Congressional candidates are using stock trades as a 2022 midterm weapon. But it's a double-edged sword that could hurt their own allies.

Members of Congress publicly blast Facebook but quietly invest their savings in the social-media giant

<p>The winners of the <a href="http://www.bwpawards.org/" target="_blank">British Wildlife Photography Awards</a> were revealed on Monday. </p>
<p>"The Awards celebrate both the work of amateur and professional photographers and the beauty and diversity of British wildlife," the organization said on its website.</p>
<p>The winning images in 16 different categories were chosen from thousands of entries.</p>
<p>You can check out all the winning images and a selection of highly recommended photos on the <a href="http://www.bwpawards.org/static/winner-2014.html?/galleries/Comp-2014" target="_blank">award website</a>, and check out our favorites below.  </p>
<p><strong>The winning image of a greylag goose, called "The Tourist," was taken by Lee Acaster. "It was a real privilege to have such a close encounter with a wild bird in the very heart of London," he said, "I vividly remember the excitement I felt as she patiently waited for me to get the shot, and I knew immediately this was a once in a lifetime opportunity."</strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Steven Fairbrother captured this image of a shag, a good-sized bird, resting in the Farne Islands of England. </strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div> </strong></p>
<p><strong>The "Otter and the Puffin" was taken by Richard Shucksmith in Scotland. </strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div> </strong></p>
<p><strong>A close-up of a grey seal claw taken by Jim Greenfield in England. </strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div> </strong></p>
<p><strong>"Cairngorms" was photographed in Scotland by Peter Cairns.</strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Susie Hewitt snapped an image of a gnat in a window in northern Ireland. </strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div> </strong></p>
<p><strong>"A life at Sea for Nesting Gannets" was taken in Scotland by Ruth Asher.</strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div> </strong></p>
<p><strong>A black and white photo of a blue shark was taken by Alexander Mustard in Cornwall, England. </strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div> </strong></p>
<p><strong>A red telephone box overgrown with vegetation was snapped in London by Philip Braude. </strong></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Brown hares photographed by Andrew Parkinson in Derbyshire, England. </strong></p>
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Britain's Best Wildlife Photos Of The Year

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Honda is returning to the Super Bowl this weekend with an all-star ad that encourages viewers to follow their dreams.<p>The ad features the high school yearbook photos of celebrities including Jimmy Kimmel, Missy Elliott, Tina Fey, "Magic" Johnson, Steve Carell, Viola Davis, Robert Redford, Amy Adams, and Stan Lee.</p><p>Using layering and visual effects technology to animate the vintage photos, each celebrity in the 60-second spot reflects on the challenges they had to overcome and the ambition required for them to eventually become successful. The ad, created by ad agency RPA, promotes Honda's new CR-V vehicle.</p><p>Speaking to Business Insider, Honda Auto <keyword id="6354839" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="marketing">marketing</keyword> assistant vice president Susie Rossick said the concept of the ad is built around the brand's wider messaging and tagline "Power of Dreams."</p><p>She said: "The whole idea behind 'Power of Dreams' is embedded in us from our founder Soichiro Honda. He came across a lot of obstacles in building and making Honda successful. Everyone told him: 'You will never be able to do this,' but he never let anybody tell him 'no'. The 'Power of Dreams' is something we try to live every day. Honda has had its challenges over the years but we have kept this spirit of never giving up on your dreams, always."</p><p>This Sunday's game marks 20 years since Honda first debuted its original CR-V. It is also the second year in a row the automaker has advertised in the Super Bowl. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/honda-ridgeline-truck-sheep-super-bowl-ad-2016-2">Last year's ad featured a choir of sheep</a> singing along to Queen's "Somebody to Love," promoting the Ridgeline truck.</p><p>Rossick said that ad directly resulted in 120,000 "handraisers." Honda refers to "handraisers" as consumers who opt in to receiving more information about a vehicle, such as when it will be available to buy. The company is currently looking to match back which of those handraisers actually went on to buy a Ridgeline.