Dating App Feeld Launches New Magazine
Contributed by: kellyseal on Wednesday, November 27 2024 @ 02:50 pm
Last modified on Wednesday, November 27 2024 @ 02:50 pm
Feeld, a dating app created for people interested in threesomes, has now launched a lifestyle magazine to enhance the brand for its app.
AFM stands for both A *censored* Magazine and A Feeld Magazine, which will publish an array of stories about peoples’ sexual experiences in order to build community, according to The Atlantic. It features commissioned articles by controversial and notable writers like Daphne Merkin (author of the 1996 New Yorker essay on spanking which went viral), and Tony Tulathimutte (author of this fall’s critically acclaimed incel novel).
“We’ve always been uniquely resonant with creatives in our community,” Feeld CEO and cofounder Ana Kirova said to Elle Magazine[*1] . She goes on to explain that she hopes the publication will help get Feeld users creative about “specifying the sex or connection they are seeking.” She also notes that half the magazine’s content was produced by Feeld users.
In addition to personal essays, AFM also includes film criticism, poetry, and an array of thought pieces pondering the difference between commitment and loyalty and “a how-to guide for making your own latex,” according to Elle.
“We really wanted to give room to allow people to say what others won’t or cannot or avoid,” Kirova said to Elle.
Last year, the app got a makeover and worked through a myriad of technical problems (including users’ personal data that got leaked). Now, it’s a dating app that caters not only to threesomes but to those interested in a range of sexual and relationship preferences. The new magazine intends to highlight this new direction.
It seems to be good timing for Feeld. The app’s user base is growing at a time when people are becoming more disillusioned with dating apps. Downloads and paying users are in decline for mainstream apps like Tinder and Bumble, but Feeld’s offerings seem to be more appealing to those interested in non-traditional relationships.
“We were way ahead of our time with what we built,” Kirova told Elle.
Still, Feeld is not the only dating app to launch its own publication. Hinge recently launched its own zine, aimed at creating community for its users as well, but with content that’s more mainstream with meet-cutes and relationship stories. Bumble at one time launched its own magazine for users, along with Uber and Airbnb. In fact, launching magazines to build brand awareness seems to be a trend. Luggage start-up Away also launched its own magazine called Here, as The Atlantic[*2] points out.
Kirova feels optimistic about Feeld as other dating apps are in decline, because she’s seeing a trend with catering to specific audiences. “I believe that even though technology right now is disappointing a lot of people, I think it’s just a period of maturation for the whole medium of how we’re meeting,” Kirova told Elle.
Feeld plans to publish the AFM twice a year.