• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Men
  • Space
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Monkeypox
  • Film/TV

It’s Time To Rethink Online Gay Social Networks

Charles Pulliam-Moore December 11, 2014

  Screenshot 2014-12-11 14.20.17

The Interplay is a special biweekly series exploring the intersections of sex, pop culture, and current events.

BY CHARLES PULLIAM-MOORE

The writing is on the wall: we’ve (unsurprisingly) hit peak mobile application. In the early days of powerful mobile computing the idea of there being “an app for that” was radical. Creating virtual communities unbound by space, time, and economic circumstance was game changing for gay men across the world.

As the years have gone on, however, gay social networks that live on servers have flooded the market with variations of the same guy-on-a-grid experience. If Grindr, for example, is for everyone, then Scruff is for everyone with a little bit more body hair. Growlr’s the same, but for bears, and Daddyhunt’s focused primary on connecting strapping men of a certain age. Beneath slightly different coats of paint all of these applications are derivative of one another. It’s time that we demand more of them.

Last week Scruff’s Chief Product Officer Jason Marchant published an op-ed in the Huffington Post describing the steps Scruff has taken to work against the cultural stigma attached to being HIV-positive. Scruff, like an increasing number of mobile networking apps, is emphasizing the use of categorical filters to help its users find the kinds of guys they’re looking for without risk of being ostracized.    

“For "Poz" guys uncomfortable disclosing status in their profile, "HIV Status" presents a fraught choice: to answer "Negative" would be dishonest, but any other answer — including no answer — is often interpreted by other users as a tacit disclosure. It's also a problem for HIV negative guys searching for the same. Seeing "Negative" presented next to other profile "stats" conveys a false sense of permanence.

BluedRecently applications like Scruff have positioned themselves as valuable assets in efforts to curtail the spread of various STIs. As a part of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to eradicate new HIV infections in the state by 2020, New York City began using Grindr and Scruff to inform gay men about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Blued, a popular Chinese gay networking app, actively encourages its users to seek out HIV tests at its parent company’s office free of charge.  

All of these platforms want to be thought of as more than hookup apps, and gradually their platforms are trying to address the gay community’s needs other than sex. Other than public health outreach and offering free advertising space, however, the “social” experience of these networks seems to have plateaued. It doesn’t have to be that way, though.

CONTINUED, AFTER THE JUMP…

The problem with nearly every gay social app is that they’re riffing on the same set of core features. Being able to pinpoint and communicate with a guy while you yourself were mobile was a marked evolution from phone personal ads, party lines, and online chat rooms. Grindr expanded on the idea of cruising by turning all public spaces into potential cruising spots that anyone with a phone could quietly opt into. Gay social networks looking to differentiate themselves from the competition need that same kind of re-thinking of old norms.

Blaming apps for the decline of gay bars here the U.S. is an easy criticism that ignores some of the major failings of traditional watering holes. Many guys long for the halcyon days when local gay bars were the epicenter of gay social activity. That nostalgia belies the fact that physical gay bars separated different types of gay men from one another much in the same way that mobile apps do. Theme nights, cover charges, and physical location stratify physical bars based on race, class, body type and age.

In trying to create the next big thing in digitally based gay networking, applications could focus on turning the drawbacks to physical gay bars on their heads. If the idea is truly to build communities, why not allow actual groups of people (more than two) to interact?

Rather than merely recreating a bar setting in the cloud, why not use an application to organize group gathering in a neighborhood? Nextdoor is a social media startup built around the idea of getting to know your neighbors. They’re the people living right next door to you, so why not have a casual familiarity with them?

In its pursuit of creating a stronger, more connected gay community the next Grindr or Scruff could focus on maintaining disappearing gayborhoods. Gay networking apps may not want to be pigeonholed as being just for hookups, but until they venture beyond their current set of features we’ll just have to keep looking for something else.

