Didn't even live up to low expectations – GENDR Community Review

When I first heard about this app I was excited; finally a place for me!! And then I read on to find it was subscription based and lost all hope. BUT I decided that I would pay $5 for the first month, and see if /maybe/ it was worth it at all. And its not. Firstly, the subscription model is the app's first failure and ultimate downfall, because a community requires a community base. Making it a gated community (even moreso, a gated community that can't even be glimpsed from outside) destroys any chance of it ever building up a userbase. The community is the product, and there is no product if you shut out the community! For everyone who doesn't have $5 to spend on a whim, I'm going to describe exactly what this app has and what it lacks: First, as of July 16, 2016, the app has only 256 members globally. They don't really want to tell you that, because its abysmal. Now, 1) It has a feed with all kinds of posts from users that the app decided might have something in common with you, based on ten different interests to choose from when you sign up. This features liking and commenting on text posts, photos, and articles (so far that I've seen). 2) It has a search tab that looks a lot like tumblr's, with predesignated tags that you can look through, a list of "top members", and the ability to search keywords as they appear in posts. Doesn't appear to have any filters (like filtering posts by location) or any way to search for users vs keywords. 3) A tab to view your own profile, with all the normal profile things you might expect, including an activity feed. (You can change your name from the edit icon here) 4) A tab that just brings you to the "add a post" screen. You can add predesignated tags and photos. Not sure how to add articles. 5) From another user's profile you can follow them, see their activity, and send them a message. Not sure where messages go, since theres no tab for them and I haven't tried. (text and images are supported) THAT'S IT. This was hyped as some kind of great new community and dating thing, but there is no way to view users by location to see who might be available to meet, and no "list of events" or calendar feature to organize events. Despite putting your location on your profile, there doesn't seem to be any location-based features at all. The content might have been redeeming, since it seems to have a lot of influential people posting nonbinary-relevant content, but because nothing can be seen by non-subscribers it's wasted. TL;DR This app has very minimal functionality, and is so gated, that its inevitable going to be a failure. I just turn to the development team, and ask WHY. This is honestly such a waste.
Review by subspace_sandwich on GENDR Community.