Category Archives: Dating News

Slideshow: MiniDates Presented at Agile 2012

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On August 16, 2012, Beverly May presented the agile and lean startup lessons she learned when creating and launching MiniDates at Agile 2012 in Texas. Watch the full presentation now on SlideShare!

Beverly May at Agile 2012

Event Details: This session provided an overview and lessons learned from senior UX, product, and software development consultants’ experiences in switching from consulting to actually conceiving, designing, developing and ultimately launching a complex consumer application called MiniDates.com. It turns out that our extensive industry experience and past successes couldn’t have prepared us for all that we encountered and learned when trying to develop and launch our own consumer startup. During the presentation, Beverly shared what we learned for future teams to benefit!

Oxford Technology Ventures, LLC is a boutique user experience and product strategy consulting firm in New York whose members are seasoned veterans in UX, Internet, and software development. Our clients range from large Fortune 100′s to small startups, and we’ve worked on and helped successfully launch or overhaul hundreds of products and services over the years. Like many in the consulting/ agency/ services business, we were feeling “startup envy” and wanted to develop and launch our own service. MiniDates.com was initially conceived as a showcase company case study in superior UX, cutting edge mobile tech, and Lean and Agile development processes where we wouldn’t be constrained by our clients’ preferences, implementation methods, and product direction revisions.

We embarked on developing MiniDates.com in January 2011 after several months of conceiving the product, and ultimately launched it in beta 14 months later- when we had originally thought it would take us only 3-4 months to MVP! This session describes the process we went through – what we tried that worked and didn’t, what we should have done that we didn’t, and what we encountered that we couldn’t have foreseen- in the belief that we can help other UX and product-focused startups and Agile teams be more effective practitioners

Check Out The Launched MiniDates App Here: www.minidates.com

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Samsung Large-Format Smartphones Now Supported

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MiniDates has been optimized to work on all large-format smartphones including Samsung Galaxy SI, SII and SIII. Check out MiniDates on your large-format screen now!

Remember, MiniDates is also compatible with most Android devices, iOS devices and PC/Mac (on Chrome or Firefox browsers).

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MiniDates Now Supports Date Rescheduling

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Have you scheduled a MiniDate, but later realized you wouldn’t be able to make it? That’s OK, because now you can simply reschedule your MiniDate. We have just release a new feature that allows you to do this any time after you’ve accepted your MiniDate. Simply click the “Reschedule” button and enter the new times you are available.

How do you like this new feature? Let us know by emailing feedback@minidates.com

Follow us on Twitter @MiniDates or on Facebook for more MiniDates features and news!

 

Vote for MiniDates at SXSW 2013

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MiniDates has entered a panel session idea for SXSW 2013. We could use your support! Please vote for MiniDates by going to http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/7300. See the full panel details below.

Lean Startup Marketing that Works

Description: There are thousands of startups trying to make it, and most come from engineering or product backgrounds that ill-prepare them for the cost, effort, and complexities involved in branding, marketing, and acquiring customers. If startups are not familiar with and have not been executing Lean approaches, they may not have even been exposed to customer or market feedback to their idea until far too late.The digital marketing landscape is also evolving at such a rapid pace that new tools are constantly being created to help users monitor and reach various social platforms, improve their paid search marketing on Facebook or Google, reach new customers through surveys or research, optimize their landing pages or perform low-cost PR for them, to name a few common tactics. These are critical choices for a cash-starved startup. This session will aim to assist startups and product marketers in making the most effective Lean marketing choices to help ensure startup success.

Vote Here: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/7300

Thanks for helping us out! For more information or to ask questions about the panel idea, follow and message us on Twitter @MiniDates and on Facebook.

MiniDates Presented at Agile 2012

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When: Thursday August 16, 2012 9:30am to 10:00am

Where: Gaylord Texan Hotel & Convention Center, 1501 Gaylord Trail, Grapevine, TX, Room: Ft. Worth 7

Details: This session provided an overview and lessons learned from senior UX, product, and software development consultants’ experiences in switching from consulting to actually conceiving, designing, developing and ultimately launching a complex consumer application called MiniDates.com. It turns out that our extensive industry experience and past successes couldn’t have prepared us for all that we encountered and learned when trying to develop and launch our own consumer startup. During the presentation, Beverly shared what we learned for future teams to benefit!

Oxford Technology Ventures, LLC is a boutique user experience and product strategy consulting firm in New York whose members are seasoned veterans in UX, Internet, and software development. Our clients range from large Fortune 100′s to small startups, and we’ve worked on and helped successfully launch or overhaul hundreds of products and services over the years. Like many in the consulting/ agency/ services business, we were feeling “startup envy” and wanted to develop and launch our own service. MiniDates.com was initially conceived as a showcase company case study in superior UX, cutting edge mobile tech, and Lean and Agile development processes where we wouldn’t be constrained by our clients’ preferences, implementation methods, and product direction revisions.

We embarked on developing MiniDates.com in January 2011 after several months of conceiving the product, and ultimately launched it in beta 14 months later- when we had originally thought it would take us only 3-4 months to MVP! This session describes the process we went through – what we tried that worked and didn’t, what we should have done that we didn’t, and what we encountered that we couldn’t have foreseen- in the belief that we can help other UX and product-focused startups and Agile teams be more effective practitioners

Check Out The Launched MiniDates App Here: www.minidates.com

For More Information About Oxford Technology Venture’s Consulting Services go to http://oxfordtechnologyventures.com/

13 Best Summer Date Spots in NYC

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Complex City Guide recently posted an excellent list of date spots to check out after your first MiniDate in NYC. These include the following 13 locations.

1. Brooklyn Botanic Garden

2. Leob Boathouse at Central Park

3. West Side Rifle and Pistol Range

4. The Cloisters

5. The Kimberly Hotel Roof

6. Local Goodies at Smorgasburg

7. Bronx Zoo

8. Jane’s Carousel

9. Movie Under the Stars—Rooftop Films

10. Kayaking After Lunch at the Boat Basin Café

11. Sip Rosé on the Roof of Hotel Chantelle

12. Slurp Oysters and Sip Absinthe at Maison Premiere

13. Take a Faux Beach Vacation at Coney Island

For more details about each location, check out the full article on Complex City Guide.

Where are your favorite NYC Summer Date Spots? Tell us on Twitter @MiniDates and on Facebook!

Facebook Profile Integration Now Available

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MiniDates has just added a new Facebook profile integration feature. This will make profile creation and login faster and profile data even more reliable. This feature will not post on your Facebook, so your friends will not see any of your MiniDates activity. Your settings and profile will always stay private.

If you already have a MiniDates account, you can add Facebook at the top of the “About Me” page.

If you are about to create a new MiniDates account, click “Join with Facebook” at the beginning of account setup.

What other new features would you like to see on MiniDates? Let us know by emailing feedback@minidates.com.

Follow us on Twitter @MiniDates and on Facebook for more MiniDates features and updates.

Research Proves MiniDates’ Method Is Most Effective

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A recent study has discovered that the best way to find love is to meet face-to-face like we do on MiniDates. Regular online dating has been found to 1) make you pore over a seemingly endless list of profiles without revealing much about them and 2) “overloads people and they end up shutting down.” This study also questioned the effectiveness of sites that implement personality matching algorithms.

Overall, this study found that “there’s no better way to figure out whether you’re compatible with somebody than talking to them over a cup of coffee or a pint of beer.” MiniDates does just that, by setting you up on dates in coffee shops and bars that you choose, at times you are available!

Source: Huffington Post

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