</p><p>But with the price of a 30-second slot at the Super Bowl rising each year - broadcaster Fox is reportedly asking for upwards of $5 million this time around - will Honda always be able to justify the cost?</p><p>Rossick said: "I'm not at liberty to disclose how much we paid. Do I think it's worth it? Of course there's always the feeling when something isn't worth getting involved with, but we still value this as a great platform to introduce a vehicle. 110 million people [watch the Super Bowl on TV] and nobody turns away when the commercials run. They watch, they engage, and it's a great opportunity to introduce our CR-V. I still strongly feel it provides a great return."</p><p>Alongside the ad itself, Honda launched a social media campaign on Thursday - which many people celebrate as "Throwback Thursday" on social platforms - that will see celebrities from the ad and other musicians and athletes share their old high school yearbook photos and some of the challenges they had to overcome in their younger lives. Some of those celebrities will also respond to social media users joining in the campaign with advice on how they can achieve their goals.</p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wwe-chief-marketing-revenue-officer-michelle-wilson-ces-interview-2017-1">WWE's marketing and revenue boss says its content output has doubled in the last 5 years, all thanks to digital</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="A5cGMxOTE6oUhPOPDBPRWLoCAT8iKGn4" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Honda explains why a Super Bowl ad is worth every dollar

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>It's Valentine's Day, and if you're single, you might be&#xa0;swiping on Tinder.<p>The app has become one of the world's largest online dating platforms,&#xa0;with <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/02/-monetization.html">an estimated 50 million users.</a>&#xa0;But in 2017 and beyond, it may increasingly have competition.</p><p>Although Tinder has a huge user base, other dating apps, like Bumble and Coffee Meets Bagel, are starting to meet a larger percentage of their users' expectations.&#xa0;A&#xa0;<a href="http://arc.applause.com/2016/02/10/best-and-worst-dating-apps-for-2016/">recent study</a>&#xa0;looked at user reviews of&#xa0;<span>97 dating apps and&#xa0;</span><span><span>analyzed how their quality scores changed from 2015 to 2016. Of all of the apps in the study, Tinder experienced the largest year-over-year decline.</span></span></p><p><span><span>When users started using Tinder in 2012, every match felt like an adrenaline rush, or at the very least, a&#xa0;spark. However, those matches are no longer quite as novel. They might&#xa0;lead to quick hookups,&#xa0;<a href="http://domesticity.gawker.com/the-only-tinder-opening-line-you-need-1681214764">sleazy come-ons</a>, or nothing at all. That leaves a big opening for Tinder's dating app competitors.</span></span></p><p><span><span>Considered the pioneer of "swiping&#xa0;apps," Tinder's photo-based interface probably contributed&#xa0;to its hookup image. Photos of people nearby pop up, and you swipe right if you like them, left if you don't. When two people swipe&#xa0;right on each other, they "match" and can chat.&#xa0;</span></span></p><p><span><span>Since Tinder is primarily photo and location-based, it has garnered the perception among users that most of the people on it are looking for sex.&#xa0;</span></span><span><span>This reputation&#xa0;is a boon for newer dating app startups looking to compete with Tinder, like <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bumble-meet-friends-find-date/id930441707?mt=8">Bumble</a>, <a href="https://hinge.co/">Hinge</a>, <a href="https://www.happn.com/en/">Happn</a>,&#xa0;<a href="https://coffeemeetsbagel.com/">Coffee Meets Bagel</a>, <a href="http://www.siren.mobi/">Siren</a>, <a href="https://weareher.com/about">Her</a> - the list goes on.</span></span></p><p>The main difference between these newer apps and Tinder is that they're not as heavily image-based. They give users the ability to show more of their interests, personality, and identity. </p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Bumble,&#xa0;an app that launched in 2014, is a somewhat popular Tinder competitor with <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-dating-apps-are-getting-better-for-women-2015-08-12">an estimated 800,000 users</a> as of 2015. It has a similar interface as&#xa0;Tinder, but doesn't have the same reputation of&#xa0;being a hookup app. That's because&#xa0;only women can send the first message to their matches on Bumble.