinning your identity to attract potential suitors. A vulnerable, intimate, and strategic act of self-curation, if there ever was one. eating Tide Pods What analyzing Z Tinder profiles revealed, however, was a generation hardwired to reject “labeling” that . It looks like for Z, an identity you can’t nail down makes it easier to get nailed. so they won’t even say who they are FAST FACTS: Analysis included 400 Tinder profiles of 18 to 22-year-olds across the country, looking for same-sex and/or heterosexual matches. Observational data was collected by creating a blank male account and a female account — with no picture, bio, or sexual preference — in each of the 8 test markets. And then lots of swiping and coding of profile matches bio text and images. “I don’t love how superficial it [Tinder] is, and I’m not actually using it to find a long-term relationship. I think it’s more of a hookup app and more of a time waster. It’s like playing a game on your phone.”* — Martina M., 18 | MN PROFILE DATA: Z approaches dating as leaving digital breadcrumbs of their identity across platforms, directing people to Spotify lists, Instagram and Snapchat profiles, and even money transfer (Venmo, CashApp) handles to learn more about them. Or send them pizza money in hopes of making a connection. What they are saying isn’t much; the majority (70%) of Z used fewer than 2_0 words_ to describe themselves in their bios. (BTW, that last sentence was 21 words.) And if they write something, less than half of profiles actually say something about the user in question. do Pansexual ethnography participant, Keyla “I think I’m constantly changing, so the way I want to be perceived by certain people is constantly changing too.” — Keyla Y., Bronx, NY | age 20, whose profile lists her age as 26 VISUAL FINDINGS: Gen Z is going for intrigue; they hide their faces, use unclear emojis in profile bios, and only upload about half (4.6) of the max allowed profile photos. In a world where hundreds of photos can be found of them online, they opt for a little mystery on Tinder, à la less is more. As a result, Zs’ profile pictures don’t really give you a picture of who they are. Unless you know how to decode 🙃🧐🤷🤫😅. “I like the sense of ambiguity with limited pictures and bios. I find them good conversation starters.” * — Miguel P., 20 | St. Paul, MN WHAT THEY WANT: Z is looking for no stakes in the ground: a whopping 78% didn’t make reference on their profile as to what type of relationship they were looking for. Maybe it’s because they assume everyone knows what they’re all there for…Not great news for the 7% looking for long-term relationships. “The experience is just kinda’ of weird; everyone understands the intention and what you really want through this app; however what I wanted was just a hang-out.” * — Jackson H., 20, Los Angeles While it may seem counterintuitive for Gen Z to hop on Tinder and give no real sense of who they are, these findings seem to echo what we were seeing in our larger body of about the generation. We’ve discovered that Z has a totally unique, “relationshifted” view of their identity. research As the phenomenon of indicates, Z doesn’t have qualms with the idea of a fractured identity, or multiple identities. Their openness to several versions of who they are is a driving reason why Z largely rejects pinning themselves down with limiting labels — on places like Tinder and elsewhere. Labeling, either through bios that actually say who you are, or via profile pictures that could characterize you in a limited fashion, just doesn’t appeal to the identity-shifting Gen Z. finstagrams Who this generation is depends on which identity they are leaning into for that particular audience and situation. And if that audience is a vast pool of hotties on Tinder, well, better to be a blank canvas than a clear (profile) picture. The jury is out on whether or not Gen Z will have someone to Netflix and chill with this Valentine’s Day. But one thing is for sure, dating is never going to be the same. This information is part of a publicly available report, Identity Shifters: A Gen Z Exploration , published October 2018. Special thanks to Dr. Hillary Haley, Rebecca Lipton, Larissa Chen, David Chang and Gina Zhang *Supplemental data was from companion ethnography research on Gen Z, not gathered as part of the main profile study

Gen-Z Courts Intrigue on Tinder

