NEW YORK, NY, November 12, 2009 – WE tv today announces the launch of GuySpeak.com, an online destination which provides an interactive forum for women to have their most fascinating questions about the opposite sex answered by real men. Six dedicated bloggers will answer women’s questions on everything from relationships and romance to family and fitness, providing their honest and often no-holds-barred opinions. In keeping with WE tv’s mission of satisfying women’s curiosities about real-life topics, GuySpeak.com helps women finally understand what men really think. The site was designed by WE tv’s in-house digital and emerging media team in conjunction with Plasticmind Design.
"We’ve created GuySpeak.com to be an entertaining destination for women to get advice on and insight into what men want and how they think," said Jennifer Robertson, vice president, digital/emerging media & new business development. "While no topic will be off limits, the site will focus on relationships and dating, topics that are important to the WE tv viewer and are central to much of our programming. GuySpeak.com is a natural extension of the WE tv brand, providing an interactive platform for women to further explore this area of their lives. Plasticmind Design was a valuable partner for us throughout this undertaking; their experience and creativity coupled with the knowledge of our in-house digital team brought this project to life."
"It was a pleasure working with the WE tv digital team-not only do they have a real passion for this project, but they’re also just really enjoyable people to work with," said Jesse Gardner, founder of Plasticmind Design. "There’s nothing better than inventing creative solutions alongside people that you respect."
The centerpiece of GuySpeak.com is a Q&A style format where users receive answers to their questions on everything from dating, relationships and sex to pop culture, news, family, food & fitness, style and work. The questions are answered by one of six GuySpeak.com bloggers (a.k.a. The Guys) who each represent a distinct male persona: Chic Geek, Funny Guy, Girls’ BFF, Mystery Man, Reformed Player and Wise-Ass. Each of the bloggers are real men that have an established online presence and were invited to participate in GuySpeak.com because of their unique perspectives and humorous takes on each of the site’s topics.
In addition to answering user’s questions, The Guys will make regular blog postings to the site, commenting on news and events relevant to women. The site will also feature a user-generated GuySpeak dictionary, providing the real meaning behind popular male jargon.
The launch of GuySpeak.com will be supported exclusively through digital marketing placements, with the first set to unveil on Thursday, November 12. The media mix includes the popular women-centric sites Instyle.com, Match.com and HollywoodLife.com, as well as Facebook. In addition, on Monday, November 16, GuySpeak.com will take over the homepage of PerezHilton.com through interactive banner ads and creative elements. The new site will also be supported by WE tv and Wedding Central on-air and online.
About The Guys:
Chic Geek (Nick Nadel): The Chic Geek is equally comfortable amongst the hipsters at a Grizzly Bear concert as he is at home playing Wii Bowling with his friends or, if he’s lucky enough, with his girlfriend on a Saturday night. Sure, he may have been shoved into the occasional locker back in middle school but that’s all in the past now that geek is "in." He’s always up on the latest gadget or Lost rumor and he’s your go-to guy on everything from Star Wars-themed weddings to proper dating etiquette in the iPhone generation. (If only there was an app for love!) Nick Nadel, 31, resides in Brooklyn, NY, and is a regular writer and blogger for HBO, AMCTV.com, AOL, The Onion, Asylum.com and other sites. He also hosts several of his own blogs including nicknadel.com and nichnadel.tumblr.com and hosts a page on funnyordie.com, which is devoted to sketch comedy videos and celebrity photos.
Funny Guy (Michael Swaim): The Funny Guy firmly believes that the key to a woman’s heart isn’t wealth, good looks, or regular bathing, but rather a great sense of humor (and lasers; chicks love lasers). After all, you can’t really offend your date’s nose if she’s too busy shooting milk through it. When the poop hits the wood chipper, The Funny Guy is there to give you the advice you need in a way that won’t make you want to drown yourself. So if you need a laugh, bundled oh so lovingly around a little nugget of truth (or just want to know which Seinfeld episode your situation most resembles), then you’ve come to the right e-man. Michael Swaim, 24, resides in Los Angeles, where he operates ThoseArentMuskets.com and produces a comedy web series. He’s also a regular blogger for Cracked.com.
