The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
‘Scumdee’ social media venture flops over name
Responses say ‘insulting our city’ is no way to get help for project
A social media project aiming to promote the positives of living in Dundee will start from scratch after furious Dundonians complained its name was offensive.
“Scumdee” attracted criticism from people in the city because of its “derogatory” title.
The page creators, allegedly from Dundee’s creative community, issued a plea last week for creative types in the city to get in touch as part of a new project.
Musicians, designers and artists were asked to contribute content detailing how they entered the creative industry.
However, the ill-fated venture enjoyed little success.
Rather than be flooded with volunteers, the project received an angry backlash.
Stuart Tomlin told the group behind the page: “Maybe change the name of this page first. Insulting our city then asking for this won’t help.”
Marilyn McMullan said: “That’s a horrible name to give your page. Give your head a shake.”
Film-maker Shauna Gauntlett said: “It’s like someone slapping you in the face for no reason and then saying sorry and then them forgetting about it and having the brass neck to ask for your help.
“Would you help someone who did that to you? Fellow creatives in this town, most of the time, are very nostalgic about this place.
“There are lots of things to do and a lot is happening here.
“We create, that’s what we do and in turn we try and create a community that enlarges and enriches perspectives of others in our city.”
Despite trying to appease angry Facebook users, a spokesperson for the venture has now confirmed the project will no longer exist.
A Scumdee spokesperson said: “We have been taking all the feedback that we received and reassessing our approach to our project.
“We see it as unfortunate how we couldn’t clearly show the irony behind the name and how that links with our vision. However, we understand the concerns after re-evaluating the situation. As a result, the page/name will no longer exist.”
According to the group behind the initiative: “Taking inspiration from our city, Scumdee projects the many and various pursuits of Scottish youth, rising above the clouds of doubt.”
At present it is unclear if the project will go ahead with a different name.