<p>Straight men seem to like the app because women to take more initiative in starting a conversation, as Bryan Bumgardner, a 26-year-old Tinder and Bumble user, explains.&#xa0;He says he has gained more quality matches on Bumble than Tinder, an app he views as primarily for hook ups.</p><p><span><span>"<span>On Tinder, I can get a dozen matches a night, but most of them are either going to be non-starters, girls who don't respond, weirdos, or people who text back after a month and say 'oh I never check this app,'" he tells Business Insider. But on Bumble, straight women<span>&#xa0;"are assured enough in themselves to pursue a man they want."</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></span></p><p><span>Siren, which launched in late 2015, abandons the swipe interface entirely. Only available in Seattle and New York City, it features a daily question and a feed that displays users' answers (the idea being that people's personalities unfold, and you have context for starting conversations). </span><span>Past questions have included </span><span>"If you could be invisible for one day, how would you spend it?" and "What was the first album you bought with your own money?"</span></p><p><span><span>There are about 35,000&#xa0;people on Siren&#xa0;so far.&#xa0;Cofounder&#xa0;<span>Susie Lee</span>&#xa0;has&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/siren-review-new-dating-app-tinder-2016-10">told</a>&#xa0;Business Insider that since users don't swipe on Siren, she believes there's less of a sense of objectification.&#xa0;</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>"The swiping interaction is fun, but when you apply that to people, you're reducing people to objects.&#xa0;Whether it's shoes&#xa0;or humans, you can do the same interaction: push them away or pull&#xa0;them closer," she <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/siren-review-new-dating-app-tinder-2016-10">said</a>. "We want to fight this idea that you're shopping for humans."</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span></span></span></span><span><span>To set themselves apart from Tinder, emerging dating apps are </span></span><span><span>also offering users more ways to describe&#xa0;themselves than just the usual&#xa0;<span>-&#xa0;</span>photos, age, sexual orientation, and a bio.&#xa0;Her, a dating app for LGBTQ&#xa0;women that l</span></span><span><span>aunched in 2013 and now has&#xa0;1.5 million users globally, offers&#xa0;those profile options plus more.&#xa0;</span></span><span><span>For instance, it gives 14 options for sexual orientation, 25 for gender, and seven for relationship status.&#xa0;</span></span></p><p><span><span>If users have the ability to express their true identity, they are more likely to find authentic connections,&#xa0;Her's founder, Robyn Exton, tells BI.</span></span></p><p><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Being able to express who you really are helps you find people who resonate with that," she says. "Your profile becomes less about 'I'm a lesbian' or 'I'm bi' and more about 'Here's who I am and what you need to know if you want to go on a date with me.' It lets people express all parts of themselves."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As with Tinder, Her users match with people who have liked their&#xa0;profile. But there's one big difference:&#xa0;the profiles don't disappear once you've swiped.</span></p><p>Michelle, a bisexual 22-year-old,&#xa0;says she migrated&#xa0;to Her from Tinder&#xa0;because the setting on Tinder for&#xa0;"seeking men and women," doesn't yield an even distribution of&#xa0;genders.</p><p>"I still see probably 95% men," she says. "And it's really frustrating to feel like my dating app is pushing me to be heteronormative."</p><p>Her also wants to be a social network and hosts regular events, something Tinder is exploring with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-social-facebook-friends-lists-leaked-revealed-app-group-dating-2016-4?r=UK&amp;IR=T">Tinder Social</a>&#xa0;(a feature that encourages groups&#xa0;to meet up).</p><p>Michelle adds that Tinder is "primarily for hookups," while Her feels like a community as well as a place for dating. She considers Tinder as more of a confidence-booster, a place to garner matches as physical affirmation.</p><p>She also likes <a href="http://blog.hinge.co/">Hinge</a>, an app that launched in 2014.&#xa0;Instead of pairing random strangers,&#xa0;<span>Hinge only shows&#xa0;users potential matches who share Facebook friends.&#xa0;</span><span>Hinge doesn't reveal&#xa0;user numbers, but spokeswoman Jean-Marie McGrath <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/3/19/8257357/hinge-explained">told</a> Vox in 2015 that the app was sparking 35,500 dates per week, and had created&#xa0;1,500 relationships.