How gay social work Fabulis evolved to global emerce se Fab | WIRED UK

Contents:

• FAB EMERG FROM GAY SOCIAL NETWORK TO ONLE RETAIL PHENOM
• WHAT IS THE GAY SOCIAL NETWORK?
• SOCIAL NETWORK FOR GAY MEN FABULIS REBRANDS TO , RAIS $1.75 MILLN
• NEW SOCIAL NETWORK FOR GAY MEN IS 'FAB' - AS
• HOW A GAY SOCIAL NETWORK TURNED ITSELF INTO A BILLN DOLLAR E-COMMERCE SE, THEN FELL APART
• INTRODUC BIG GAY DEAL OF THE DAY
• BENEFS GAY CHARI 'FAB FEBARY' MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
• FROM GAY TO PAY: HOW BEME THE HOTTT ONLE RETAILER
• HOW GAY SOCIAL WORK FABULIS EVOLVED TO GLOBAL EMERCE SE FAB
• THROWS THE BIG GAY TOWEL AND BETS ON E-MERCE
• FROM GAY TO PAY: HOW BEME THE HOTTT ONLE RETAILER
• SOCIAL NETWORK FOR GAY MEN FABULIS REBRANDS TO , RAIS $1.75 MILLN
• FABULO FUNDG WEDNDAY: FROM GAY SOCIAL WORK TO BILLN-DOLLAR SIGN STORE
• WHAT IS THE GAY SOCIAL NETWORK?

FAB EMERG FROM GAY SOCIAL NETWORK TO ONLE RETAIL PHENOM

Fabulis, the gay men's social work he started one year earlier wh more than $2 ln of their money, was a flop.

But the good news was that Fabulis' "Gay Daily Deal of the Day" had generated signifint buzz, largely thanks to Goldberg's founr, Bradford Shellhammer.

Goldberg and Shellhammer cid to close down Fabulis and build a shoppg se lled targetg the whole universe of ctomers, gay or not. All the top LGBTQ+ social works on the web (not to be nfed wh the bt gay blogs, which have ls teractn), cludg niche social muni (like bears, twks, and cubs) as well as LGBTQ+ works anized by language, natnaly, or special tert.

WHAT IS THE GAY SOCIAL NETWORK?

This list of LGBTQ+ onle muni and social works clus domas relatg specifilly to the gay, lbian, bisexual, and transgenr muni. While Facebook is currently the world's largt and most popular social workg platform (havg supplanted prev champns such as MySpace and Friendster), there are plenty of smaller groups that ter to the gay, lbian, bisexual, and transgenr muni.

What are the bt onle gay works? If you're lookg for more LGBTQ+ ntent, make sure to check out the most gay iendly ci Ameri and the list of famo transgenr mkhmarketg / via Flickr1234Se wh imag of betiful men. The GSN is an anizatn servg the gay and lbian muny our area.

SOCIAL NETWORK FOR GAY MEN FABULIS REBRANDS TO , RAIS $1.75 MILLN

We enurage gays and lbians new to Southwt Florida to utilize our anizatn as a means of makg new ntacts and meetg new iends. Our monthly newsletter will keep you up-to-date wh GSN activi as well as other ems of tert to the gay muny. Fabulis, the social work for gay men, is now, a far more memorable (doma) name.

NEW SOCIAL NETWORK FOR GAY MEN IS 'FAB' - AS

The young pany behd the se, which is signed to help gay men disver people, plac and activi all over the globe, has also raised $1. Now over 110, 000 members strong, the pany has jt lnched a global directory of “gay-iendly plac” wh acpanyg rankgs, reviews, tips and photo uploads, plementg the se’s teractive profil and database of gay-relevant events.

15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Combe Facebook, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Eventful and Foursquare, tailor to the gay muny, and what do you get?, a new social work signed to help gay men disver people, plac and activi wherever they live or travel anywhere on the globe. Jt troduced the largt worldwi directory of gay-iendly plac wh acpanyg rankgs, reviews, tips and photo uploads, plementg the se's teractive profil and extensive database of gay-relevant events. "Before, people thought of gay social works as datg s.

