Attention to detail - careful with the clip art

This URL for a goth dating service was being passed around the office not long ago. I shall refrain from expounding further on who among us has the goth-iest tendencies but let's just say that black clothing, Neil Gaiman, and Smeggs are not unknown to most of us.

The first thing I thought when I looked at the home page was "Hm. This font seems suspiciously... corporate for being the '#1 alternative dating community on the net'." And while the word "goth" was sprinkled liberally throughout the content something just didn't seem authentic. I decided to find out more about the people behind GothScene.com who profess such dedication to bringing together single goth members of the gothic lifestyle scene. It wasn't easy. I couldn't find any "About Us" page and the FAQ focused just on technical and payment questions. The lack of identifying info fueled my suspicions that these goths were just skin deep. I continued searching for company info, clicking through various links and wondering how the division was made between "goth chicks" and "goth babes".

My suspicions were rewarded when a pop-up window appeared, asking if I'd like to chat live with a customer service representative about GothScene. Attention to detail had failed here - the pictured representative was a smiling, tanned blonde in a blue polo shirt.

Aha, in the privacy policy I found IP DatingMedia LTD is the owner and operator of this site. Further whois research led me to the parent company's site. Lo and behold, the very same headset-wearing lady is smiling at me from the front page! As I suspected, GothScene is just one of many "Premium Niche Related Sites". Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But when you're positioning yourself as the premium site for a selected niche that prides itself on individuality and being different, it's attention to detail that can make or break you.