SMU journalism professor Susan Krasnow spoke to an introductory journalism class Wednesday about the start-up of a new student Web site, SMUguide.com, and requested writers from the class to assist with the site’s content.
The site’s main purpose is to increase communication between students, as well as to provide information about classes, professors and activities.
“I see bulletin boards with pieces of paper over pieces of paper, and I thought: there has to be a better way for students to communicate with each other,” Krasnow said. “[The bulletin boards] are a pretty sad way for people to find each other.”
SMU journalism students as well as students from around campus will write, design and maintain the Web site in an attempt to “put together information you won’t find anywhere else.”
“This is not like something you would get from Perkins Administration,” Krasnow said. “It does have an edge.”
A large percentage of the site will be focused around a “Bulletin Board” section, a portion providing students with the opportunity to post messages about a variety of topics.
A “Suggestion Box” will allow students to write suggestions for SMU in general as well as SMUguide.com. A “Shout Out” board allows students to post personal messages for birthdays, social announcements such as engagements and weddings, congratulations and holiday greetings. The “Hook-Up” will announce meetings for groups, study sessions and sports and music events, and the “Meat Market” will have personal ads.
A “Help” section will provide instructions on how to use personal digital assistants like PalmPilots, tips for video games and class notes. “Rides” will allow students to carpool, and “Homies” will help find people at SMU from different areas around the country.
A gift registry for graduating seniors and grad students, as well as a showcase for displaying students’ talents in music, art and photography, will allow parents to get connected.
A free classifieds section will be divided up into several categories, including “Free Stuff, don’t trash it, share it,” “Lost and Found,” “Housing,” “Reverse E-Bay: Need to buy…,” a CD/software/DVD/games exchange, a textbook exchange and a section for tutors.
The site is expected to be up and running before the end of the semester.
Krasnow’s class is open to all students, and she wants people from all over campus to assist in providing content for the site. Using a survey form on the SMU Web site, people.smu.edu/smu, she hopes students will provide information on what they would like to see on the community site.
“By putting these questions out to the university, we get a much better response,” she said.
Krasnow has enjoyed working on the Web site.
“We have the advantage of having something only on the computer,” she said. “It makes me think of reporting in a completely different way. The whole concept of time elements changes, making it easier to write.”
