Grindr is awesome. So awesome it won a Crunchie this year for best location app, and so awesome that I often wish Blendr (Grindr’s gender-open counterpart) wasn’t just full of dudes. But the app that’s basically a gay man’s portal to happy times now boasts over 3 million users, which means that we’ve got an army on our hands ladies and gentlemen.
This is huge for the LGBT community as Grindr has announced that it will use its location-based app to fuel a social movement called “Grindr for Equality”. This will allow Grindr to notify and mobilize the LGBT community in specific geographic areas en masse.
Grindr first took a step in this direction during the whole “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal debacle, which was frustrating for us gays back home, so I can’t imagine how it must have felt to closeted troops. Grindr for Equality sent out a national broadcast message during that time, welcoming closeted service members to Grindr and seeing more than 5,000 click-throughs to the linked Servicemembers’ Legal Defense Network’s contribution page.
Grindr for Equality was also in action during the Proposition 8 overturning and the passage of marriage equality in New York. But the system isn’t just for us here in the States. In fact, things are much worse for the gay community in other parts of the world, and Grindr for Equality has stepped in there too. But some is never enough, and it’s at this time that Grindr looks to you.
Grindr for Equality can launch initiatives on its own, sure, but you can bring issues that aren’t necessarily on a nationally public scale to light. Grindr is looking for on-the-ground activists all over the world that can send updates on gay rights issues in their area.
Whether you want to be a part of the Grindr army or simply have a tip about what’s going on in your area, here’s the information you need:
Send tips in via email to: equality (AT) grindr (DOT) com.
Or you can check out the website here.
Grindr isn’t “all about” gay activism, but that doesn’t mean the company can’t leverage its influence and user base for a greater good. And we’re glad to see it.
Now all Grindr needs to do is launch an all-girls version of the app.