Politicians on Grindr! And Another Taboo Crumbles

Social media just lends itself to politics.
Facebook has become a place for some elected officials to be more
transparent,
while Twitter allows others to gauge their popularity and (more
importantly) entertain the rest of with their endless
gaffes,
typos, and
ill-conceived thoughts. Now, if lawmakers really want to stay
on top of the game, they may want to register for the gay dating
app Grindr.

That’s what two Dutch politicians, Jan-Bert Vroege and Pieter
Rietman, are doing in preparation of local elections on March
19.

Reuters
reported last week:

“We are very fond of new technology and new media,” Jan-Bert
Vroege, an openly gay candidate for the D66 party, told Reuters on
Wednesday.

“We are also into making Amsterdam a lively gay destination –
and using Grindr we can get that message to all the gay people of
Amsterdam.”

Vroege’s Grindr profile asks “Have I got a date with you on
March 19?” but he stresses he is only offering chats, not
dates.

[…]

“We’ve been doing this for two days, and in the first night I
got 35 connections … People thought this was a great way to bring
attention to the elections and D66,” said Vroege.

The app may end up being a great tool to bring politicians
closer and more responsive to constituents. Vroege
told Vice magazine, “It’s not just about
getting your message out there; it’s more about listening to what
people want to say to you.”

Because Grindr relies on GPS technology to pinpoint nearby
singles (or, in this case, voters), this “method of connecting
users might make it perfect for a local election,” suggests
Tim Sampson of The Daily Dot.

Whether Grindr catches on has yet to be seen. Someone could
easily develop a localized, single-demographic app specifically for
political. But in the meantime, Vroege’s and Reitman’s use of
Grindr helps wear away at the taboo of politicians’ personal lives,
particularly those using gay dating sites–which has cost
at least one his career in the past.  

Read Reason‘s Scott Shackford on how technology has
helped
mainstream the LGBT community in the U.S.