Gay.com was founded in 1994. Its design and interface had remained largely unchanged over several years. The site's parent company, PlanetOut Inc., purchased numerous GLBT online properties and subsequently, went through several consolidations as it navigated the pre- and post-boom online market.
Gay.com was created after assimilating several smaller sites including Gay.net and PlanetOut.com, among others. However, the combining of content from multiple sites posed difficult problems, including a heavy reliance on Java and a cluttered interface.
The redesign comes as PlanetOut faces ongoing financial issues. A NASDAQ-traded company, PlanetOut has recently sold several major assets in rapid succession. GLBT travel firm RSVP Vacations was bought by PlanetOut, only to be sold to Atlantis Events in December of 2007, months after being purchased. Its substantial publishing division, which included magazines The Advocate, Out, and book publisher Alyson Publishing, was partially acquired by Regent Releasing, owned by GLBT channel here! Network in April.
PlanetOut 's financial situation may be decided this October. As a result of accumulated losses of more than $100 million, PlanetOut's (NASDAQ: LBGT) valuation is below NASDAQ's requirement. The company has until Oct. 30 to improve their performance in order to avoid being delisted from NASDAQ.