NY MAG: Grindr Destroying Fire Island Social Life

New York Magazine reports that many are upset that the social hook-up app Grindr is destroying the social scene on Fire Island:

Log in to Grindr on Fire Island, as you would anywhere else, and you’ll see a grid of 100 smiling faces and headless muscled torsos, a catalogue of men accessible from the comfort of your summer share’s living room. (Although cell-phone service on the island can be spotty, most houses are equipped with Wi-Fi.) The app has been called a “virtual bathhouse” and been pegged by some as a reason for the decline of the gay bar, but in a place like Fire Island, it may be especially destructive. Aside from the beach, a large part of the attraction of the Pines scene is the opportunity to rub shoulders, and maybe sleep, with attractive and powerful gay men. “Not long ago, you’d walk around here and everybody would be cruising each other, not anonymously, but face to face,” said Sal Occhipinti, a tanned 43-year-old, at a recent afternoon “high tea” dance party in the Pines harbor. A few feet away, on the largely empty patio of the Blue Whale, a group of three men were busily typing on their devices next to the bar. According to Occhipinti, even the Meat Rack, the notoriously cruisy wooded area between the Pines and Cherry Grove, has been taken over by glowing iPhone screens.

Fire Island's main social hub was also destroyed by fire last November, and has only been partially rebuilt.

UPDATE: Grindr sent us a response to the story.

Grindr makes it easier for gay guys to meet other gay guys. It’s a social ice-breaker, and we're confident it's having a positive impact on gay social life. Local businesses know and love Grindr. We partner with neighborhood bars and clubs around the world, and we receive great feedback from our partners. They tell us that our local promotions are driving local users to local bars. Everyone wins.
 
Even in a place like the Pines, it’s great to have the option to connect with just the kind of guy you're looking for rather than simply leaving it to chance. Like many gay destinations and resorts, the Pines isn't just all about meeting people but also about being with your community, being with your friends and going out to parties and attending events.
 
In most situations, technology has proven to be super-helpful. A guy might be too shy to approach someone at Blue Whale or another establishment. Grindr allows you to find guys you might not have encountered in your daily Pines life. It could be that neighbor you’ve never met -- the one you keep missing.
 
Grindr is never a replacement for real life, but it is a great tool to help you meet new people around the block, around the beach or around the world.

NEWS: A Little Superman, A Lot Of Science, And One Unpopular Politician

 Watch Grindr CEO Joel Simkhai talk biz on Bloomberg Television, AFTER THE JUMP ...

 "Superman: Forged By Bullies!"

 Complicated memories of a father murdered mid-transition:

“I was talking with Jean tonight about Dad,” [said my sister Bridgette]. Jean was one of her transgender customers. “And Jean said, ‘Maybe you were never meant to celebrate Father’s Day, because your dad was always meant to be a woman.’” She looked at me as though this might be a consolation, but I was having none of it.

“That’s absurd!” I said, because I believe our dad was a man through and through. He was 6-foot-7. He was lanky, deep-voiced. I often described his personality as somewhere between Anthony Bourdain and Howard Stern. What was most damning, in my mind, was how physically abusive he was to my mother and me. Bridgette missed much of this. She was 5 when I went into foster care at 15. The court made my dad take anger management classes after that. “He was always talking about how he hated women,” I said. “If that’s the case, how could he have really been one?”

 Russell Pearce, author of Arizona's "papers please!" law, can't find a place to hold fundraiser; accuses Arizonans of trying to "stifle" his candidacy:

The fundraising event was originally planned to be held at Macayo’s restaurant in Phoenix, but the plan was scuttled by activist Dee Dee Garcia Blase of Arizona’s Tequila Party, a conservative Latino group formed in reaction to the deportation-happy Tea Party. Garcia Blase organized a protest to be held outside the restaurant during the event and contacted Macayo’s corporate offices, which led the restaurant to cancel the event on Thursday morning.

By midday Thursday, Pearce’s campaign had emailed supporters announcing a second location, Oaxaca Restorante Y Cantina in downtown Phoenix. However, when Garcia Blase contacted Oaxaca’s management, the event was canceled within hours.

Oaxaca manager Joseph Aguayo told the Capital Times that Pearce’s campaign had booked the event under a false name. When Garcia Blase told him who the event was for, Aguayo barred the group from the restaurant. “We don’t need that,” he said, “We want to keep the support of our Latino community.”

Finally, Pearce attempted to gain access to the library of Phoenix’s Central High School, a request that was denied 30 minutes before Pearce’s guests and supporters were due to arrive. Phoenix Union High School District Superintendent Kent Scribner said that the event, with the added concerns of protesters and security, posed a logistical nightmare for school officials.

“Given the late notice of this request and the anticipated turnout, we are unable to host it,” Scribner said.

 Game of Thrones creators apologize for beheading President Bush.

 A report from Syracuse gay pride.

 Some evidence suggesting tiny particles sometimes slip the bounds of the universe to go ... somewhere.

