Saturday, November 20, 2010

Find the Apple of Your Iphone with Grindr

Let's set the record straight, when it comes to being the first to adopt new trends, no one can top the gays. During drinks last week, with two of my favorite gay men and bloggers Nando of Nandoism and JP Buchmeyer of Alphabet City Blog, I was turned on (by) and to a dating technology that has been capturing the hards hearts of gay men for the past decade--Grindr. For those of you that don't know about this technology, it goes something like this:


Download the Grindr app to your smart phone and you'll be able to search hotties in a small radius of your said location. You can even ping them and show them your profile to make sure the feeling is mutual before you decide to meet up. If you're feeling less ballsy you can just peruse the selection and choose your next stop based on the hottest population. Then when you run into the apple (of your Iphone) you can mention that you spotted them on Grindr or go with a simple "do you CUM here often?"

So all of this sounds amazing right? It kind of feels like a romanTECH trifecta borrowing on the most awesome parts of Match.com + Foursquare + Chatroulette. Just last April gay women adapted a identical app called Qrushr which has attracted 50,000 downloads since its inception. So why are the straights so far behind in the game? Out magazine argues that even though Grindr created an app for straights this summer the technology could pose a threat to all the single ladies because it puts them in stalker-esque situations. I think the the bigger problem in this model for straights is that while the gay population, always pragmatic, sees the tool as a way to hook up for the night, my guess is that it will amplify the often opposite agendas that exist among straight men and women. On an average night out girls are more likely looking for a number exchange while guys would be happier exchanging DNA. What do you all think? Will straights be the next to adopt the Grindr model and if so should they introduce a new name? Meetr, Nailr, Grind(her)?

8 comments:

  1. Yes - you're right. Straight guys would love this. It's straight girls who put a stop to all of the fun!! Straight girls should learn from gay guys! Let's increase the worldwide population tenfold!

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  2. So what you're saying then Jewels is that the societal divide between gay and straight men extends beyond just leather pants and man-scaping? Gay men have all the fun. HAHA. I have a good friend who is gay (best wingman in the world) so I am pretty familiar with the lengths that they'll go to in their quest for a nightly hook up. There is a large chasm between what is acceptable among the two communities. Gay or straight, men are still just men, and thus by definition animals when it comes to sex. If Grindr ever did gain traction with heterosexuals I have no doubt bar and club owners would start posting faux profiles to entice drunk and horny guys through the door. Can you think of a better way to drum up business? But I seriously doubt there is a legitimate market place for us boring and tame straight people. The only way it could work is if women alone had access to profiles. Because although women may find it intrusive, I am sure most men would be flattered that a random girl showed up to Brother Jimmy's for the chance to down a fish bowl with him.

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  3. I agree with Anonymous #2's post. Even in my single days I would not want some dudes tracking me down at a bar. ha. That would be annoying. It is like this- Good to Moderate looking girls get hounded by stupid dudes 24/7, they don't need an app for that.

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  4. Thanks for the comments!! Love you all.

    Annoymous 1, "straight girls should learn from gay guys" has multiple meanings and I love them all!

    Annoymous 2, You are on to something!!! Grindr are you listening???? Relaunch the app for guys to upload profiles and then give girls the access. Also: I have missed your wit and logic on techromance!

    Carrie, Welcome to the conversation!! xoxox

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  5. True story, a fella I've been chatting with on Grindr said hello to me on the M train this morning.

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  6. Justin you are amazing! Did you respond??!

    Once I was talking to a guy on MySpace years ago and bumped into him in Hoboken before we planned a meeting. He called me by my screen name. I looked like cr*p, I think I was even wearing a trucker hat (it was 2003). Not my proudest techromance moment!!

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  7. This is old news. There are already hetero apps like this. I started using them over a year ago. I've had several quality dates and ended up falling in love with one!

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  8. Did they fall in love back? Are you using Urban Signals?! Seeking your TMI!

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