Great software has the power to change your life. Sometimes it’s love at first sight when you see a sexy landing page, or read a seductive value proposition, but that’s only the beginning. Onboarding is like a courtship. If a product team disrespects their customers’ feelings at this stage of the relationship, the user experience will sour and there won’t be a second date. In product design, the first kiss is when the user’s hard work pays off. I call it the celebration moment, and it’s critical. From entering a witty bio to selecting the perfect profile pic, onboarding takes effort. So that first kiss has to be electrifying! A memorable celebration moment separates the products we love from the products we tolerate. Goes Mainstream Online Dating The market was ripe for disruption when Tinder came along, because the stigmas of Match.com and eHarmony were too great for singles in their 20’s. These sites were also launched before the iPhone and the rise of UX Design. OKCupid moved things forward. It won acceptance by gamifying online dating. The copywriting was fresh. OKCupid spoke to you more like a friend, than a piece of software, when it would notify you about a match. The risqué polls and inviting graphic design helped too, but it was the lightweight user experience of Tinder that popularized mobile dating apps. Suddenly anyone with a smartphone, and a Facebook account, could upload a few photos through an API, make a couple cheeky jokes on their profile, and enter the brave new world of online dating in the real world. Tinder lifted the burden of online dating and the stigma was soon to follow. With so little setup, the bar for that celebration moment — that first kiss that lets customers know the product team cares— is low. Yet Tinder exploits the rare feeling of making a real match to perfection. The entire app is themed in white, but the screen goes dark the moment you make a match. A large, white, stylized font exclaims, “It’s a match!” Tinder’s celebration moment represents the core value proposition of the app. It captures the distinct thrill of meeting someone you like in real life. Private Equity is Serious Business Distinct thrills are the domain of dating apps, but what about celebration moments in enterprise software? Since 2013, I’ve worked at the private equity management startup . I’ve been a Product Designer there since pre-launch. We give companies a way to issue electronic securities (stock certificates, option grants, etc.) and track who owns what in their company. eShares Our customers work hard for their equity. In some cases, the potential for longterm upside is why they work at a startup. We took this into consideration when creating our signature celebration moment. When the user accepts a security, the screen goes dark and a colorful confetti animation appears with the word “Congratulations!” in white. Our users love this moment. I can’t take credit for it, it was our CEO’s idea, but the joy expressed in this moment is so contrary to the stodgy reputation of private equity, it’s disarming. Users tweet about it all the time. There is an occasional detractor, which makes sense. This is serious business. It’s like cracking a joke, or going barefoot to a board meeting (which our CEO also does — we have a “no shoes policy” at eShares). Some people appreciate the laid back vibe, some people do not. A Moment Worth Sharing You’ll notice a tasteful social share button during Tinder’s celebration moment. Of all the times to ask someone to promote an app, it’s after this first kiss. Tinder also asks users to rate the app after a match is made. They are excellent at timing their asks. When the idea of this post arose, I mocked up a social version of our confetti screen on eShares. I posted it in the random channel in our company Slack and the reaction was controversial. While many loved it, others felt the presence of a social share button in our product would be tacky. Yet, if users share the moment on Twitter without us asking, maybe the reputation of private equity management is evolving. Raising a Child Onboarding a customer is like raising a child. Assume every choice they make will be wrong. It’s not their fault. Everything is just so damn new to them. Like children, users need to be encouraged and rewarded when they do something well. Use the celebration moment to let users know you appreciate their effort. More on This Check out Kevin Hale’s lecture on . He’s a Managing Partner at Y-Combinator and co-founded . How to Build Products Users Love Wufoo That whole video series with Sam Altman and Peter Thiel is phenomenal, but Kevin Hale’s impassioned take on the celebration moment stands out.