 You are carrying around six pounds of microbes.

 Belief in gods continues to plummet amongst millenials.  

 Dr. Albert Schatz -- vindicated!

Grindr Questioned By House Lawmakers About Reported Hacking; App Goes Activist with 'Courage Campaign'

Popular gay hook-up app Grindr is being questioned by House lawmakers over the hacking and privacy breach the Sydney Morning Herald reported in January.

Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman and Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member G. K. Butterfield sent a letter to founder Joel Simkhai with questions about the security of the app.

Write the lawmakers:

This incident raises questions about the steps your company takes to protect the privacy and security of your users’ information.  The web pages containing the privacy policies for both of your mobile apps claim that they are “all about your privacy.”[6]  Yet an independent security expert found there were security vulnerabilities in your apps that could have been mitigated, but were not.[7]  Every online service that asks its users to trust it with the transmission or collection of their information – whether it is a social network, a dating service, a retailer, or a financial institution – has an obligation to its customers to properly secure that information.  Ensuring adequate security for users’ information is an essential element of protecting their privacy.

The congressmen are asking for answers about collected users' data, security enhancements, the company's response to users regarding the alleged breach, and additional information that might be collected by the app, requiring the company to respond to a lengthy set of questions by March 8.

Read the letter here.

Grindr has called reports that the site was compromised "unfounded speculation".

UPDATE: Grindr tells Towleroad, in a statement:

As has been reported earlier this year, when issues were raised concerning potential security issues, Grindr took significant steps to address those concerns. Indeed, in the last several weeks, Grindr has implemented security improvements addressing reported vulnerabilities to all of its applications including Grindr and Blendr on all platforms.  We have required all users to upgrade to the latest releases.

These steps were completed before Grindr received a letter from Congressman Henry Waxman and G.K. Butterfield, today, February 23, 2012.   Grindr is reviewing the letter and will diligently focus on their questions and respond to the committee in due course.

Meanwhile, Grindr is hooking up with the Courage Campaign to try and convince the DNC to add marriage equality to its plank, the SF Chronicle reports:

As part of the effort, Grindr will send messages to people who have downloaded the app, asking them to sign a Courage Campaign petition that will be sent to the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Adam Bink, director of online programs for the Courage Campaign, said the organization had no qualms about teaming up with the site, which calls its efforts “Grindr for Equality.”

“There’s a social dating site for really every kind of person and flavor,” he said. “We really have to reach people where they are.”

Recent statements from Grindr claimed more than 3 million users globally.

Grindr Says Breach Was 'Unfounded Speculation' as Hacker Gets Off

Nobody has pressed charges against a teen who last week allegedly hacked the gay social networking app Grindr in Australia, Fairfax Media reports:

"But the NSW Police's cybercrime squad had not received any complaints about the hack, a State Crime Command spokeswoman said. If a complaint was made, the cybercrime squad would investigate to see if any laws had been broken, the spokeswoman added."

Grindr, however, claims they have taken action:

A Grindr spokesman told Fairfax Media the company had taken "legal and technological actions" against a website created by the hacker that exploited the flaws in the Grindr app, adding that the site "primarily impacted a very small percentage of our total Australian Grindr users and it remains shut down".

"Contrary to some unfounded speculation, we have no indication that any large number of photos were intercepted - in fact, we have received no specific user reports of interceptions," the spokesman said in a statement, adding that users of Blendr, the straight version of the app, "were not affected".

But one of the Sydney users of the Grindr app, who asked to remain anonymous, said his profile was altered twice, with his name changed to obscene words.

Grindr told Fairfax media that it would soon be issuing a compulsory security update. Grindr claims to have 3 million users globally.

Grindr Hacked! 100,000 users exposed down under!

Grindr, the the wildly popular mobile app "has been compromised by a Sydney hacker, potentially exposing intimate personal chats, explicit photos and private information of users,"  the Sydney Morning Herald reports.  

With recent statements claiming 3 million users globally, the company has been "pushed into a security crisis that has left its users seriously vulnerable considering the vast amounts fo private information traded thorugh the app -- in many cases naked pictures."

The paper was tipped to the story last week, but founder Joel Simkhai denied knowing anything about it in a phone interview with the  paper last Friday, adding that the service had never had a "major breach." But by Tuesday he was forced to admit the site had been compromised as by then the hacker posted user photos, passwords and other information on a site, and it was becoming clear others had discovered the exploit as well.

The hacker site has since come down. Simkhai says protecting user privacy is their highest priority and promised a secure update to the app in days.

Love online: 100,000 Grindr users exposed in hack attack [sydney morning herald]

Watch: Courteney Cox Thought David Arquette was Gay After Discovering Grindr in Her iTunes

Courteney Cox told Jimmy Kimmel that she thought that David Arquette was gay because she discovered Grindr had been downloaded in iTunes, and after researching it, conducted a short investigation. 

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...