OkCupid's Ownership

Now that we have an understanding of how OKC was created, we can discuss platforms as socioeconomic structures, specifically ownership as “even though site ownership may change over the years, SNSs still tell users what they like, want, know, and should be looking for” (Dijck 1). OkCupid was originally owned by Humor Rainbow Inc. based in New York. This was until OKC announced executive changes. Back in February 2001, OKC was acquired by IAC, operators of Match.com for $50 million dollars. IAC is InterActiveCorp, an American media and Internet company owning over 150 brands across 100 countries. If you have ever tried to find the love of your life online, the chances are a 73-year old billionaire played a hand in helping you meet your match. This billionaire is an American business man known as Barry Charles Diller who serves as the Chairman and senior executive of IAC (Barinka, 2015). 

Diller has bought or developed many brands under his Internet conglomerate including Match.com. While Match.com has a significant user base, OkCupid singles tend to be younger, which is why Match found it to be a useful acquisition (Rao, 2011). OKC is a free site and mobile application anyone over the age of 18 can use. It generates revenue via advertising and according to IAC has “been the fastest growing dating site in the advertising based category” (Rao, 2011). One other interesting fact I found was that IAC, recently sold a stake in its Match.com division, giving public investors a chance to bet on the business of love including OKC, and Tinder. 

References: 

Barinka, A. (2015, June 26). How One Company Owns Your Entire Dating Life. Retrieved 2016, from Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-26/how-one-company-owns-your-entire-dating-life

Dijck, J. V. (2013). The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media. Retrieved from http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/19.3/reviews/mcardle/index.html

Rao, L. (2011, February 2). IAC's Match.com Acquires Online Dating Site OkCupid For $50M In Cash. Retrieved 2016, from Tech Crunch: https://techcrunch.com/2011/02/02/match-com-acquires-online-dating-site-okcupid-for-50-million-in-cash/

Stein, I. (2014, November). Founder of SparkNotes, OkCupid talks entreprenuership at CIE. Retrieved 2016, from Chicago Maroon: https://www.chicagomaroon.com/2014/11/04/founder-of-sparknotes-okcupid-talks-entrepreneurship-at-cie/