If you’ve been experiencing a drought recently ….. of both rain and men …… then help is on its way.  The NE states in the US are about to experience a Nor’easter storm that threatens to flood the whole area…. The Caribbean is dealing with Hurricane Melissa: Japan has Typhoon Dujaun, and there is Hurricane Polo and Tropical Storm Odalys in the Eastern Pacific etc etc .

When it comes to men, well, we are expecting a brand new gay dating app to appear on Apple very soon.  If truth be told, MEETMARKET is probably more accurately described as a hookup site, as it set its sights on all the men who rely on Grindr for their ‘social arrangements’ right now.  Whether this is well founded or not, Grindr is more often than not disparaged, despite the fact that it boasts 15 million monthly active users, and it is the target that everyone wants to beat to claim the Top Dog position. 

In June this year, actor and model Derek Chadwick said he had the answer when he launched GOOSE.  He claimed Goose is the gay app, not just for dating, and that you can meet guys through the life you already have: places, friends, interests, stories, and what’s happening nearby.  A lofty ambition that, according to Wired, it failed to meet. The Goose dating app is generally considered a poor experience, plagued by technical issues, controversies over fake profiles, and the departure of its founder shortly after launch.

In the gay city of Palm Springs, where 33% of the population are 65 years and older, two gay friends are planning to launch HANK SOCIAL, a platform for men into kink and fetish that’s “as discreet as you want it.”

These new, small-time contenders focus on privacy and keeping the tech in the hands of the communities they serve, not large corporate entities. They may not be perfect, but they do feel like heartening grassroots campaigns by tech-savvy queer folks to take control of online gathering places, which have become, for people all over the world, their only access point to community and queer culture.

Considering all the legal action that Grindr has had to fight (and lose) for sharing data with advertisers without users’ express consent …… including users’ HIV statuses with third parties…. we need more responsibly controlled sites,  and to avoid all those that do not respect our privacy. It has actually been reported that police from Egypt to Russia have created fake profiles on Grindr to entrap and arrest queer men

Stay safe …. and dry .. out there