The Challenge
PlanetOut was the largest LGBTQ+ online community in the world during its peak, providing news, entertainment, and social connection to millions of users. The platform needed to scale while maintaining the trust and safety of a community that depended on it.
The challenge: build and maintain platforms that could handle millions of users while fostering meaningful community connection.
Our Approach
- Lead Engineering: Led software engineering for core platform features
- Scale: Built systems handling millions of active community members
- Community Features: Developed social features enabling connection and engagement
- Content Platform: Supported news and entertainment delivery to the community
Platform Architecture
flowchart TB
subgraph Users["Community Members"]
Members[Millions of Users]
end
subgraph Platform["PlanetOut Platform"]
Social[Social Features]
Content[News & Entertainment]
Forums[Community Forums]
Profiles[User Profiles]
end
subgraph Backend["Backend Systems"]
DB[(User Database)]
CMS[Content Management]
Search[Search Engine]
end
Members --> Social & Content & Forums
Social --> Profiles
Profiles --> DB
Content --> CMS
Forums --> Search
Results
The platform served as a vital resource for the LGBTQ+ community:
- Supported millions of users seeking community and connection
- Built features that enabled meaningful social interaction
- Maintained platform reliability for a community that depended on it
- Gained experience building social platforms at scale