Girls’ BFF (Panama Jackson): The Girls’ BFF is your BS filter. He’s like a sweet and sour gummy bear. He’ll tell you if "he’s just not that into you" whether you want to hear it or not. But he’ll also give you a hug and tell you that you don’t need that guy anyway. The Girls’ BFF is the guy who will listen to what you have to say, tell you when you’re wrong, tell you when you’re right, and then suggest everybody have a drink because who doesn’t love a drink? Sometimes he’s a part of the problem, but he’s still always there to help you undo all of the (usually wrong) over-analysis you and your girlfriends can’t stop yourselves from doing. Basically, the Girl’s BFF is the guy who helps you figure out what’s really going on. But the next move? That’s all on you. Panama Jackson, 30, resides in Washington, D.C. and blogs at VerySmartBrothas.com, which he co-created.
Mystery Man (if we told you who he really was, he wouldn’t be our mystery man): Mystery Man will tell you the truth, as he sees it, without the hug. He’ll tell you that your date never called again because you talked about yourself too much or because you likely had bad breath after that bad choice of garlic knots. The stuff that comes out of his mouth will almost always come as a shock. He won’t pull any punches and almost always drops out of the sky like a deus ex machina. The truth isn’t always popular, but it’s always right.
Reformed Player (John DeVore): The Reformed Player knows the dark secrets that lurk in the hearts of men, mainly because they’re his secrets too. And he’s willing to reveal all the dirty truths – if it means womankind will forgive him a little for all those times he never called back, told half a dozen white lies in a row, or made out with your best friend. After all, players have an awful lot of fun. But they never really get the girl, not in the end. The Reformed Player’s got the inside scoop on all the tricks, false promises, and smooth, jungle cat moves. And he is at your service. John DeVore, 35, resides in New York City and currently writes for TheFrisky.com. He’s also written for Maxim Magazine, The New York Sun, ComedyCentral.com, Esquire.com, and for the award-winning political parody Whitehouse.org. He’s appeared on G4TV, CNN, MSNBC, Vh1, SiriusXM and Fox News.
The Wise-Ass (Cary McNeal): Nobody likes a Wise Ass, right? When the chips are down and you need advice, why bother asking an honest, objective stranger when you’ve got plenty of family and friends to coddle you and tell you exactly what you want to hear? Who needs the truth when all you really want is to feel better about yourself? A kick in the seat and a good laugh will ruin your little pity party. Cary McNeal, 45, resides in Atlanta and is a writer/producer for TBS, Discovery, HGTV, Asylum.com and NotForTourists.com. He also operates the website ListoftheDay.net and penned the upcoming book 1,001 Facts to Scare the Sh*t Out of You.
About WE tv
WE tv (http://www.wetv.com), a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, is the premier source for women looking to satisfy their curiosity with fascinating, original stories and entertaining, fresh content that is relevant to key stages of their lives. Available in more than 74 million homes, WE tv’s programming offers viewers compelling perspectives on women’s lives ranging from the ordinary to the extraordinary, presented in a non-judgmental voice. The network’s originals such as the provocative signature series Bridezillas; and critically acclaimed, viewer favorites The Locator – the network’s most watched series ever, Secret Lives of Women, Amazing Wedding Cakes and My Fair Wedding with David Tutera, allow viewers to observe and become emotionally involved in the real-life stories of everyday women. WE tv is available in HD and WE tv On Demand is available in more than 30 million homes.
WE tv’s public affairs initiative, WE Empowers Women, is dedicated to creating programs that foster and celebrate women’s strength, confidence and diversity. The network’s newest initiative, WE Volunteer (http://www.wevolunteer.tv), motivates women to become more involved in their communities by connecting them with local causes that they are passionate about and encouraging them to volunteer. One day of community service can make a difference in someone else’s life.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multiplatform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC (The Independent Film Channel), WE tv, Sundance Channel, IFC Entertainment and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading U.S. distributor of independent and foreign film with a unique day and date distribution model, "IFC In Theaters," that makes films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters as well as on cable’s On Demand platform; IFC Festival Direct features titles acquired from major international film festivals and initially offers them exclusively through On Demand; IFC Productions, a feature film production company; and IFC Center, a state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, an advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, a full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media’s NYC studios and post-production facilities.
About Plasticmind Design
Plasticmind Design is a small design studio started by Jesse Gardner that specializes in unique and innovative web sites that are easy to use and maintain. Clients have included Boeing, IFC and Mozilla.