It's no secret that few men are on Pinterest. The virtual bulletin board site has taken the female sector of the Internet by storm but left many men feeling as if they'd stepped into a tearoom instead of the corner sports bar.
This week has seen the launch of two men's answer to Pinterest: a new site called Dart It Up. No need to be on your best behavior here, guys. Its motto (including the asterisk) is: "Share and save cool sh*t."
Dartitup.com was created by two friends, Brandon Harris and Michael Byrne, who were both recently engaged and watched their fiancees become obsessed by Pinterest. They tried to join in but said the site was too girly.
"Every picture was either a hairdo or a flower," Harris told TechNewsDaily. "I pin my man cave tips and no one cares."
Dart It Up works like Pinterest but adds a man's perspective. And that doesn't just mean beer, cars and sports.
"The average man is not interested in posting his content all day. He needs a challenge," Harris said.
Dart It Up has self-made boards like Pinterest, but it also includes challenge boards where anyone can "dart" photos, such as "Life or Death: things a man can't live without." Challenge boards are an all-out cage match between Dartitup users. The guy whose dart gets the most "likes" and "redarts" (people who have "darted it" to their own boards) wins and is named to the "Challenge Hall of Fame."
Members also can add to community debate boards that will result in Top 10 lists for categories such as "Top HDTVs of 2012" and "Bad Ass Actors."
Pinterest tells its users to be nice, but Harris says there are no rules on Dart It Up — yet. So far, they have been unnecessary, but he says he wants the site to stay clean.
"We know guys are inclined to post pics of scantily clad women, so our rule will be to keep it tasteful," he said.
The site is only 3 days old, and new features will be added shortly. Harris says Dart It Up will integrate Facebook so members can post activity to their timelines. The team is working on an iPhone app so guys can dart stuff on the fly, and it'll add a points system to fuel competition. Eventually, private boards will be available as well as public ones.
Do we really need a separate site for men? Harris says yes, because men don't feel comfortable talking about guy stuff in front of girls.
"I don't want to put up a sign that says Boys Only," he said. "But we really kind of need it."