Bernie Singles

Bernie Singles
Type of site
 Online dating service
Available in English
Created by Colten Caudle
David Boni
Slogan(s) "The 1% aren’t the only ones getting screwed this election season."
Website berniesingles.com
Commercial No
Registration Required for membership
Users +9,000
Launched 17 February 2016 (2016-02-17)

Bernie Singles is an online dating service where members can connect based on a mutual interest in American politician and junior United States senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. As of October 8, 2016, it had 13,834 registered users.[1]

History

Inspiration

The Facebook group Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash inspired a spin-off dating group called Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Singles. Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Singles was founded by nonprofit director Beth Hannah, who works for the Human Resource Development Council in Havre, Montana.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Members post either Internet memes, personal advertisements, or selfies. Many of its members are vegan.[11] On February 22, 2016, the group had over 9,900 members and a team of 20 administrators.[12][13]

Arizona State University political science sophomore Colten Caudle from Gilbert, Arizona, was inspired to create a Bernie Sanders-themed website based on Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Singles.[8][14][15] Caudle also credits the group for finding his current fiancé,[16] Sadie Marie Jensen, a dog trainer from Portland, Oregon.[9][17][18] In an interview with The Huffington Post's Blair Guild, Caudle said "I originally joked about making the site, but after seeing interest, I decided to take on the project."[4][19]

Development

Caudle bought the domain name for Bernie Singles from Name-Keeper for $12.[15] Caudle said it took two days to produce and about five days of beta testing before its launch. Previously, Caudle designed the website ProjectProgressive.org to promote progressive political candidates in elections and the United States. Meanwhile, co-founder David Boni owns a web development company called BoldMeta.[10]

Launch

The website was founded by Colten Caudle on February 17, 2016.[6] It received 1,000 registered users and one million hits within the first hour.[5][10][11][14][18][20][21][22][23][24] Initial attention crashed the website and an upgrade was required.[1][3][5][6][8][13][18][25][26] An online fundraiser via GoFundMe was posted to help with server costs. At the same time, a potential competitor, Bernie People Meet, was launched in an effort to seize the opportunity. After quick negotiations, the two merged resources and fundraising efforts began.[3][5][6][14][15][18] The target goal was $1,000 with the stipulation that excess funds would be donated to the Sanders campaign.[1][11][14] With the help of a team of volunteers, led by developer [27] Jeremiah Pegues and former Wikipedia contributor Daniel Isaksen, the site was relaunched four days later. After its launch, Bernie Singles became a trending topic on Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter.[23]

Operation

Features

Membership is free.[5][14][28][29] Registration requires birth date, biography, U.S. state, gender, sexual orientation, and username, as well as uploading a photograph to complete your profile.[24][30] The website allows users to search for other users based on geographic region, add friends, or join micro-communities such as "Christians for Bernie" or "Musicians for Bernie."[9][12][24] Public chat rooms, forums, and private messaging are also featured.[1][12][24][31][32]

Users can search for matches by age, gender, orientation, location, and political beliefs.[1][6][30] So far, the userbase is predominantly "college age" or in the 18 – 35 age range.[9] In an interview with Vermont's alternative newspaper Seven Days, press liaison Joshua Kaunert said the site is most popular with users in red states or U.S. states whose residents predominantly vote for the Republican Party.[11] As of March 8, 2016, about 20 registered users live in Canada.[32]

Moderation

Bernie Singles' set of rules or "commandments" disallows harassment, nude photography, or invoking the name "Donald Trump", a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election.[28][30][33] The website has a voluntary team of web developers and moderators to ban Internet trolls such as users with names like "Augusto Pinochet" or "Donald Trump".[8][10][12][31][34]

Reception

Complex's Trace William Cowen called Bernie Singles "potentially Tinder-crushing."[20] Bustle's Lea Rose Emery described the site as "incredibly popular."[3] Tech Insider's Leanna Garfield registered an account and overall found it "might not be the most serious of dating sites."[12] KUTV's Lindsey Leake said Bernie Singles is "the latest offbeat dating site to catch the public's eye" besides "quirky."[28] Critical of its Bernie Bro culture, New Statesman's Eleanor Margolis reviewed it as "an exercise in nausea-induced celibacy."[35]

