OUTeverywhere

Formation 1995 (1995)
Region served
UK
Membership
200,000 (2006)[1]
Affiliations Gay Essex Dining, Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus, Age Concern and The House of Homosexual Culture[2]
Website www.outeverywhere.com
Standard landing page for the OUT everywhere website.

OUTeverywhere (also known simply as OUT and formerly OUTintheUK[3]) is a website providing an online lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, chiefly in the UK, although it has members worldwide. The site provides member profiles with picture galleries, private messages, discussion boards (the use of which is restricted to paying customers) and online chat. The community also organises offline events, such as coffee or cocktail outings, sporting events and day trips.

History

The website was created in 1995 after which the membership then increased due to word of mouth in conjunction with a small amount of advertising and PR.[4]

Initially the site was for gay men only. In 2003 OUTforWomen was launched. At first the two sites were run separately. Eventually the sites started to integrate. Initially integration was limited, but eventually a decision was made to allow full integration between the two sites.

In May 2005 the site was relaunched under the OUTeverywhere name. The relaunch involved a major redesign of the website, as well as full integration between male and female members. The relaunch also indicated a change of ethos moving the website from an online community to a real life organisation operating both online and offline. Part of this change in ethos was to be achieved by calling the site "Up and Doing". However, the relaunch eventually proceeded with the name "OUTeverywhere" after complaints from long-standing members though the company trades under the name "Up and Doing Ltd".[5]

The website steers away from an emphasis on sex by not allowing nude profile photos and stopping members openly soliciting for sex.[6] Offline group events are a feature of the community.[7] Previous examples include murder mystery weekends, cheese rolling gatherings, camping trips and bowling.[8][9]

Publicity

OUTeverywhere (then called OutInTheUK) achieved publicity[10][11][12] when two of its members decided to organise an event to throw sausages at magician David Blaine, whilst he was suspended without food in a perspex box by Tower Bridge.[13][14][15]

In 2006, OUT produced a "newsletter" called "ThisIsGay" using postings from its forums to represent the idea that it covered a whole spectrum of interests. However, after objections from members that it had homophobic undertones and a mention of the newsletter in The Daily Star [16] the last newsletter was "pulled" from publication. That year the site contacted 30,000 members who had not taken part in any of their planned social events as part of a programme to address concerns over cyberstalkers.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Jamie Doward (2006-12-31). "Gay site cuts members over cyber-stalker fears | Technology | The Observer". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  2. ↑ "The strategic vision and strategy for achieving our goals". OUTeverywhere. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  3. ↑ Time Out London (12 ed.). Penguin. 2004. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-14-101049-6.
  4. ↑ "The team leading the way in gay social networking". OUTeverywhere. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
  5. ↑ "Terms of Membership". OUTeverywhere. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
  6. ↑ "Terms of Membership". OUTeverywhere. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  7. ↑ Balaji Ravichandran (2010-09-30). "We don't need gay stereotypes". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  8. ↑ "Gay bowling". Timeout.com. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  9. ↑ "Gay events in and around the UK". Outeverywhere.com. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  10. ↑ "Gays Launch Sausage Blitz; Blaine Spotting: Day 13". The Sun. London. 18 September 2003. Archived from the original on 31 October 2005. Hundreds of gays are to attack Blaine's box with raw sausages in a bizarre internet stunt. An email sent to thousands of users by gay site outintheuk.com calls on them to meet at a bar in Soho on Saturday, before descending on Tower Bridge. The message reads: "Everyone bring five sausages and a throwing device. The person who gets the closest to hitting David Blaine with a sausage wins." They are being urged to bring chipolatas -because they are more aerodynamic.
  11. ↑ "September 18". Archived from the original on 16 August 2011.
  12. ↑ "Blaine may have to pay police cost". BBC News. 2003-09-25.
  13. ↑ "Throwing Sausages At David Blaine : Day 2". disappointment.com. 9 September 2003. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  14. ↑ "Throwing Sausages at David Blaine - Day 4". disappointment.com. 11 September 2003. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  15. ↑ "Eggs And Lemons, But No Chipolatas; Blainewatch". Independent on Sunday. 21 September 2003. The American in the Perspex box has now spent 14 days dangling beside the Thames. Only another 30 days before he gets to eat ... The gay website OUTintheUK.com encourages people to throw sausages at Blaine. The person who gets closest to hitting the box wins, and extra marks will be awarded if it's a chipolata. The protest is later called off on advice from police.
  16. ↑ "Gays fuss over Russ", The Daily Star, 1 September 2006
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