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Gay Hookup App Grindr Targeting Straight Women Next

by Terrence O'Brien on February 8, 2011 at 09:30 AM

Grindr
The popular gay hookup app Grindr is getting ready to go straight. The stripped-down social network uses geolocation to connect gay men near each other, who might be interested in meeting. The company's founder, Joel Simkhai, told the Guardian that he had received "tens of thousands" of requests from women to create a heterosexual, female-friendly version of the service. The codenamed Project X is the result, and it's expect to launch in the next few weeks. Project X differs from Grindr in a couple of key ways. For one, Simkhai says, women are less concerned about proximity. Where as simply being near a person is enough reason for a man (be they gay or straight) to want to meet someone, women apparently need more to entice them. Grindr keeps profiles simple, with only photos and basic stats like age, height and weight. The new app geared towards straight women will offer much more information, making it more like other social networks.

With over 1.5 million members, Grindr has proven quite popular with the gay community, particularly in London. Simkhai is hoping to recreate that success with straight women and men, but it remains to be seen if the "tens of thousands" of requests will translate into dating app success.

Tags: apps, dating, grindr, grindr project x, GrindrProjectX, project x, ProjectX, social networking, SocialNetworking, top

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