Gay St. Pete
Who runs it: Brian Longstreth, broker for Your Neighborhood Realty and owner of a gay-friendly bed and breakfast, created this site to promote the thriving LGBT community in St. Pete.
Why you need it: The site offers a full calendar of upcoming events, as well as information and reviews on GLBT-friendly bars, restaurants, communities, rental properties, beaches, sports groups, social groups and businesses. While the site is not particularly interactive, it is a great starting point for exploring St. Pete's proud gay community.
GaYbor
MC Film Festival
Who runs them: Mark Bias and Carrie West. The fairy godfathers of all things GaYbor dispense news and gossip about the gayborhood and beyond on these two sites, one for their business, MC Film Festival, and one for the GaYbor District Coalition. They also send out an email newsletter, "Dishing with Mark & Carrie," and maintain a MySpace page, both handy reminders of all the fun to be had (including photos of the goings-on, in case you went to a party and had such a good time you forgot you were there).
Why you need them: Just as GaYbor has become the epicenter of Tampa Gay, er Bay, these sites have become a nexus of important information about gay social life throughout the area. The GaYbor coalition is a testament to Mark and Carrie's genius for bringing people together, and their concerted efforts to maintain an online presence is one of the factors that helped make those connections happen.
ProSuzy
Who runs it: Suzanne Noe, a local legend who parlayed a simple idea — an activities list for lesbians — into a vital source of all kinds of information for the Tampa Bay women's community.
Why you need it: Because it really does have everything a gay woman needs to know about lesbian-related events, businesses, news, even potential dates, all in one place. There's a business directory; a list of top lesbian DVDs; information about tax filing for same-sex couples and about getting married in Connecticut; blog posts about pets, parties, poetry and horoscopes; a calendar of recurring events; a personals section; and lots and lots of photos. Especially for women new to the Tampa Bay scene, the site provides an essential introduction.
This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2009.