Metro's Ashitha Nagesh called it "great" but lamented there was not an online dating service for British politician Jeremy Corbyn and suggested "CorbynConnection.com."[29] KQED's Emma Silvers has called the website "seems to be shaping up as half-chatroom, half-safe space for people to 'talk Bernie' at each other."[9] Student newspaper The Daily Texan's Reagan Stuart remarked that Bernie Singles "not exactly political activism, it’s not a joke either."[36]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nelson, Rebecca (February 11, 2016). "Looking for Love on a Bernie Sanders Dating Site". GQ. Condé Nast. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  2. ↑ Chou, Jessica (February 19, 2016). "Bernie Sanders Supporters Officially Have Their Own Dating Site". Refinery29. Refinery29 Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Emery, Lea Rose (February 18, 2016). "There's A Dating Site For Single Bernie Sanders Supporters". Bustle. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Guild, Blair (February 19, 2016). "They Found Love In A Sanders Place". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Gum, Jordyn (February 22, 2016). "There's a Dating Site for Single Bernie Sanders Supporters". Her Campus. Her Campus Media, LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Kinery, Emma (February 18, 2016). "Berning love: New dating site launches for Sanders supporters". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  7. ↑ Nerdstrom (February 24, 2016). "Bernie Sanders is Going to Win (Because of the Internet)". Daily Kos. Kos Media, LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Pangburn, DJ (February 25, 2016). "Meet the Users of 'Bernie Singles,' the Dating Site for Bernie Sanders Supporters". Good Magazine. Good Worldwide. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Silvers, Emma (February 23, 2016). "Only Wanna Date Bernie Sanders Supporters? There's a Site For That". KQED Pop. KQED. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Trinidad, Kelsi (February 19, 2016). "Do You Yearn for the Bern? There's a Dating Site for That". The New York Observer. New York Observer, LLC. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Bolles, Dan (February 18, 2016). "So, BernieSingles.com Is a Thing". Seven Days. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Garfield, Leanna (February 22, 2016). "I tried 'Bernie Singles,' the new dating site for Bernie Sanders supporters". Tech Insider. Business Insider. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Stableford, Dylan (February 18, 2016). "Feel the yearn! BernieSingles.com aims to connect Sanders supporters looking for love". Yahoo! Politics. Yahoo!. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Bennett, Colette (February 25, 2016). "#FeelTheYearn: Bernie Sanders dating site is a thing". HLN. Cable News Network, Inc. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 White, Kaila (February 24, 2016). "'Bernin' for you: How Bernie lovers are finding love through ASU student". The Arizona Republic. Gannett Company. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  16. ↑ Schaefer, Mari A. (10 June 2016). "Find your political soulmate: Trump, Sanders dating sites". philly.com. Retrieved 8 October 2016. Caudle can personally attest to the effectiveness of the politically-themed site. He met his fiance, while working on the project.
  17. ↑ Blackhurst, Kathryn (February 25, 2016). "New Dating Website Targets Singles Who Want to 'Feel the Bern'". TheBlaze. Mercury Radio Arts. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Squier, Chemmie (February 24, 2016). "There's A Dating Site Especially For Bernie Sanders Supporters". The Debrief. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  19. ↑ Egeland, Alexis (March 1, 2016). "ASU student starts dating site for Bernie Sanders' supporters". The State Press. ASU Student Media. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  20. 1 2 Cowen, Trace William (February 19, 2016). "Single Bernie Sanders Supporters Finally Have Their Own Dating Site". Complex. Complex Media Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  21. ↑ Devaney, Tim (February 17, 2016). "Dating site launches for Bernie Sanders lovers". The Hill. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  22. ↑ Hackman, Michelle (February 19, 2016). "Single and feeling the Bern? This dating site is for you.". Vox. Vox Media. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  23. 1 2 JNi.media (February 18, 2016). "Had to Happen: 'Bernie Singles' Invites Sanders Supporters to Date Each Other". The Jewish Press. JewishPress.com. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Parker, Asha (February 19, 2016). "There is now a dating site for singles feeling the Bern — and it's so popular it won't stop crashing". Salon. Salon Media Group. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  25. ↑ Awad, Ann Marie (February 26, 2016). "Finding love and feeling the Bern on Bernie Sanders dating website". United Press International. News World Communications. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  26. ↑ Herndon, Jeff (February 25, 2016). "Bernie Sanders dating website is blowing up the Internet". Fox 32 Chicago. WFLD. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  27. ↑ Caudle, Colten; Pegues, Jeremiah (2016-02-21). "About - Bernie Singles". Bernie Singles. Archived from the original on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  28. 1 2 3 Leake, Lindsey (February 19, 2016). "'Talk Bernie to me': Dating site caters to singles who 'feel the Bern'". KUTV. Sinclair Broadcast Group. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  29. 1 2 Nagesh, Ashitha (February 21, 2016). "Bernie Sanders fans now have their own 'dank' dating site". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  30. 1 2 3 Pereira, Alyssa (February 23, 2016). "Singles can now 'Feel the Bern' with other supporters thanks to Sanders-themed dating site". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  31. 1 2 Bauerlein, Valerie; MacMillan, Douglas (March 1, 2016). "Bernie Sanders Fans Go Online to Volunteer, Crash—and Date". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  32. 1 2 Warren, May (March 8, 2016). "Canadian singles feel the Bern on Sanders dating site". OurWindsor.ca. Metroland Media Group. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  33. ↑ Zanotti, Emily (February 17, 2016). "Are You Ready for BernieSingles Online Dating?". The American Spectator. American Spectator Foundation. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  34. ↑ Smith, Keele (February 23, 2016). "Bernie Singles: Online dating site connects single Sanders fans". WPTZ Local News. WPTZ. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  35. ↑ Margolis, Eleanor (March 1, 2016). "Creepy, well-meaning, or sexist? Looking for love on Bernie Singles, the Bernie Sanders dating site". New Statesman. Progressive Media International. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  36. ↑ Stuart, Reagan (March 2, 2016). "Bernie Sanders memes inhibit educational election dialogue". The Daily Texan. Texas Student Media. Retrieved March 27, 2016.

External links

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