An all-gay team of developers launched China’s first gay-targeted “social networking” app this week, telling critics that it’s not another “hook up or shut up” style app, but a place where gay men can discover shared interests and “events” to attend where they can discuss said shared interests. We’ll see how long that lasts.
The app, Zank, is the second project on creator Lin Jueding’s plate. Before it, Jueding launched China’s first gay social networking site, Feizan.com, to rave review.
But Zank is being lambasted as a “copycat” app of Jack’d, the popular American equivalent that also promotes “shared interests” among users, the most popular interest being sex. But Jueding says Zank differentiates itself from Jack’d by giving shared interests a “higher priority.”
At the end of the day, regardless of the similarities between apps, this is a major step forward for China’s gay community, who have previously used social networking apps and sites that didn’t necessarily cater to them specifically.
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“It is our product,” Jueding told ZDNet, explaining why he believes the app’s initial 20,000 subscribers will remain loyal. Jack’d copycat or not, Zank users are already ecstatic about the new service and how it will undoubtedly improve the gay experience in China.
