What we chose to focus on was getting to market first and continually refining our product with the goal of helping people meet.” It’s easy to get distracted and build in lots of bells and whistles that aren’t necessary. “Grindr has always been about connecting people online and then meeting in-person. The app has become almost as mainstream as Facebook or Twitter, and is frequently referenced in popular culture.īut what is it about Grindr that has helped it remain a big fish when the pond keeps growing? For Zumwalt, it’s all about keeping things simple: But even despite the buzz around dating apps, Grindr is still going strong. Plus, there’s counterparts like Bumble and Tinder aimed at the straight community. Competitors like Scruff, Jack’d and Hornet have arrived on the scene now. Staying fresh:ĭespite still not having reached its tenth anniversary, the Grindr app is positively ancient in terms of software.
Grindr gay dating app how to#
Still, the message from the top is clear: the Grindr app is just the tool for connection, it’s up to users to decide how to use that. In some elements of the community this has led to Grindr being dubbed a ‘hook-up app’. Whether its friendship, romance, sex, or conversations, Grindr doesn’t explicitly attempt to classify the way its users utilise the app.
Perhaps that’s why Grindr describes itself as a “leading mobile social network.” However, by helping users find a lasting connection, dating apps render themselves irrelevant. The aim of a dating app is to help people find a lasting connection.
The trouble with dating apps is that being successful and growing a userbase are paradoxical impulses. Perhaps part of Grindr’s success can also be put down to its positioning the marketplace. It only makes sense now that we have reached the information age that gay people are using technology to find one another.” Dealing with the dating app paradox: For decades that was secret societies and bars. “Also, due to the nature of the gay community not always being accepted, we have always had to come up with ways to meet each other. What we quickly realised is that we didn’t need to spend on marketing, because we had tapped into a passionate user base that was driving organic conversation. “The queer community is one of the most well-networked communities in the world and when something good comes up, you can bet people will spread the word. It’s different from heterosexuals who have the benefit and privilege of being the established mainstream paradigm. We think that historical need helped in the design of the initial app. “Gay people have always had a need to find each other in any situation. In short, there’s a reason why it was gay men who popularised dating apps, rather than their straight counterparts: The inherent ‘gayness’ of Grindr was key to its success.
While some analysts have seen that as a fluke or a matter of chance, Zumwalt believes that there’s something intrinsic to the gay experience that helped Grindr spread like wildfire.
It’s noteworthy that the app, which popularised dating apps and geolocation technology, originated in the gay community. Connection in a well connected community: This prompted downloads in the UK to surge by 40,000 in one week. The writer and actor appeared on an episode of Top Gear in June 2009 and briefly discussed the app. The app first gained some attention through the LGBT blogosphere, but many credit Stephen Fry with making the app mainstream. That helped it succeed without any flashy marketing campaign.