Arts
Read More ›
Why Women Should Get Excited for This New Dating App
A new dating app puts women in the driver’s seat
This article originally appeared in the May 2014 issue of Seattle magazine.
!–paging_filter–pimg src=”/sites/default/files/newfiles/0514_sirenapp.jpg” style=”float: left; margin: 10px;” height=”232″ width=”350″Women who’ve tried online dating know the drill: spend hours crafting a profile that precisely reflects the individual you are (and the individual you’d like to meet), set it live and get instantly bombarded with requests from men using a scattershot approach (send enough emails and something’s bound to hit!), men who clearly haven’t read your profile at all. It can be a bit demoralizing. That’s why Seattle digital artist Susie Lee enlisted graphic designer Katrina Hess to help her develop SIREN (a href=”http://siren.mobi/” target=”_blank”siren.mobi/a; due to launch mid-May), a mobile-only dating app that puts women in control of the interaction. “For women, a common experience is one of harassment, reduction to sexual objects and lack of control,” Lee says of existing dating sites. “For decent men, trolling is just as uncomfortable and disheartening.” Consequently, Siren is a platform in which women manage their visibility—a man can’t even see a woman’s profile unless she makes it visible to him. In addition, Lee says, Siren “gives people the chance to discover the individual beyond the profile,” by way of open-ended daily questions and phone-video challenges (such as, find something chartreuse and tell us about it)—the quick, genuine responses to which create a real-time portrait, rather than a static archive of traits. Socially oriented, the app also welcomes “matchmakers,” who can recommend good men to women and give advice to men. Though Siren is a game-changer in the online dating world, some tactics remain tried and true. As Lee says, “We encourage charming the pants off someone.” em(Photo: Siren prototypes in progress)/em/p
Follow Us
Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
YOUR VOTE MATTERS Everyone has a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or local boutique. Call me old-school, but I will die on the hill that Caffe Vita has the best coffee in town. Disagree with me? Now’s your moment to speak up. Each year, we survey Seattle magazine readers, asking them to weigh in on everything…
Studio Sessions: Ling Chun
The Seattle-based artist brings playful color to ceramics and neon while exploring memory, transformation, and life between cultures.
For Ling Chun, creating begins with something sensed before it can be named. Working with clay, glass, light, and sometimes synthetic hair, the Hong Kong-born artist gives physical form to things that words cannot always hold. “For me, the magnitude of making goes far beyond the object that is eventually produced,” Chun says. “The object…
The Magic of PAX Is Stronger Than Ever
PAX West draws more than 100,000 people to Seattle each year. Co-founder Jerry Holkins reflects on what the gaming convention set out to change, how its community has grown and why gathering face to face still matters.
Access to game news as it was happening was difficult back in the day. Even with the advent of the internet, communication between game publishers and journalists was still a very elite affair. I used to fake credentials—via fax machine!—to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, mostly just known as E3. It was simultaneously as loud…
Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026
Navigate Seattle’s wildest end-of-summer weekend with 20 picks spanning Death Cab for Cutie, Blood Orange, wrestling, skateboarding and—obviously—movies made in 48 hours.
Four years after Bumbershoot returned with its quirkiness revivified, Seattleites broadly acknowledge the two-day multimedia extravaganza as a welcome finale to the summer festival season. Fests like Bumbershoot are designed around a choose-your-own-adventure model, but if you’re the kind of person who looked at this year’s sprawling lineup—featuring multiple bands, artists, and exhibits happening at…