This One UX Choice Makes Tinder Irresistible

As warfare evolves from sticks and stones to nuclear armaments and beyond, digital tools like scamming and social media offer novel and significant impacts on the battlefield. New digital tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) developed by Ukraine in response to Russia’s February 2022 incursion mark the beginning of social media warfare, characterized not just by cyber confrontations but how the digital translates into action on the battlefield. The use of digital platforms will only grow and further expose how these technologies can both aid and compromise military efforts in modern warfare. Russia’s experience with Ukrainian-leveraged digital assets serves as a cautionary tale for both individuals and militaries about the perils and possibilities inherent in our connected world. As (IW) gains prominence in modern military strategy, the role of digital tools like social media and cyber-enabled scamming cannot be overstated. Social media platforms serve as an ideal ecosystem for executing a wide range of IW activities, from disinformation campaigns aimed at sowing division among enemy lines to civil-military operations that gauge public sentiment and build community relations. In the digital world, the battlefront’s traditional geographic confinement disappears, and the environment is persistently dynamic. irregular warfare Digital tools are particularly potent for small-scale, non-state actors who might not have the resources for traditional warfare but can nevertheless exert a significant impact through well-coordinated online campaigns, such as Ukrainian activists who use scamming techniques to convince to firebomb their own military offices. In the age of IW, the power dynamics on the battlefield are no longer solely determined by physical might; the impact of influence and information will continue to grow and allow for certain aspects of warfare to be crowdsourced, with ordinary civilians taking on a more prominent role in the era of irregular warfare. Russians The challenges faced by Ukraine on the battlefield have provided invaluable lessons for military strategists regarding and the . “Once the war is over, we will definitely write a textbook,” Vice-Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa, the head of Ukraine’s navy, “And we’ll send it to all the NATO military academies.” Ukraine is already applying many recently learned lessons with new digitally-enabled TTPs. The West, including and beyond NATO, can learn much from Ukraine’s social media application of irregular warfare in their ongoing war with Russia. conventional warfare future of war proclaimed Romance and espionage: how online dating apps betrayed Russian soldiers Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian soldiers have revealed information from their to AI-generated of Ukrainian women. Some soldiers inadvertently disclosed their tactical locations through images while seeking companionship. One woman ingeniously two Tinder accounts, setting a different location near the border for each account and, referencing the difference between locations of shared matches, “triangulate(d) the exact locations of her matches.” As a result, she reported over seventy such profiles and their locations to Ukrainian authorities. Tinder dating app profiles fake profiles employed devised a ruse using fake profiles of appealing women across multiple social media platforms, such as Telegram, to ensnare Russian soldiers stationed near Melitopol. According to the , the Russian soldiers were persuaded to share photos of themselves on duty. Upon receiving these images, the hackers pinpointed their origin to a secluded Russian military base near Melitopol in southern Ukraine. This intelligence was subsequently relayed to the Ukrainian military, leading to an assault on the base days later. Ukrainian hackers Financial Times On Russian Navy Day in July 2023, Ukrainian hackers targeted Russian sailors by sending them a video with good “wishes” via apps. According to the Ukrainian military’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), these videos depicted Ukrainian drones and missiles attacking Russian warships, including the . In addition to any potential psychological impact of the footage, the message contained malware that provided the hackers with access to the sailors’ phone data, subsequently transferring confidential information to Ukrainian servers. Most sailors unwittingly expressed gratitude before opening the deceptive video. messaging Moskva cruiser Activists use scamming techniques to target Russia's military infrastructure and offices. Russian officials attribute a series of at their recruitment centers to “phone scammers” who specifically target the elderly to attack Russian army recruitment offices. According to Russian intelligence services, scammers target vulnerable citizens “who found themselves in difficult circumstances and are easy to influence.” By convincing them to take out a loan or share their bank details, they are subsequently convinced to attack a recruitment office in an attempt to recover their losses. For example, in Russian-occupied Crimea, scammers duped a schoolteacher into throwing a flammable object at a recruitment office. Similarly, in St. Petersburg, a 66-year-old woman was lured into taking out a loan with the false promise that her debt would be cleared if she attacked a with a Molotov cocktail. Digital scammers do not only target the elderly. Teenagers in Russia, who claim they are not aware of who their financier may be, were recruited via to ignite railway junction boxes in exchange for money. fire-bombings recruitment office social media The rising significance of open-source intelligence (OSINT) In August 2022, the Wagner group faced an attack in Popasna, Ukraine. A local pro-Russian journalist inadvertently the Wagner base’s location through images shared on Telegram. One such image, now removed, disclosed the base’s exact address. Armed with this information, Ukrainian forces demolished the site. A Ukrainian official hinted that the strike’s precision was possibly aided by the shared Telegram images. This incident epitomizes how social media-derived open-source intelligence (OSINT, information procured from public sources) is strategically leveraged in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. revealed When location-based apps lead to physical attacks In March 2017, a Royal Navy member’s run inside His Majesty’s Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde), a high-security base housing the UK’s nuclear deterrent, was tracked via the , leading to concerns about revealing sensitive military locations. has shown that data from fitness apps might inadvertently reveal the locations of hidden military bases by mapping consistent exercise patterns and patrol paths within or around such bases. These apps, which often connect to devices such as Fitbits and Garmin watches, allow users to log their exercise routes. A feature designed for friendly competition might unintentionally expose the precise activities and identities of staff within high-security military zones. Strava app Research In July 2023, data from the app turned deadly. A Le Monde from July 11, 2023, suggests that Strava may have inadvertently played a role in the assassination of Captain Stanislav Rzhitsky. The Russian officer was ambushed and on July 10, 2023, in a park in Krasnodar, Russia. Rzhitsky formerly led a submarine that was implicated in a 2022 strike on the Ukrainian city of that resulted in 27 civilian deaths. report killed Vinnytsia Rzhitsky’s leadership role in this act made him a target for Ukrainian intelligence. disclosed that Rzhitsky was a regular Strava user, often sharing his routes. The consistency in his routes led to speculation that his killers might have used the app to predict his movements on the day of his assassination. Strava’s user agreement highlights that unless data-sharing settings are restricted, user activity can be accessed by anyone online, including details like distance, runtime, and maps of routes. Le Monde , a Ukrainian government app originally designed to facilitate access to public services, was repurposed for wartime efforts. It enables Ukrainians to both report the presence of Russian soldiers in their vicinity and manage tasks like uploading tax returns, renewing passports or providing students with bus fare discounts. Among its features is the “e-Enemy” function, which lets Ukrainian citizens about Russian troop movements, providing invaluable data to the Ukrainian military for strategizing their defense and countermeasures. Diia relay information The evolving face of modern warfare Carl von Clausewitz’s posits that, while the fundamental nature of war remains constant in the human experience, its execution or character is . He viewed war as a complex social activity, and in the 21st century, our interconnectedness expands our connectivity to war as individuals through the digital realm. The increasing democratization of warfare, facilitated by technology, is shifting the focus towards the role of ordinary civilians, like the women who set up virtual “ ” using dating apps to get Russian soldiers to reveal their location. As digital tools continue to enter the fray, regular citizens will assume an even more important role in today’s warfare. On War ever-changing honey traps This metamorphosis of warfare, propelled by the digital age, underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive reevaluation of how we in the West approach conflict in the 21st century and ensure we apply lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian war. The battlefield is no longer confined to physical terrain; it now includes the vast, interconnected realm of the internet, where each click or post could be as consequential as any traditional military maneuver. Therefore, it is vital for the Western alliances and NATO to adapt and develop new strategies that respond to this evolving threat landscape – the next compromised service member could be a NATO soldier who accidentally leaks vital information on social media to our adversaries. In an all-out war, it could be our own populations that are targeted by scammers to attack military offices. We must learn lessons early on from the digital irregular warfare we are seeing in the Russo-Ukrainian war and begin strategizing new approaches to protect ourselves. We must develop an understanding of how to leverage these tools more effectively in the future. Also published . here

Cyber-Enabled Scamming Techniques and Social Media’s Growing Role in Warfare

