The Best of Techromance in 2011

2011 has been a hell of year for Techromance! From American Psycho-esque emails circulating on the web, to depressing divorces where twitter handles are part of the collateral damage--here is a round up of the hottest Techromance moments of the year.

1. BEST HASTAG: #ThingslongerthanKimsmarriage
You can't talk about the past year without talking about Kim's FairyFAIL wedding. Within hours of the announcement Twitter's trending hashtag #Thingslongerthankimsmarriage allowed all of us to join in on the cyber-trashing.  Here is a gallery of some of the funniest ones from the Gloss

2. DOUCHIEST EMAIL: Banker goes Ballistic for a Second Date
At a time when the entire world had reached a boiling point with privilege and entitlement, an investment banker sent a pompous email to a girl after being rejected for a second date. His self-important, bullying tone captures everything wrong with the 1% and becomes living proof that women still dump men with money in NYC. Win!

3. MOST PUNABLE MOMENT: Weinergate
Last June Anthony Weiner was not the first politician to be caught in a sex(ting) scandal, but he was the first politician with the name Weiner to be caught in a sex(ting) scandal. The results: internet hilarity + a moment for politicians to rethink their twitter literacy.

4. MOST INSPIRING MOMENT: Gay Marriage Passes in NY, Joy + Wedding Photos Follow
July 24th, 2011 was the first day that same sex couple could get married in NY and waves of happiness reverberated on the web. My favorite moments were happy Facebook statuses from friends sharing that their decade long relationships were now legally recognized, along with beautiful photos of couples making the traditional wedding ceremony their own. Here is a full gallery of nuptials curated by the Huffington Post and check out these two foxes below!

John and Lou in Beirut, 1952, and in 2006. (Photo: Courtesy of Lou Halsey and John Morgan) via NYMag

John and Lou in Beirut, 1952, and in 2006.

(Photo: Courtesy of Lou Halsey and John Morgan) via NYMag

            

5. HOTTEST NEWCOMER: Google+
Though it's a social network, not a dating site, every time a girl asks me where she can go to meet guys outside of the usual dating sites, I exclaim Google+. With a gender split of 70% male to 30% female, Google+ is where the boys are on the web. Ps: That's Pete Cashmore, CEO and founder of Mashable for anyone who is wondering.

6. MOST PUBLICLY (DEPRESSING) DISPLAY OF AFFECTION: @mrskutcher

Was anyone surprised when Demi and her man-cub Ashton Kutcher split this year? Hell no. But what we weren't prepared for was how she held on to the relationship via Twitter. Just 3 weeks ago she shared a tweet so tender and honest, I almost stopped wanting to call her out for those ridiculously air brushed Ann Taylor ads.

As for what's come in the new year? I vote people under 35 will spend less time on Facebook and we will see a Law and Order episode based on a crime committed via Foursquare. No one ever said I was an optimist! What do you all predict?

Thanks for reading and for a fun year! May your holiday be filled with lots of love and new gadgets!

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)?

OK Cupid: Stats in the City

OKCupid, you complete me. The way you crunch data is even hotter than that guy on Numb3rs that used to be on Northern Exposure.

This week OKTrends, a blog by OKCupid, revealed stats on straight sex vs gay sex with some interesting tidbits like gay and straight singles are equally slutty and apparently equally dishonest, since the median # of sexual partners for both was 6.

But even more interesting were wordle-esque maps that show phrases that over-index in profiles by gender and sexual orientation. Things that didn't surprise me: gay men have the best cultural taste and straight men talk more about the show Breaking Bad than they do about having a wife. Things that did surprise me: straight women thinking that listing strong relationships with their moms and best girlfriends would increase their chances of meeting a guy online. Judge for yourself!

Gay Men

Gay Women


Straight Men


Straight Women