UK’s largest social networking site catering to gay and lesbian users, Gaydar, is adapting Web 2.0 technology in an attempt to combat the onslaught of new, slicker sites. They have just launched a mobile version of the extremely popular site and are also beta testing a blog service for registered members.
Video chat, mobile dating, social networking, blogging and video sharing have all been rapidly absorbed by gay Internet users. Sites like Bent.com, DList, Made In Brazil and ManD8 have adopted new Internet technologies and taken the competition to a different level. While Gaydar remains extremely popular, its basic interface and dated chat / messaging system provide minimal interactivity.
The largely tech-savvy gay Internet population has started looking at better quality sites that offer them more ways to interact with other users. Gaydar have recognised the competitive threat and are slowly reacting.
Gaydar Mobile allows users to search for other members by location as well as matching profile details, message other users and vote on user profiles in their “SexFactor” section. While these are early days, the immense popularity of the parent site might be just enough to drive a lot of traffic to the mobile site.
Launching a mobile site and a blog service might help Gaydar keep off some of the competition, but in the long run they will definitely improve the site functionality if they intend to stem user attrition to the newer, cooler sites, or even long-time competitors Gay.com. QSoft, the parent company seem to have recognised this already and are working on Gaydar Nation – a single portal that brings together all their different services, brands and features. The new site is currently in beta.
