BY DANA REESE
SC Editor-in-Chief
Alan Reed, a senior computer science major at ESU, is developing a site called AllESU, where anyone with an East Stroudsburg University email can sign up and post classified ads.
In the about section of the site, AllESU is described as “Before AllESU, ESU students did not had a way to communicate directly to the student community… Classified ads just for ESU can help students find what they are looking for quickly, easily, and safely.”
The site is a WordPress platform designed to allow students easy access to a range of student posts. Only people with ESU email addresses can join and peruse the site as of right now, but Reed is looking into future renovations.
“I’m working on a lot right now,” said Reed. “I guess the design aspect of it is really hard for me; I’m trying to improve that by adding more features. I’m working on making a feature where you can pay to log in if you don’t have an ESU ID.”
Students who browse the site might notice similarities to other college classifieds sites that allow only students to post and communicate via the board. As of right now, the site has yet to take off, but Reed wants to change that in the near future.
“It’s been pretty slow so far, but I haven’t really worked on advertising yet,” said Reed. “I’m working on posters to put out, but I don’t really know where to start making fliers.”
This is the first site Reed has built, and it spawned during a class at ESU.
“The idea for the site came from a school project: in one of my classes we were making a website, and my idea for the class project was to make a classified site for ESU. The professor told me to do something else for the project. The past few weeks, I’ve been working on this project on my own on the side.”
The future of the site depends on student and faculty interaction, and for now, any person with an ESU email can post and read through the classifieds for free. Reed plans to work on opening the site to other people and businesses, as well, if the opportunity arises.
“If the website catches on, I plan on selling ads. Similar sites have realtors, non-ESU students in this case, who pay to post. I might do that.”
When asked about other similar book exchange services in the immediate university area, Reed said he did not feel the site would be considered a threat.
“I guess the people who sell or buy back books on the street might be annoyed by it,” Reed said. “But why should someone in a van parked on Main Street get a cut of our book sales? If students are selling books and students are buying books, why not just meet up with each other and make the deal? There’s no service around here like that for ESU students.”
Even in the past week Reed has updated the logo and site interface. While there have been some posts on Facebook about the site and a Twitter account for AllESU, students should look out for more advertising around campus in the next few weeks.
“I just thought it was a good idea,” said Reed.
For more information, visit www.allesu.com, or contact Alan at awr7126@live.esu.edu.
Email Dana at:
dmr3170@live.esu.edu