Let's learn about via these 25 free stories. They are ordered by most time reading created on HackerNoon. Visit the to find the most read stories about any technology. Dating /Learn Repo 1. Online Dating & Cybersecurity: Being Out There and Being Safe Dating has changed a lot over the centuries, and in keeping with the times most people are using technology in their search for The One. Almost 60% of Americans say that online dating is a good way to meet people, up from less than 45% in 2005. Online dating users tend to be younger - 90% are under 40 and 75% are under 30, but even 10% are over the age of 55. Unfortunately with anything online comes scams and the potential to be hacked, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find the love of your life as long as you are careful. 2. How to Avoid Awkward Virtual Events While her pajama set was nice, I was wondering what type of crowd this was. Even before the March shelter-in-place orders, I would have never thought to wear pajamas to an in-person social event. 3. About The Misaligned Incentives of Dating Applications Why It’s Time To Redefine Success 4. Building a Dating App: To Code From Scratch or Use a Script? To start with, you can either use a ready-made dating script or go all out and build custom dating software from scratch, just like Tinder did! 5. The Dangers of Online Dating This article discusses the dangers of online dating, ranks US states according to their safety for online dating, and discusses ways to be safer when dating onl 6. What Are Dating Apps Doing to Protect Their Users? The multibillion-dollar online dating industry has no meaningful standards for responding to reports of offline harm and removing those responsible... 7. The Next Revolution in the Dating Industry: Will AI Help Me Find a Boyfriend? Artificial Intelligence-assisted solutions in the dating world are leveraging large volumes of new and old data to analyze user behavior like never before. 8. AI, Metaverse, and Other Modern Technologies That Impact Online Dating AI algorithms in today’s world are truly amazing and do not just consider specific filters, but also pay attention to your overall behavior to suggest matches. 9. Will Someone Make Attention Apps Cool Again? Tinder, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram are just a few of the prominent apps that give users a dopamine high as their content gets traction. But these apps have masked fulfillment of the attention need with other core features, which normalize attention-seeking behavior. Tinder lets you meet cool people. Instagram makes you look cool. And Twitter makes you sound cool. Why doesn’t anonymous attention make you cool? 10. AI Is Changing The Future Of Online Dating Discover how AI-driven dating apps can help users escape information overload, avoid inappropriate content, and find compatible partners faster. 11. Online Dating and Cybercrime: Be Aware of These Potential Dangers While online dating is a lot of fun, it brings various risks to the table. Dating site hackers often target vulnerable communities to accomplish online identity theft and other types of crime. The Ashley Madison hack from 2015 is one of the most prominent examples. 12. Should We Swipe Right for Tinder and Bumble? In this slogging thread, our community discusses their views on dating apps and their future. 13. The Future of Dating, Kim Kardashian and AI? The Coronavirus, technology and social media influencers like Kim Kardashian have transformed our view of dating. So, what exactly is the future of dating? 14. 19 Reasons To Date An Engineer Why date an engineer? He has the right kind of confidence. He is incredibly rational. He doesn’t know how hot he is! 15. How Cutting Edge Tech is Changing Online Dating Forever Over the past thirty years, technology has grown in importance in the everyday lives of just about everyone on Earth. It has changed how we work, how we play, and even how we learn. It has also changed the way we go about finding romantic partners and potential mates. In fact, that particular use of technology dates back much farther than most people even realize. 16. Dating in the Metaverse? Seal it With an NFT 71% of Millennials and 79% of Generation Z in the U.S. admit to feeling lonely. 60% of Tinder users say the same. NFT vows, social connections in the metaverse, 17. Breaking Down Secretary Problem What did you think of when you had a crush on someone? Did you fantasize about marriage with him/her? When you were in some serious relationship, did you plan marriage with your partner? How did the relationship turn out? Some relationships turn into a marriage, and some don’t. Hearing stories of many friends, I see extremely few people being in a relationship (and later marrying) with only one person whole over their life. 18. How to Add Gamification Into a Dating App Design The design of the dating app should turn the e-space of online dating into a comfort zone for billions of users seeking for a soulmate. 19. The Noonification: State of the Noonion: Green Clock Strikes Noon (10/17/2022) 10/17/2022: Top 5 stories on the Hackernoon homepage! 20. 5 Non-Obvious Business Problems in the Online Dating Market Online dating is still so popular that there are countless new startups in the space. 21. Tech's Impact on Relationship Dynamics In the past, the only way to meet new people was either in person or through someone you knew. This limited the dating and friendship quite a bit, but times are changing. Today, online dating and social media are the new normal. 22. Online Dating From A Data Analysis Perspective: A Deep Dive Love in the time of COVID is a… challenge, to say the least. 23. 3 Companies Show You What Matchmaking on Blockchain Could Look Like Dating is fun. It gets you to know your potential counterpart. But dating is hard in the real world, especially when you don’t know how to approach someone or if someone you clicked with is real. 24. Speed Dating Singles with Filteroff CEO Zach Schleien In this slogging AMA we chat to Filteroff CEO Zach Schleien. Filteroff is a dating app that speed dates singles. It uses video to help bring like-minded people 25. $BMBL: Swipe Left or Right? An Insight Into One of the Hottest Tickers in 2021 Tinder-rival Bumble made its debut on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ‘BMBL’. It was initially priced at $43 per share. Thank you for checking out the 25 most read stories about Dating on HackerNoon. to find the most read stories about any technology. Visit the /Learn Repo

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