Getting Laid Beats Getting Laid-Off: Condé Willing to Try Anything Online, Launches Dating Site

Now would be a good time for the folks at Condé Nast to make a brave and convincing foray into the online world, right? And so they have — well, it’s brave at least — with the launch of a new dating site trulymadlydating.com.

So far everybody on the web has pulled the same quote from a write-up of the new dating site in British Vogue:

Trulymadlydating.com is Conde Nast International’s first dating site, supported by Glamour.com and GQ.com, and created to unite glamorous girls with fashion-conscious GQ-reading boys to create matches made in style heaven.

Upon first glance, the new site seems like it’s mostly for British readers. The subscription fee (6 months for £59.94, 1 month for £19.99) is given in sterling, and most of the profiles are for people living in the UK. The site is powered by The Dating Lab, a British company that has experience powering dating sites for other media companies, like the Guardian and the Telegraph.

And, for the record, this is not Condé’s first try at online dating. At the end of the ’90s, Condé floated Swoon, a personals website. But Swoon shriveled into a section of Glamour‘s site where you can make sure a potential boyfriend’s astrological sign is compatible with your own … and other date-y stuff, but no personals.

Trying to set up Glamour readers and GQ readers seems like a pretty clever idea. One Fashionista editor, Abby Gardner however, is worried that most of the people in said “style heaven” are gay, so setting them up with a site that seems geared towards heteros will be hard. She also wonders why Condé thinks that entering the online dating business is a good idea: “I simply don’t understand this use of resources or what on earth it has to do with your core business. If someone else can explain it to me, please do.”

Well, I think we’re kind of beyond the explanation phase. Something is terribly wrong with the core business and it’s time to try anything. And, hey, maybe a few people will get laid. Better than getting laid-off.