2008 Woodie Awards
BookSnag.com looks to expand
By: Kristin Hines
Issue date: 2/6/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Booksnag.com, a year-old Web site run by two DePauw sophomores to help their peers buy and sell textbooks, is considering expanding to include Clemson University.
Zach Koch and Ryan Tinker, who created BookSnag at DePauw during Winter Term of their freshman year, said they now have enough capital to begin "entertaining thoughts" of expansion. The service localizes book-buying within one student body.
"[The Web site] would basically be the same BookSnag as here, we'd just let kids at Clemson sign up," said Koch, who is web editor for The DePauw. "[Clemson students] would be able to search and find books only at Clemson."
The idea of including Clemson arose last semester, Koch and Tinker said. DePauw freshman Todd Kuper explained the Web site to his older brother, a Clemson student, who brought the idea to the Clemson student government.
"I was using the Web site over break, and my brother asked about it," Kuper said. "He knew Clemson was looking for a similar kind of Web site to use there."
Koch and Tinker have not decided to go through with the expansion. First they need to determine if the site has the technical capacity to expand effectively.
"If we could not provide Clemson with as stellar of a service that we provide DePauw, we'd much rather wait until we could," Tinker said.
Koch and Tinker are still in the process of talking with Clemson's student government. Last November Koch, Tinker and executives in Clemson student government participated in a computer conference call in which Koch and Tinker demonstrated how to use BookSnag.
Clemson isn't the only university currently trying to open BookSnag to its students. Last semester DePauw students worked with a junior at Indiana University to promote the Web site there.
"It will take a lot of work to have IU be a successful venture," Tinker said.
Expanding BookSnag is only a matter of advertising and promotion at the new location, Koch and Tinker said.
"From a technical aspect, it's not difficult to open up BookSnag to a new school," Koch said. "The problem is the Web site is only effective if a large number of people are using it."
Zach Koch and Ryan Tinker, who created BookSnag at DePauw during Winter Term of their freshman year, said they now have enough capital to begin "entertaining thoughts" of expansion. The service localizes book-buying within one student body.
"[The Web site] would basically be the same BookSnag as here, we'd just let kids at Clemson sign up," said Koch, who is web editor for The DePauw. "[Clemson students] would be able to search and find books only at Clemson."
The idea of including Clemson arose last semester, Koch and Tinker said. DePauw freshman Todd Kuper explained the Web site to his older brother, a Clemson student, who brought the idea to the Clemson student government.
"I was using the Web site over break, and my brother asked about it," Kuper said. "He knew Clemson was looking for a similar kind of Web site to use there."
Koch and Tinker have not decided to go through with the expansion. First they need to determine if the site has the technical capacity to expand effectively.
"If we could not provide Clemson with as stellar of a service that we provide DePauw, we'd much rather wait until we could," Tinker said.
Koch and Tinker are still in the process of talking with Clemson's student government. Last November Koch, Tinker and executives in Clemson student government participated in a computer conference call in which Koch and Tinker demonstrated how to use BookSnag.
Clemson isn't the only university currently trying to open BookSnag to its students. Last semester DePauw students worked with a junior at Indiana University to promote the Web site there.
"It will take a lot of work to have IU be a successful venture," Tinker said.
Expanding BookSnag is only a matter of advertising and promotion at the new location, Koch and Tinker said.
"From a technical aspect, it's not difficult to open up BookSnag to a new school," Koch said. "The problem is the Web site is only effective if a large number of people are using it."
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