Long the destination for Brown students looking to debate hot topics on campus, the Daily Jolt may be facing some outspoken competition.
Loudcampus.com, a discussion board and review-centered Web site that connects students at different campuses, launched at Brown March 8. Loud Campus was founded by Cornell University alums Yanni Hufnagel and Doug Sokolik. Though similar to the Daily Jolt in that it's intended to be a forum for college students, Loud Campus is different from the Jolt in that its focus is broader than specifically Brown-related topics, Hufnagel said.
The site was initially launched at Hamilton College because that school had a smaller, "more close-knit community," Hufnagel said. Its success at Hamilton led to a launch three weeks ago at Cornell, where there has been a "tremendous response," Hufnagel said.
The founders said they don't think Brown students' attachment to the Jolt will hinder Loud Campus' success at the University.
The sites are very different, Sokolik said. Much of the content on the Daily Jolt outside of the site's forums is "authored by Jolt people," he said, while Loud Campus's content is entirely student-generated.
He also said the Jolt acts as more of a "portal" website. "The minute you review a professor, you're out of the Jolt and in a different place," Sokolik said.
The Loud Campus layout and setup are more "user-friendly" and encourage "more content flow," Hufnagel said.
One thing the new site offers that the Jolt doesn't is the ability to connect to students at different universities, he said. For example, it would be helpful if a student was going to "Cabo San Lucas for spring break" and wanted to talk to students across the country who had been there before, Hufnagel said.
Daily Jolt moderators also said the sites are different, though "the Jolt has everything that Loud Campus has" and more, said Jolt moderator Amy Chang '08, specifically mentioning job listings and a marketplace forum where people can post things they wish to sell.
"I think one big difference is that the Jolt offers a lot more organization," said Jolt moderator Adam Cambier '09, a Herald opinions columnist. "If you want to see menus, you know where to look. If you want to discuss campus events, you know where to look. It seems to me that Loud Campus is a bit more freeform."
Some students agreed with the Jolt moderators.
Rachel Kahn '10 said she uses the Daily Jolt "for the menu and (Herald) headlines," and doesn't think Loud Campus "will be competition at all. I think it's completely different." One reason was that Kahn thinks the Jolt is more specific to Brown and has more information.
"I might read Loud Campus, but I'm not big on posting (comments) online," she said.
Loud Campus is for students who are too "lazy" to look things up for themselves, said Michael Levy '10.
"There are so many better ways to waste your time," Levy said. "We already have" everything Loud Campus offers on other sites, he said.
Sokolik said he and Hufnagel think Loud Campus' growth will be gradual.
"The Daily Jolt is already there and established at Brown. We're trying to grow over time - it won't happen on day one," Sokolik said.
After the initial evaluation period, Loud Campus might start to add other features, such as menus, videos and pictures, if students express an interest in them, Hufnagel said. He also said he thinks Loud Campus is more "inviting" than the Jolt.
"It's like one big interactive blog," he said.
Cambier said he doesn't see Loud Campus as competition to the Jolt right now, "but we're a lot more established and they're just starting out. It'll be interesting to see how they develop as they get older," he said.
