Community FOCUS our new newsletter format We at gayWdc.com have been working per your suggestions to revamp our format for sending you regular updates via email. The result is a new format and e-newsletter – Community FOCUS. You can sign up for our newsletter by using the "Sign Me Up!" form on the bottom left of our website. NOTE: We do not ever give out your E-mail address to any business. It is used internally only.

Our website is just one of the many projects provided by DC Spectrum, LLC. DC Spectrum provides free websites to many community organizations, and both discounts and donates to charity a large portion of all sales.

Upcoming Events

• AIDS Walk Washington (Saturday, October 5)
• Online with Food & Friends at Crate and Barrel (October 16-23, 2002)
• Reel Affirmations Film Festival (October 17-27, 2002)

See our photo gallery from Around Town.

If you have photos from Around Town that you would like to see online, send them to us at photogallery@gayWdc.com.

gayWdc Press Room

gayWdc.com is proud to announce that we have won the Rainbow Award the same month as DC Pride.

6/12/2001	gayWdc.com 2001 Capital Pride DVD Giveaway
6/11/2001	gayWdc.com at Capital Pride
11/7/2000	gayWdc.com launches

Everything you wanted to know about gayWdc.com (but were afraid to ask ... popcorn required)

GayWdc.com is the Internet clearinghouse envisioned, developed and maintained by DC Spectrum, LLC. DC Spectrum, LLC was formed to develop ideas, projects and partnerships to the betterment of the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered Communities of the Washington DC region, serving the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia (or NoVa) and suburban Maryland, including local businesses, associations, interest groups, social organizations, gay service organizations, and those in areas accessible and frequented, including Baltimore, MD and Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Since its inception and initial launch, gayWdc.com has grown to include content and services to enrich the community, including:

• adding classified listings for sales, services, and other needs (Classifieds)
• personal ads for friends and dating (Personals); daily calendar listings of local events (Community Calendar)
• free, website development, hosting and email for qualifying not-for-profit, small, community groups and organizations (Community Websites) geared toward increasing web communication and presence
• discounted, website hosting packages, support and solutions for community organizations, agencies and businesses (Community Web Hosting) which includes our commitment to donate a portion of the proceeds to local charities
• details about what's happening in and around that nation’s capital (Around Town) including news and events (News) from inside and out of the fruit loop
• two special areas within Around Town will appeal to your visual senses and provide sightings from enabling you to let someone that caught your eye (Double Takes) know and a viewable log of our digital event photographs and other picture submissions (Photo Gallery)
• internet shopping links (Shopping) that provide you with the same prices as shopping directly from the stores, but they provide us a portion of the sale, much of which goes to support DC area charities
• useful information and links that will help you with your travel-related questions (TRAVEL) around the country covering hundreds of US cities and abroad providing links by both city and general homosexual select destinations
• related is our section dedicated to people moving or relocating to the area (New To Town) that includes options for movers, links to area utilities, and information towards facilitating your transition
• a chat system so that you can talk with others in the DC metropolitan area (Chat)
• quick links that provide current listings from our resource database for bars and clubs and restaurants from DC including the 17th Street dine, dish and drool district as well as the sand, surf, seafood and sea-me scene for dining in Rehoboth
• and we even provide a view of the current weather conditions on our site (Weather) with a link to a more detailed report and forecast for the area

The gayWdc.com site continues to evolve as does the DC Spectrum LLC commitment and list and types of projects undertaken, all with the goal of increased gay community use of Internet media and marketing as a powerful tool versus a burden, an unknown, or just email or a static website.

The vision that is today gayWdc.com grew from a need identified by the founders of DC Spectrum of having DC gay resources, for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and the trangendered, accessible to community residents and visitors via the Internet in a completely searchable database. Many annual publications, periodicals, and area newspapers provide static and non-searchable contact information and resource guides that only promote resources which agree to pay for advertising thus never providing a comprehensive listing. Listings that are provided in printed materials are not easily updated and resource information provided is current as of time of publication and often not verified nor reprints or addenda made as resources, especially those that are emerging or growth areas, evolve and change their address, phone, fax, website url, organization contacts, email addresses, description of goods, services and areas of interest and participation. The metropolitan Washington DC region and surroundings area is highly technical and Internet savvy; however, the gay community, often more focused, and concentrated, has seemingly not been able to use web-based media, marketing, and publicity to fully promote itself, its resources and its people.

Two friends lamented over not having a central, searchable resource guide for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Washington DC over one too many dinner conversations and in January 2001, DC Spectrum LLC was founded and, at the Capitol Pride parade and festival that same year, gayWdc.com was showcased as the first and still only website that serves as a clearinghouse for area gay resources including an online, fully searchable and categorized web database that allows data entry and edit of resources by the community.

The founders of DC Spectrum completed an exhaustive review of all data available online, in-print, and from other sources such as from friends, colleagues, the community, and from local events and compiled known data for area businesses into what was the basis for the well over 1,000 listings in the database. Below you will find some randomly selected resources from our database that are included to demonstrate examples of the type, range, and diversity of areas covered. A key philosophy of and commitment by gayWdc.com is free basic resources listings in our online database; gayWdc.com believes in enabling the community through prividing a resource listing that is easily updated, categorized, fully searchable and widely available and used by those interested in our community. Another key belief is that gayWdc.com serves the community but does not and will not advocate or recommend nor disallow or malign any gay community resource. Therefore, the examples cited are not advocated by nor are they preferred resources of gayWdc.com.

The gayWdc.com database resources includes:

• gay-friendly and frequented retail stores
• restaurants in and around the Dupont Circle area and including those frequented in Rehoboth Beach
• specialty gay interest retail ranging from Universal Gear men’s clothing to stores like the Leather Rack which supplies fetish items, equipment, and related leather accessories
• professionals like doctors, dentists, lawyers, realtors, contractors, etc. that are either gay- owned, operated or that cater to our community
• HIV/AIDS and gay health-related hotlines, support groups, and local and national organizations like Whitman Walker Clinic, Food and Friends, the National Latina/Latino Lesbian, Gay Bisexual & Transgender Organization (LLEGO), the AIDS Info Hotline, the Deaf AIDS Project, the African-American HIV Support Group, Living Positively, and the Military AIDS Network
• area interest groups and organization like One In Ten, gay musical and theater groups and productions including the Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Washington DC, the Ushers, Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), the Rainbow Youth Alliance, and area chapters of PFLAG
• suburban gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered organizations like Arlington’s Gay and Lesbian Alliance (AGALA), Fairfax Gay and Lesbian Organization Project, Prime Timers of Baltimore and Washington, Metro Area Gender Identity Connection (MAGIC), and Bisexual People of Color (BiPOC)
• social and special interest groups such as DC Strokes Rowing Club, DC Front Runners Club, the University of Maryland’s Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alliance (LGBA), Brother 2 Brother, Chesapeake Bay Bears, and FunDykes
• bars and clubs like Cobalt, JRs, Badlands, the Fireplace, Omega, Velvet Nation, Wet, the Eagle, the Green Lantern, Lizard Lounge, and the Hung Jury
• special events and their benefiting and sponsoring agencies including Capitol Pride, Black Gay and Lesbian Gay Pride, DC AIDS Marathon, AIDSRide, and AIDSWalk, the Cherry Fund, Mid Atlantic Leather Weekend, and the Reel Affirmations Film Festival

Finally, we view ourselves as providing a service. If you have suggestions for improvements, additions, general questions or areas you’d like us to pursue – email info@gaywdc.com.