HOW A GAY SOCIAL NETWORK TURNED ITSELF INTO A BILLN DOLLAR E-COMMERCE SE, THEN FELL APART

"We help gay men meet new iends anywhere the world, fd plac to go and thgs to do that su gay tast, share their experienc through reviews and rankgs, and general expand their social circle a way that fs the gay social graph. Passport to the Gay World.

Goldberg, a serial entreprenr who prevly found the social news se Socialmedian that was sold to XING AG 2009 as well as the employment webse Jobster, was spired to create Fab after enunterg difficulty fdg gay-centric onle remendatns while workg Europe. He set out to fill the void wh a new platform that would serve as a central clearghoe of gay-oriented activi and statns as well as providg a safe fom for gay nversatn removed om Facebook munitns wh fay and -workers. The se currently handl more than 15, 000 er-answers to qutns every day, sentially hostg dozens of eeform nversatns that help "Fabbs" get to know each other as well as exchange advice on navigatg the gay environment.

Users n check directly on Fab or import their Facebook check-s, search for gay-oriented events by cy and date, filter those search by Fab followers if sired, and view lists of top-ranked Fab people, ci and tags (e. Wh the new Fab Plac feature, members n also browse a database of more than 50, 000 gay-rated lotns tegori rangg om travel, food, nightlife and bed and breakfasts to arts, shoppg, buildgs and outdoors – plete wh ments that meet gay needs a way that reviews like those on TripAdvisor and Yelp nnot.

INTRODUC BIG GAY DEAL OF THE DAY

Wh Fab, you n fd out what events are gog on Boston, who's gog to be there, arrange to meet, and rearch gay-iendly hotels and rtrants – all one place, " said Bradford Shellhammer, -founr and chief creative officer. "Facebook still helps you munite wh your current iends, but Fab giv you a whole new channel for expandg your horizons and nnectg wh the gay muny wherever you go. – the fun way to disver the gay world – is the five rource for gay men, helpg them fd "fab" plac to go, thgs to do and people to meet.

Fab's webse and mobile applitns provi stant accs to the largt global x to gay-centric plac and events, unique teractive profil that assist makg new iends, and other featur that quickly nnect members to the bt of gay life.

We were ntacted today by the founr of the soon to lnch social work for gay men It lead to take a look around the gay male onle social workg space and wre the followg overview of some of the current market lears. From the proudly profsnal to the happily hedonistic, there may be somethg on this list for everyone – or at least everyone who’s a gay man. As you n see by the followg short profil, the s targetg a mographic wh two tras mon (gay men) are all very different.

BENEFS GAY CHARI 'FAB FEBARY' MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Jt as there’s a wi diversy of gay men the world, there may well be ample room for a variety of gay male social workg s – prumg they are able to build sufficient cril mass for moizatn and fancial viabily. I won’t pretend to speak for gay men and I’m sure there are some s I’m missg, but the appear to be the most talked about gay male social workg s onle.

FROM GAY TO PAY: HOW BEME THE HOTTT ONLE RETAILER

Jake lls self the world’s largt gay profsnal muny. “Fally, gay personals that treat you like a person, ” the se says.

HOW GAY SOCIAL WORK FABULIS EVOLVED TO GLOBAL EMERCE SE FAB

BigJock has a long way to go before n pete wh the heavyweights above, but anythg is possible and there are clearly niche approach unrway throughout the gay male social workg market. Lookg back, the story is pretty pivotg om beg a gay social work, Fab lnched s new ve-only flash sal webse on June 9, 2011. New York-based big gay social work buted s Big Gay Deal of the Day this week, “glammg up” the daily al space wh als for gyms, spas, bars, rtrants, hotels, events and entertament that appeal to gay men.

“We created the Big Gay Deal of the Day after seeg and rejectg the 99th Groupon al for thgs like Domo’s Pizza, lash extensns and straight datg servic. Gay men are lookg for bargas like everyone else, but we weren’t receivg gay-relevant offers even though the gay muny purchas $700 billn worth of goods annually the U. Shellhammer promised to offer als on everythg “om gay to ‘z.