&#xa0;</span></p><p>"It feels like more of a natural connection that you might make in the real world rather than just proximity," Michelle&#xa0;says.</p><p><span>Hinge&#xa0;mimicked Tinder's swipe interface until October 2016, when <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2016/09/29/hinge-dumps-free-dating-to-get-serious-with-paid-users/#43fac6458b4a">it relaunched</a> as a paid app&#xa0;with a feed of profiles (which you can "like" and message). When asked about the redesign, Hinge's VP of marketing, Karen Fein, <a href="http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/10/new-paid-hinge-dating-app-has-no-swiping.html">told</a> Select All that "70% of our users are looking for something more serious than free swiping apps offer."</span></p><p>Tinder's reputation as being a place where people only hook-up is, of course, a generalization. People do find relationships and love on the app.</p><p><span>Cosmo recently&#xa0;<a href="http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a53737/i-met-my-husband-on-tinder/">profiled</a> a number&#xa0;of couples in committed relationships who matched on Tinder. In <a href="http://consumersresearch.org/consumer-survey-the-best-way-to-swipe-a-mate/">a 2016 survey</a> by Consumers' Research, </span><span><a href="http://www.datingsitesreviews.com/staticpages/index.php?page=Tinder-Statistics-Facts-History#ref-ODS-Tinder-2016-6">13%</a> of Tinder users reported relationships lasting longer than one month. Tinder doesn't release official statistics around dates and relationships, but <a href="https://www.gotinder.com/press">says</a> on its site that 26 million matches happen worldwide every day<span>.</span></span></p><p><span>In 2015, journalist Nancy Jo Sales wrote a Vanity Fair piece titled, "<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/tinder-hook-up-culture-end-of-dating" target="_blank">Tinder and the Dawn of the 'Dating Apocalypse</a><span>." In it, Sales talked to&#xa0;young Tinder users at bars,&#xa0;and found that many were using the app to find sex. After, Tinder responded in a series of tweets.</span></span></p><p><span>"<span>Tinder users are on Tinder to meet people for all kinds of reasons. Sure, some of them - men and women - want to hook up.&#xa0;<span>But we know from our own survey data that it's actually a minority of Tinder users," Tinder <a href="https://twitter.com/Tinder/status/631249234633732097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">tweeted</a> at the time. "<span>Our data tells us that the vast majority of Tinder users are looking for meaningful connections."</span></span></span></span></p><p><span>But the perception&#xa0;problem gives other apps the opportunity to compete with Tinder</span><span>. None of these apps can rival&#xa0;Tinder's scale yet, but they represent&#xa0;a fresh and varied perspective on online dating<span>. They give</span>&#xa0;daters&#xa0;more options, and that's never a bad thing in the hunt for a partner.</span></p><div>    </div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/psychologist-explains-how-tell-love-romance-dating-ready-committed-relationship-2017-1">A psychologist explains how to tell if you're ready for a committed relationship</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="t1dDNiOTE66upUg-RV3vWNisMEc_-yph" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Tinder's competitors are banking on its sleazy image

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<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>When Tinder launched in 2012, every match felt like an adrenaline rush, or at the very least, a&#xa0;spark.<p>But&#xa0;those matches are no longer quite as exciting. Oftentimes, they&#xa0;lead to quick hookups,&#xa0;<a href="http://domesticity.gawker.com/the-only-tinder-opening-line-you-need-1681214764">sleazy come-ons</a>, or nothing at all. That leaves a big opening for Tinder's dating app competitors .</p><p>Although Tinder has a huge user base (<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/02/-monetization.html">an estimated 50 million worldwide</a>), other dating apps, like Bumble and Coffee Meets Bagel, are meeting a larger percentage of their users' expectations.&#xa0;A&#xa0;<a href="http://arc.applause.com/2016/02/10/best-and-worst-dating-apps-for-2016/">2016 study</a>&#xa0;looked at the user reviews of&#xa0;<span>97 dating apps and&#xa0;</span><span><span>analyzed how their quality scores have changed over the past year. Tinder experienced the largest year-over-year decline out of all of the apps in the study.</span></span></p><p><span><span>Considered the pioneer of "swiping&#xa0;apps," Tinder's photo-based interface probably contributed&#xa0;to its hookup image. Photos of people nearby pop up, and you swipe right if you like them, left if you don't. When two people swipe&#xa0;right on each other, they "match" and can chat.