FORBES - Nov 14 - Kelly Rakowski didn't intend to start a dating service, especially not one based on the seemingly antiquated personal ad. With her upcoming app, Personals, however, Rakowski is demonstrating that personal ads may be far from obsolete. It started with an accidental discovery. For four years, Rakowski had been running the popular Instagram account, @h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y, which showcases lesbian culture throughout history, when she found a group of personal ads written in the back of some 80s and 90s lesbian magazines. After a while, she asked the @h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y community to submit personal ads of their own. As she posted the submitted ads, people began using them to connect. There were so many submissions that Rakowski had to start a separate Instagram account, which she has run for the past two years. Now, there are even too many submissions for that account to sustain. That's where the dating app comes in. Personals will resemble the feel of Instagram and is designed for the LBTQ community. For now, it is not available to cisgender gay men because Rakowski feels there are already many options for them. "It's important for us to take our space first," she says.
by Molly Sprayregen
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