Post 2

This week, when Professor Rubin talked about servers, I knew that this is the technology I would need for my website, SUcarpool.com. The server would control access to all the resources of the website, including user profiles, previous carpool groups, and maps/routes for getting home. It would take very few people to run the website since it is mostly user generated information, but in order to join in the effort of Green Computing, I would try to use a virtual computer to reduce my consumption of energy and generate less waste.
In order to attract students to the website, I would be sure to follow the 4 effective website criteria: design, technology, content, and management. The design would have to be simple and the technology easy to use. No busy student would take extra time to learn how to use a confusing site to get a ride home. Our content would be minimal, since the students would be the ones providing most of the information. And for this site, management is crucial. Like any other site, figuring out how to make the website more user-friendly and efficient takes time and trial and error. A management team would be a large component of the company to ensure the website is easy to use and hassle-free.
SUcarpool.com would also have a large social media presence because it is one of the primary ways that college students communicate. Twitter tweets and facebook messages/status updates could alert students with the most recent postings and remind students to begin networking to find rides home during the holidays and breaks. Twitter and Facebook would remind students when it's time to check Sucarpool.com for Spring Break plans.

Post 1- My Idea

For this project I want to start a carpooling network for Syracuse University. I know that websites like this already exist, but I want to bring it to SU specifically. Erides.com is the major website providing this service, but under the Syracuse listings, it was all for short trips to the suburbs. I realize that students do not know of this service or would trust a university specific website more than a general one. Living on Long Island, 6 hours away, I know that bus/plane/train tickets are expensive, yet I have a hard time finding people to carpool home with. Considering how many people from Long Island actually go to SU, it's sort of mind boggling that I have trouble finding someone to take me home.
This website will be called SUcarpool.com. In order to access the site, one will have to provide their syr email and password. This will create a safe place for only students to offer rides home. This ensures that no one from outside the university can offer strangers rides anywhere, one reason I never used the other sites.
The website would be set up by location and date of travel, and each person could create a profile. In this way, students can "save" their friends who live near them and can see their activity on the site. They will be alerted when these friends post any activity about traveling home or anywhere else. Students will work out their own negotiations about gas and other expenses needed to go home. Eventually, other universities could set up these websites in conjunction with this one. Le Moyne, for example, could collaborate with SUcarpool.com and students from both universities could make arrangements to carpool. It's safe, it saves gas, you can use the HOV lane, and it's cheaper than a bus ticket. Why wouldn't we all use it?