&#xa0;</span></span></p><p><span><span>Since Tinder is primarily photo and location-based, it has garnered the perception among users that most of the people on it are looking for sex.&#xa0;</span></span><span><span>This reputation&#xa0;is a boon for newer dating app startups looking to compete with Tinder, like <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bumble-meet-friends-find-date/id930441707?mt=8">Bumble</a>, <a href="https://hinge.co/">Hinge</a>, <a href="https://www.happn.com/en/">Happn</a>,&#xa0;<a href="https://coffeemeetsbagel.com/">Coffee Meets Bagel</a>, <a href="http://www.siren.mobi/">Siren</a>, <a href="https://weareher.com/about">Her</a> - the list goes on.</span></span></p><p>The main difference between these newer apps and Tinder is that they're not heavily photo-based. They give users the ability to show more of their interests, personality, and identity. </p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Bumble,&#xa0;an app that launched in 2014, is a somewhat popular Tinder competitor with <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-dating-apps-are-getting-better-for-women-2015-08-12">an estimated 800,000 users</a> as of 2015. It has a similar interface as&#xa0;Tinder, but doesn't quite have the same reputation as being a hookup app. That's because&#xa0;only women can message their matches first on Bumble.<p>Straight men seem to like the app because women seem to take more initiative in starting a conversation, as Bryan Bumgardner, a 26-year-old Tinder and Bumble user, explains.&#xa0;He says he has gained more quality matches on Bumble than Tinder, which he views as an app primarily for hooking up.</p><p><span><span>"<span>On Tinder, I can get a dozen matches a night but most of them are either going to be non-starters, girls who don't respond, weirdos, or people who text back after a month and say 'oh I never check this app,'" he tells Business Insider. But on Bumble, straight women<span>&#xa0;"are assured enough in themselves to pursue a man they want."</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></span></p><p><span>Siren, which launched in late 2015, abandons the swipe interface entirely. Only available in Seattle and New York City, it features a daily question and a feed that displays users' answers (the idea being that people's personalities unfold and you have context for starting conversations). </span><span>Past questions have included </span><span>"If you could be invisible for one day, how would you spend it?" and "What was the first album you bought with your own money?"</span></p><p><span><span>Cofounder&#xa0;<span>Susie Lee</span>&#xa0;has&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/siren-review-new-dating-app-tinder-2016-10">told</a>&#xa0;BI that since users don't swipe on Siren, she believes there's less of a sense of objectification of users (there are about 5,000 people on it so far, however).&#xa0;</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>"The swiping interaction is fun, but when you apply that to people, you're reducing people to objects.&#xa0;Whether it's shoes&#xa0;or humans, you can do the same interaction: push them away or pull&#xa0;them closer," she <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/siren-review-new-dating-app-tinder-2016-10">said</a>. "We want to fight this idea that you're shopping for humans."</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span></span></span></span><span><span>To set themselves apart from Tinder, emerging dating apps are </span></span><span><span>also offering users more ways to describe&#xa0;themselves than just the usual&#xa0;<span>-&#xa0;</span>photos, age, sexual orientation, and a bio.&#xa0;</span></span><span><span>Launched in 2013 and with 1.5 million users globally, Her, a dating app for LGBTQ&#xa0;women,&#xa0;offers&#xa0;those profile options plus more.&#xa0;</span></span><span><span>For instance, it gives 14 options for sexual orientation, 25 for gender, and seven for relationship status.&#xa0;</span></span></p><p><span><span>If users have the ability to express their true identity, they are more likely to find authentic connections,&#xa0;Her's founder, Robyn Exton, tells BI.</span></span></p><p><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Being able to express who you really are helps you find people who resonate with that," she says. "Your profile becomes less about 'I'm a lesbian' or 'I'm bi' and more about 'Here's who I am and what you need to know if you want to go on a date with me.' It lets people express all parts of themselves."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As with Tinder, you match with people who have liked your profile. But there's one big difference:&#xa0;the profiles don't disappear once you've swiped.