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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 3, 2022

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It's a lot, lot simpler than you're imagining. You ask "Peter Thiel launched a dating site, all men signed up, where are the women?" and then presume "it is because young women hate conservative men".

No, it's because young women have no idea that Peter Thiel launched a dating site, they don't know who he is, and they don't see why they should care. There are a heap of dating sites out there, what makes this one stand out?

I only know about this site because I hang around this place and Scott's place. Hint: both places are majority male. Where are all the women? Well, we've had some discussion about that.

Did Thiel or whoever is running the site for him go out and advertise to women? Make their new site known? Go onto women's social media, take out print campaigns in fashion magazines, etc?

I'm not surprised it's all guys signed up, because it's all guys who heard about it, because it's mostly all guys who know who Thiel is, and mostly all guys who congregate in the spaces where "Hey, Thiel is setting up a dating site" is going to be news that gets disseminated.

EDIT: You didn't even tell me the name of the place, I had to go look it up for myself LIKE A PEASANT 😂

So - it's called "The Right Stuff" and straight away, that is a name that will appeal to men but not women. The first thing I think of when I read that name was the movie and book.

Second, it's invite-only? That makes it a lot harder to sign up to it, surely?

It was founded/co-founded by a woman, so I don't know why it's having such trouble. But maybe if it's being promoted in a bubble, that also is part of it - not everyone who is conservative/on the right is in a particular right-wing bubble like this one seems to be.

I'd advise change the name, go out beyond the bubble, and soften the "this is for right-wing conservatives!" messaging (as even to me, it makes it sound like they want you to be one of those pinafore and head-scarf wearing small splinter Protestant denomination types), and go more on "ready to move on to something that might be The One?/match up with people who share your interests in common" and soft messaging - yes, this is where saying you didn't vote for Hillary won't get you ostracised. Cut way back on the politics, people are presumably signing up to this app to find someone to have fun times with, not to refight 2016 election all over again.

I'm gritting my teeth as I say this, but make it fluffier. Not like this since this is terrible, as it's way too negative and the fashion choices on the women are awful. Nice-looking guys smiling as they walk their dogs type of thing. Wholesome, but not too wholesome, a hint of "hey, want to have fun?" rather than "are you ready to commit to life-long marriage and four kids after the first date?" imagery. Show one of your girls finding a date on this app and having a great time!

EDIT EDIT: Looked up the website and yeah, this is not going to attract women. Gosh sakes, people, is it against your religion/political alignment to hire some professional consultants about graphic design? This is the second worst use of billionaire money I've seen since Bezos got taken for a ride with "The Rings of Power" - $60 million per episode? Yeah right, and 80% of that went on nepotistic hiring of egregious executive producers, hookers and blow.

Criticism: too much blue. Some blue is good, and they are trying to go for a clean look, but it's too blue and too flat. Use lighter shades of blue, and not so much white space. Some elements are good - the bits about "less talking, more dating" and "find the right match" - but some aren't (the girl in the cowboy hat looks trashy, not conservative, sorry I don't make the rules). "Getting back to normal" is clunky, junk the directness and go more vague - "we don't ask for your pronouns", that kind of thing.

Calligraphy - the design with the font is all over the place. Having the "Right" element in what looks like cursive may be an attempt at branding and your unique selling point (this is for the "right" wing to find the "right" people), but the font itself is not that pleasing and it makes the word stand out in the wrong way - the eye stumbles over it. Pick a different font, put all your name - The Right Stuff - into it, and then you can use "Right" as the branding element on the rest of the site.

Name - yeah, this is the part that does not work for me. Too much like a masculine interest (the movie about the test pilots) and too political. Ease back on that emphasis, it sounds too much like "this is for hardline right-wingers only, not mushy centrists". Honey, not vinegar: you're trying to entice in the 'shy Tories', as it were.

I'd suggest changing the name to something like "Inspire" and use cloud/wind related imagery (in blues and white) to go with the meaning both of "breathing" and "giving someone the urge to be creative". Much less "this is a political site for political people" (which is the major turn-off) and more "this is for fun, but also finding someone who is more than just a fling" and "find someone who resonates with your beliefs and interests". Above all, get some marketing and design people in to fancy it up and sell it to a wider, female, audience. The girl in the hat and boots may look cute and fun to guys, but to women she looks "Oh - one of those floozies, huh? What kind of girl do you think I am?"

I suspect they subscribe to Conquest's Second law that "Any organization not explicitly and constitutionally right-wing will sooner or later become left-wing" so they feel they need the over the top conservativism to avoid just becoming another liberal dating site.