Brittany Brody, Fampus Creator
Age: 21
Major: Journalism – Strategic Communication
Hometown: Des Moines, Iowa
What is Fampus? Fampus is a website exclusively for college students that aims to keep them in the loop about everything happening in their campus community. Bringing together school events and community events to one place, Fampus can recommend events that students might be interested in based upon how they use it. It is also a social network so they can share their experiences at those events with others in the campus community.
How did you come up with the idea? When I was a freshman at UW – three years ago – I was very overwhelmed by everything happening on campus. There are so many clubs/organizations, and so much to do in the community as well. I kept missing out on opportunities, finding out about them after they were over. I also had no idea where to find this information in one place. Fampus was designed as a solution by bringing everything to one place and recommending events I never would have otherwise known existed.
What is your favorite feature of the site? I really like that photographs on the site are organized by event, rather than by person, so you can see everyone’s photos from one event in one place. Rather than uploading to a personal profile, users upload photos to the event pages. Also, the mobile application will be done very soon, so users will be able to upload photos right from the event they are attending!
What makes Fampus different than other sites that deal with events? Other sites can be messy and inaccurate, but our staff makes sure that the events on our site have the correct information. Additionally, on other social media sites, you can only push events to your network, but Fampus can inform the entire campus about a specific event. Fampus is not the place for a house party – because you don’t actuallywant to invite the whole campus – but is the best and most comprehensive place to promote a legitimate event to the entire campus.
What has the response been to Fampus so far? Are the numbers growing? So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. The numbers have exceeded our expectations and are increasing all the time. We have currently launched at UW-Madison, The University of Nebraska –Lincoln, The University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and some smaller Midwest schools – but we are continually expanding!
How can people get involved with Fampus? Anyone can sign up for Fampus using a .edu address. The site is completely free. Additionally, anyone can submit events to be on Fampus through our “Contact Us” form at the bottom of the page. We love to involve as many students as possible with Fampus, so if you are interested, email us at findfunfast@fampus.com and let us know!