</span></p><p>Michelle, a bisexual 22-year-old,&#xa0;says that she has migrated&#xa0;to Her from Tinder. The reason: when she changes the setting on Tinder to "seeking men and women," the genders of people that pop up&#xa0;are not equal.</p><p>"I still see probably 95% men," she says. "And it's really frustrating to feel like my dating app is pushing me to be heteronormative."</p><p>Her also wants to be a social network too and hosts regular events, something Tinder is exploring with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tinder-social-facebook-friends-lists-leaked-revealed-app-group-dating-2016-4?r=UK&amp;IR=T">Tinder Social</a>&#xa0;(a feature that encourages friend groups&#xa0;to meet up).</p><p>Michelle adds that Tinder is "primarily for hookups," while Her feels like a community as well as a place for dating. She considers Tinder as more of a confidence-booster, a place to garner matches as physical affirmation.</p><p>She also likes <a href="http://blog.hinge.co/">Hinge</a>, an app that launched in 2014.&#xa0;<span>Hinge doesn't reveal&#xa0;user numbers, but spokeswoman Jean-Marie McGrath <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/3/19/8257357/hinge-explained">told</a> Vox in 2015 that 35,500 dates per week and 1,500 relationships have been sparked by&#xa0;the app.&#xa0;</span><span></span>Instead of random strangers,&#xa0;<span>Hinge also only matches users who share Facebook friends.&#xa0;</span></p><p>"It feels like more of a natural connection that you might make in the real world rather than just proximity," Michelle&#xa0;says.</p><p><span>Hinge&#xa0;mimicked Tinder's swipe interface until October, when it relaunched as a paid app&#xa0;with a feed of profiles (which you "like" and message). When asked about the redesign, Hinge's VP of marketing, Karen Fein, <a href="http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/10/new-paid-hinge-dating-app-has-no-swiping.html">told</a> Select All that "70% of our users are looking for something more serious than free swiping apps offer."</span></p><p><span><div>    </div></span></p><p>Tinder's reputation as being a place where people only hook-up is, of course, a generalization. People do find relationships and love on the app.</p><p><span>Earlier this year, Cosmo also <a href="http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a53737/i-met-my-husband-on-tinder/">profiled</a> a number&#xa0;of couples in committed relationships who matched on Tinder. In <a href="http://consumersresearch.org/consumer-survey-the-best-way-to-swipe-a-mate/">a 2016 survey</a> by Consumers' Research, </span><span><a href="http://www.datingsitesreviews.com/staticpages/index.php?page=Tinder-Statistics-Facts-History#ref-ODS-Tinder-2016-6">13%</a> of Tinder users reported relationships lasting longer than one month. Tinder doesn't release official statistics around dates and relationships, but <a href="https://www.gotinder.com/press">says</a> on its site that 26 million matches happen worldwide every day<span>.</span></span></p><p><span>In 2015, journalist Nancy Jo Sales wrote a Vanity Fair piece titled, "<a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/tinder-hook-up-culture-end-of-dating" target="_blank">Tinder and the Dawn of the 'Dating Apocalypse</a><span>." In it, Sales talked to&#xa0;young Tinder users at bars,&#xa0;and found that many were using the app to find sex. After, Tinder responded in a series of tweets.</span></span></p><p><span>"<span>Tinder users are on Tinder to meet people for all kinds of reasons. Sure, some of them - men and women - want to hook up.&#xa0;<span>But we know from our own survey data that it's actually a minority of Tinder users," Tinder <a href="https://twitter.com/Tinder/status/631249234633732097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">tweeted</a> at the time. "<span>Our data tells us that the vast majority of Tinder users are looking for meaningful connections."</span></span></span></span></p><p><span>But the perception&#xa0;problem gives other apps the opportunity to seriously compete with Tinder</span><span>. None of these apps can compete with Tinder's scale yet, but they represent&#xa0;a fresh and varied perspective on online dating<span>. They give</span>&#xa0;daters&#xa0;more options, and that's never a bad thing in the hunt for a partner.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/a-hacker-reveals-a-simple-way-to-come-up-with-a-strong-password-thats-easy-to-remember-2016-10">A hacker reveals a simple way to come up with a strong password that's easy to remember</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BwN2NwMzE6EWIgb89XK0BH7jw-ZsLEQ9" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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