Topics: Uncategorized More Posts About: Applications, Grindr, Grindr, Scruff, Social Networks, The Interplay

Related Posts
  • Social network Grindr going public at $2.1bn value
  • TRUTH SPAC to Invest in Trump’s Social Media Site TRUTH Plays GameStop; Shares Up 300%+; Market Cap $1.5 Billion; Site Live then Hacked Yesterday
  • ‘It’s just a preference’: How Some Gay Men Justify Sorting, Selecting on Grindr by Race. New Research
  • Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

    Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

    Published by AFP The two-time Oscar winner was artistic director of the Old Vic London (AFP) – Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey is facing sexual assault charges in the UK, police and prosecutors said on Thursday, after …Read More »
  • Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

    Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60. The keyboardist and founding member – who was born in Nottingham and moved to Basildon in the 70s – of the 80s band …Read More »
  • TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

    TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

      Published by The Kansas City Star   The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board dismissed a request from Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, asking them to update their ratings system so parents could shield …Read More »
  • Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Apple has unveiled new Pride bands and a watch face for the Apple Watch to mark Pride Month. The tech giant is releasing a Pride Edition Sport Loop and the Pride …Read More »
Previous Post: « Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1671
Next Post: Anti-Gay and ‘Ex-Gay’ Activists Challenge New Jersey’s Ban On Conversion Therapy For Minors – VIDEO »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Don McLean, Larry Gatlin Pull Out Of NRA Convention Concert In Texas

    Don McLean, Larry Gatlin Pull Out Of NRA Convention Concert In Texas

  • Trump must testify in New York probe, appeals court rules

    Trump must testify in New York probe, appeals court rules

  • Guns are now the leading cause of death for American children

    Guns are now the leading cause of death for American children

  • The staggering toll of gun violence in the United States

    The staggering toll of gun violence in the United States

Break

  • Justin Timberlake has sold his song catalogue in a deal reportedly worth 100 million dollars

    Justin Timberlake has sold his song catalogue in a deal reportedly worth 100 million dollars

  • Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

    Dyson set to preview new robots to help with tasks at home

  • Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

    Elvis fever set to shake Cannes

  • Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

    Battle Of The Billionaires! Elon Musk SLAMS Bill Gates After Article Claims Microsoft Mogul Is Funding Musk’s Critics

RSS Partner Links

  • Ellen DeGeneres does the final episode of her daytime talk show after 19 years on the air
  • Morning Wood
  • Katie Holmes Makes Red Carpet Debut with New Boyfriend Bobby Wooten III, One Month After Relationship Was Revealed
  • “Laverne Cox got her own Barbie and she is dressed fabulously” links
  • The Sussexes are confirmed for the June 3rd service at St. Paul’s Cathedral
  • Joe Alwyn & Margaret Qualley Strike a Pose at 'The Stars At Noon' Photo Call in Cannes
  • One Tree Hill's James Lafferty Has Married 'The Royals' Actress Alexandra Park!
  • Lala Kent Claims Ex Randall Emmett Had Her 'Watched' & Threatened to Call the Cops on Her
  • Richard Harrison: Dick Fleshback

Most Recent

  • ‘The Reckoning Is Going To Happen’: Kevin Spacey’s Brother Slams Actor Hours After Sexual Assault Charges

    ‘The Reckoning Is Going To Happen’: Kevin Spacey’s Brother Slams Actor Hours After Sexual Assault Charges

  • Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

    Actor Kevin Spacey facing sexual assault charges in UK

  • Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

    Depeche Mode’s Andy Fletcher has died aged 60

  • TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

    TV board dismisses Senator’s request to allow parents to shield kids from LGBTQ characters; Cites 95% Parent Satisfaction With Ratings

  • Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

    Apple unveils new Pride Apple Watch bands and watch face

  • Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

    Lithuanian parliament agrees to consider same-sex partnership bill

  • German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

    German minister warns against homophobia amid monkeypox outbreak

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in