Andrew MacleanIn early 2011, serial entreprenr Jason Goldberg and terr signer Bradford Shellhammer were the owners of a flailg social workg se for the gay muny lled It was a hot ms: The se had tried to be, at var tim, the gay Facebook, the gay Yelp, and the gay Groupon. Jt three months later, relnched as, a flash sal se that sells die signer hoewar, accsori, clothg, and jewelry (and isn't specifilly targeted at a gay dience).

THROWS THE BIG GAY TOWEL AND BETS ON E-MERCE

1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To help unrwre recent efforts to prevent suicis among gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr youth, gay social work is donatg $1 to LGBT support anizatns GLSEN and The Trevor Project for each new member who jos Febary.

Ls than a year old, Fab already has more than 120, 000 members wh over 20, 000 new ers jog the ee work for gay men on a monthly basis.

FROM GAY TO PAY: HOW BEME THE HOTTT ONLE RETAILER

The goal of the "Fab Febary" membership drive is to leverage Fab's rapid growth to assist anizatns that help bat homophobia and s effects on those wh alternative sexual orientatns. "Fab is not only a social nnector to gay-iendly people, plac and activi anywhere the world, but a safe place for members to share their personal stggl and ncerns over gay issu, " said Fab founr and CEO Jason Goldberg.

"The outpourg of grief on the se when so many gay suicis were reported last year spurred to want to ntribute to strengtheng the gay self-image, and that's how 'Fab Febary' was born.

Nearly ne out of 10 gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr teens are harassed at school each year, while lbian, gay and bisexual teens have two to six tim higher rat of reported suici attempts, acrdg to GLSEN's 2009 Natnal School Climate Survey. GLSEN, the Gay, Lbian and Straight Edutn Network, is the leadg natnal tn anizatn foced on ensurg safe schools for all stunts. The webse is a place where young people who are lbian, gay, bi or trans n see how love and happs n be a realy their future; straight alli n vis and support their iends and fay members; and people n share their stori, take the It Gets Better Project pledge, watch vios of love and support, and seek help through The Trevor Project and GLSEN.

SOCIAL NETWORK FOR GAY MEN FABULIS REBRANDS TO , RAIS $1.75 MILLN

didn’t start out as It started out as Fabulis, a gay social work. “The repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ and Glee and Lady Gaga all ma ‘gay’ more mastream, ” says Goldberg, 39.

FABULO FUNDG WEDNDAY: FROM GAY SOCIAL WORK TO BILLN-DOLLAR SIGN STORE

“That ‘-ghettoizatn’ of gay people worked agast . They had add a hugely popular “Gay Deal of the Day” flash sale sectn to Fabulis that was an stant h for both gay and straight nsumers. It was born April 2010 as, a gay social work wh Yelp-like reviews, Foursquare-like check-s and Groupon-like daily als.

After pivotg om beg a gay social work, Fab lnched s new ve-only flash sal webse on June 9, 2011. "Sce evolved om their prev bs, Fabulis, a New York-based social work for gay men created by Shellhammer and CEO Jason Goldberg 2010, Fab has attracted five ln members -- and logs a transactn every 20 sends. The answer is no, if you ask entreprenr Jason Goldberg, who fold up shop on after raisg $3 ln to build an onle muny targeted at gay men and is the procs of reventg the startup as a daily-als se for sign enthiasts.

Do the world need a gay social work? It’s a surprisg cisn, given Goldberg’s aggrsive ph to the gay market. But went through many bs mols sce lnchg last year, om HotOrNot-style votg se to virtual-goods seller to, most recently, a gay daily als se.

WHAT IS THE GAY SOCIAL NETWORK?

That last bs appears to be what stuck, m the gay ponent. In a blog post explag his move, Goldberg argued that progrs gay rights over the past year lsened the need for a “gay Facebook. ” That’s a glib argument that may have persuad vtors, but any stunt of morn gay history and culture would fd patently ridiculo, sce people the gay muny have been talkg about the postgay movement for more than a .