dynamo london

Stag & Duff

It was no doubt gathered around a pub in W1, that these self appointed guardians of 'cool' and ex-employees of Time Out, The Guardian, Sleaznation and Arena, feverishly devised the tiresome Jamie Oliveresque line:

'So, in a nutshell, we are actually quite cool. Honest.'

Are we to suppose, that we are under the wing of great taste-makers, authors and musicians? What conviction, statement and outrageous ownership could better make their ex-editors simultaneously roll their eyes?

Reading on, I emit a helpless and hollow laugh when told that 'Between us we have more than enough experience and expertise by which to make this the ONLY love and lifestyle website worth logging onto.'

The pioneers of Stag and Dove, smack of a type of person, who have spent the last fifteen years in the media, certain that they are defining an era, when in fact, they are merely sideliners, one of thousands writing about phenonema.

Navigating through the site, I can't help but feel that the visuals would be well recieved at Urban Outfiiters, and I am left with the perfect image of a cashier stuffing an unwanted promotional Stag & Dove leaflet into a trendy and unsuspecting customer's bag.

This site robs me of my faith in humanity, confidence and self-worth. It is vile in its definition of cool, and fails to recognise the needs of it's consignees.

It ignores the simple fact that you are hardly 'cool' if you are an idiot - and I suspect that many of its 'cool' members, and no doubt creators, are exactly this. Like the confessions of some learned french actress/Sophia Loren type, minus the eloquence, the creators state they have 'learnt from their mistakes'. Tragically it seems, they are yet to realise that there are many more to make throughout life.

HIlarious

Someone has to say it: this is Nathan Barley made real. Forget the conspicuously trendy filled in counters and other graphic nonsense, just read the ridiculous self-parody that is the promotional blurb.

Like, totally.

I totally agree with James and Michael. This site kind of encompasses everything I'm ashamed to be, but inevitably, associated with: Nathan Barley, Shoreditch House, Urban Outfitters, the Media Industry in general etc etc.

The maker's claim that Stag & Dove is the 'only life-stlye website worth logging onto'. Yeah right. More like 'Only log on if you need a life'.

(What the hell is a 'Life-style website' anyway?)

Hetro Cool?

By the way ... I'd never use a dating site that defines me as a 'Dove'. But, if I must be a 'Dove', why can't I look for another Dove? And what about Stags looking for Stags?

Interestingly there doesn't appear to be any inclusion for gay people on this site - and I was releuctant to bring this to our attention, for fear of sounding like a bore. Can this blind spot be put down to the fact that they are so immersed in their laddy heterosexual media world of 'Jim's wife's just had a baby' that it didn't even cross their minds?

Not only that, the site also fails to recognise that opposites attract. It's a gross forgone conclusion to assume that we will only fall for types with a similar fashion sense. If we do that, then we truely are limiting ourselves in the quest for love. What about political views, intellect and passion? Don't fight it, feel it?

Totally Jackson

I have to agree with all that has been said already. It's all very gauche. There clearly is an audience for this kind of thing, but sadly this misses the mark.

The post facebook generation have incredibly high standards when it comes to things like this, we have come to expect richness in both design and editorial content.

This seems to be representative of a new phase of modern culture: life imitating parody.

God help us, i need to go and get a hair cut and update my twitter status.

Identity Crisis?

This also raises stark question each of us may ask about our identities. Surely we aren't just one type of generic media person - but often contradictory and in turmoil over our multi personalities and identities.

Frankly, I'm not just one thing. I'm all over the place. I relish language, but am reduced to tears over the stuffiness of Westminster. I despise mockney English, but truely crave down-to-earthness. I can be a home at Christie's but develop a lump in my throat at the thought of my shabby roots.

Perhaps the crux of all of this is that we each have our definition of what it means to be cool, and that may only be small in relation to what we wear and what we music we listen to, but rather the person we genuinely are, and the many lives we lead and have to share.