Los Angeles, Oct. 17, 2018 — Hornet, the world’s premier gay social network, is launching its Version 5 to introduce a brand-new home experience that makes it easier than ever to connect in more meaningful ways with any of its 25 million users globally.
Since 2016, Hornet has taken the lead in enabling gay men to discover who and what to know in the influential and culture-leading gay community. Being the first gay app to introduce content alongside chat features natively in its Version 4 in fall 2017, the new Version 5 further expands on the ability for users to connect over shared interests, surfaced through content and served up in a personalized feed.
Content creators at Hornet span the entire spectrum from users to influencers, and from community contributors to editorial staff, and include Stories, Moments and Video. Content is curated in over 25 languages, and moderated by staff, community moderators, as well as by machine algorithms, to keep the community safe and supportive of diversity and openness.
The new comments feature lets Hornet users chime in on feed posts to surface their thoughts and interests to other members of the gay community, and thus amplify the queer voices that define the future of culture. The new captions feature gives life to Moments, visual contributions that paint a more complete and authentic picture of gay community members and their daily lives.
Max Emerson, an influencer who posts his favorite Moments on Hornet, welcomes the new product update: “The queer community deserves a home to express their real, authentic selves while remaining irreverent and playful. We want freedom to be ourselves without having to worry about what the outside world thinks of us. Hornet is pushing the definition of what a gay app can be. This is a big milestone on their journey as they scale the platform up to a full-scale network.”
Hornet’s Executive Editor Stephan Horbelt and his award-winning team of editors continue to curate current news in entertainment, sports, and politics in Hornet Stories, which are now delivered to the Feed and wrapped into the new Hornet Daily Sting to give users a breakdown of the most important headlines to kick-off their day.
“According to AppAnnie (appannie.com), over 90% of gay men are not using a gay app today,” says Christof Wittig, co-founder and CEO at Hornet, “because they loathe the limited utility for dating or hooking up provided by incumbent apps. It is our mission to give gay men of all walks of life a digital home to connect in many and more meaningful ways.”
Version 5 will be rolled out in phases in the week of October 15 and become available for download at Apple AppStore (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android)!
About Hornet
Founded in 2011, Hornet is the world’s premier gay social network. With over 25 million diverse users globally, the Hornet mission is to inspire and empower gay men to create a global, connected community that moves society forward. Whether chatting with guys nearby or getting ‘in the know’ about issues and topics important to the community, gay men are united through Hornet’s user-generated social content and original editorial content from its team of award-winning journalists. Powered by leading-edge technology, Hornet has become the number one gay app in markets like France, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, and Taiwan, and is rapidly expanding its sizable user base in the United States.
More information at hornet.com
Media inquiries at press@hornet.com
