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17 June 2022
Courier Weekly provides inspiration and tools to help you work better and live smarter.
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Brought to you this week by Flexi-Hex.
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Your weekly round-up of briefings, trends and news.
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Updating the dating app
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People are looking to date and they're still turning to apps, even as crowds have returned to bars, venues and other places to meet strangers. First-time installs of dating apps Bumble, Tinder and Hinge hit 106 million last year, up 17% from 2019.
But it's not swiping as usual. The apps that have seen the most success are those iterating on traditional dating, upstarts focused on specific demographics and interests, and those innovating in new formats. One thing unites them all: thinking beyond basic features.
‘The novelty of simply messaging potential partners may be wearing off,’ says Avinash Akhal, a behavioral analyst at trend forecasting agency Canvas8.
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Going offline
While dating apps were supposed to use tech to make meeting up easier, people are waiting longer and exchanging more messages before setting a date. It's tough to fit dating into a busy schedule and people are getting dating fatigue from the seemingly endless options presented on an app.
Dating app companies have realized the opportunity in facilitating meet-cutes off the screen. Thursday, an app that allows messaging only on its namesake day – to prevent digital burnout – has held singles parties for its members in London and New York. Inner Circle has traditional profiles, but it also hosts cocktail hours in Buenos Aires and boat parties in Amsterdam. While most apps still make money from users upgrading to premium features, Inner Circle and Thursday also charge for some of their events, offering an additional revenue stream.
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Deeper connection
That said, people are also realizing that dating apps offer the opportunity to connect with people over interests and traits beyond a profile photo and a single relationship status – there are apps connecting meme lovers and daters with autism, and platforms making matches based on astrology signs.
So Syncd matches people based on their Myers-Briggs personality type and has gained a user base of 250,000 since it launched in February 2021. ‘There are dating apps with 100 million users so, for someone to use a dating app with a smaller user base, they truly have to believe that their ideal match is more likely to be on that specific platform because the quality of profiles is higher,’ says co-founder Jessica Alderson.
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New formats
While building a swipe-style dating app has never been cheaper, it's also a format that has connotations of hookup culture, which isn't as enticing to today's daters, with only 11% of singles wanting to date casually.
Multimedia is likely to play a bigger role in the future of dating apps – Heart to Heart is an audio-first app that has seen early success in connecting people beyond profile photos. Other apps seek to mimic social media – Feels, for example, lets people react and comment on profiles, rather than swipe, while Lolly asks users to upload short videos rather than static pictures and prompts.
‘Gen Z and [millennials] place less importance on physical connection, favoring other forms of intimacy. Dating apps are evolving to reflect this,’ says Avinash.
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Our top five stories online
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Inspiration for the home, plus things to eat, drink and wear.
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Smile like you mean it
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Keep those pearly whites shining.
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Japanese homewares brand Yamazaki creates ‘happy-making objects’ for small spaces. Its Tower toothbrush stand has four slots to keep toothbrush heads away from each other, with a silicone mat to stop them from sliding. |
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Its toothpaste has been around since the fifties, and Italian brand Marvis is here to stay. With flavors including jasmine, licorice and cinnamon, the trouble will be choosing which one to use. |
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RiseWell's alkalizing mouthwash contains wild mint and tea tree oils, as well as natural anti-microbial antioxidants like cinnamon and thyme. All of its products are cruelty-free. |
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After two years of development, Truthbrush claims to have created the world's first solid bamboo electric-toothbrush head without a hidden plastic core. Its bristles are made from castor oil. |
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Is there a brand you love that you want to share?
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BRAND PARTNER: Flexi-Hex
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Plastic-free postal packaging
Flexi-Hex Air is a lightweight packaging sleeve made from recycled tissue paper that's ideal for delivering small, fragile items like cosmetics, electronics and glassware. The innovative honeycomb design provides incredible protection and flexibility, while creating a memorable unboxing experience. And, most importantly, it's recyclable, biodegradable and compostable.
Find out more here
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Tips and tools to become better at life and work.
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How to work smarter as a disabled business owner
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Kamilah Hale is the CEO and founder of Wordier, which creates fun and effective vocabulary resources for primary-school children. She started Wordier a year ago, after working as a tutor for almost 15 years. It was through starting her own business that Kamilah, who is disabled, could find a work-life balance that suited her.
‘I suffer from joint hypermobility, hip dysplasia and PoTS [postural tachycardia syndrome – a blood circulation disorder], which affects my nervous system. These conditions affect my mobility and mean I suffer from bouts of severe fatigue,’ she says.
‘Disability is so often misunderstood – people equate physical disability with laziness [or] a lack of positive thinking, or they think those that are physically disabled must be mentally incapacitated, too,’ says Kamilah. ‘As a disabled entrepreneur, that makes me want to speak up about my own health conditions and help people see that you can be driven and capable, as well as being disabled.’ Here are some tips from Kamilah on how she makes it work.
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Automate what you can
‘I've embraced automation to eliminate unnecessary tasks. This saves several hours a week, which means I'm more able to look after my health. I once heard that you should always see if you can use technology to automate a task before hiring a person to do it. That advice has saved me a lot of time and money over the years. I've found Zapier to be a huge timesaver as it connects all of the different programs I use.’
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Prioritize passive income
‘When starting your own business, I'd encourage others to think about creating passive income as much as possible. That's important for any entrepreneur, but even more so when you're disabled and your time is limited. From the beginning, think about which products and services are the easiest (and the most fun!) for you to provide, and make those the foundation of your business.’
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Look at your progress
‘When launching a business, it's definitely frustrating to have to push back the deadlines and targets that I've set for myself. At these times, I try to look back on the progress I've made recently to remind myself that things are moving in the right direction.’
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Want more tips and tools on working effectively and living smarter?
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Other great stuff we loved this week.
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