Volume 124 Issue 84
kansan.com
Friday, January 27, 2012
Tapas on Mass seeks to offer unique flavor on busy street
the student voice since 1904
PAGE 3
A Pinteresting way to share
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VICTORIA PITCHER
VICTORIA PITCHER
vpitcher@kansan.com
While Facebook is still the leader in the social media world, the virtual pinboard site, Pinterest, is claiming its own stake on the charts.
Pinterest has a variety of uses, from decorating a home to planning a wedding. Users take photos and ideas that they find on the web and "pin" it to their virtual pinboard. They can also view other people's pinboards.
"When I'm bored, I get on there and see my friends and what they are pinning," said Kristen Hastert, a junior from Olathe.
Hastert was invited by friends to join Pinterest two months ago. Pinterest is currently invitation-only. And it may be the private aspect that makes Pinterest so appealing.
"I think it makes you want it more," Raymond said.
Tera Raymond, a freshman from Colby, said the invitation made her wonder what the big deal was.
Raymond has had a Pinterest account since April 2011 and uses it for cooking and craft ideas. She said she also has a Pinterest application for her iPod, and when she's not pinning
at home on her computer, she's on her portable version.
According to the web information company Alexa, Pinterest is ranked the 28th most popular site in the United States, as of Thursday evening. Women under the age of 34 account for the majority of the site's traffic.
"It will definitely take hours away from your day," Raymond said.
Pinterest users claim that once they're in, they're hooked.
One audience Pinterest has failed to reach is the male population. Although this population does exist, according to statistics from Alexa.com, men are greatly underrepresented, as there is only a small number of them participating in the pinning revolution. For Tim Turkalo, a junior from Topeka, it was a lack of interest. He also said that none of his male friends have a Pinterest either.
Even though the male audience hasn't caught on to the newest social media site, Pinterest's popularity has continued to rise, jumping from the 30th to the 28th most popular site in the U.S. within 24 hours, according to Alexa.com.
Edited by Corinne Westeman
80 likes 27 comments 53 repins UDK into Bags
1407 likes 50 comments 8451 repins
300 likes 149 comments 88 repins
149 comments 88 repins UDK onto Shoes
UDK onto Favorites
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UDK onto Crafts
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UDK onto Bags
ART
100 'strangers' no longer
DYLAN SNYDER
dsnyder@kansan.com
Have a look around. You can see that the streets and sidewalks are teeming with characters, mysterious strangers. In each sidestep and passing glance there is a story that goes untold; a story forgotten. For many, it is rare that we divert from our daily routine in an effort to speak to someone new.
However, Chelsey Jankord, a freshman from Manhattan, made such an effort after she arrived in Lawrence last fall to begin her first semester as a Jayhawk. Jankord recalls one of her biggest challenges during her first semester, a challenge that many new students face.
Determined to overcome her situation she turned to the Internet. Jankord began to scour through blogs and websites in search of a solution to her problem. Her search first brought her to the 365 Project, an initiative in which participants take one photograph each day for an entire year.
"I wasn't meeting people," she said. "I was kind of going through people withdrawals."
Relentlessly, she continued to search until finally she came across something that was new to her and grabbed her attention.
CONTRIBUTED BY
CHELSEY JANKORD
"A lot of people I knew were doing the 365 Project so I decided to do something more original," she said.
Unlike the 365 Project,100 Strangers is a project that requires socialization. The first objective of
Photos from Jankord's 100 Strangers project. Although they don't mind sharing their stories with her, some subjects wish to remain anonymous.
the
activity is to approach one hundred strangers and ask them to share a personal story.
"People have told me simple things, like how they skipped class," Jankord said. "An elderly couple that I met by Potter Lake told me their life story."
The second half of the project is taking the photo (with permission) of the strangers who shared their story. While meeting new people and collecting the stories of strangers was appealing to Jankord, it was the second half of the project that intrigued her most of all.
She had hoped to be admitted to the School of the Arts to study photography, but was declined. 100 Strangers became an opportunity for her to pursue her love of art as well as to build confidence and overcome the difficulties of meeting new people.
"This project stood out to me because I wanted to do something that involved photography," Jankord said.
Setting out and onto campus
with her camera, Jankord started out strong. Though she discovered right away that people weren't used to being approached, she found most people were more than willing to talk about themselves.
"I think what she's doing is pretty courageous, daring," Teron Gaumer said after sharing a story with Jankord and becoming one of her strangers.
Often times it is this fear of rejection that stunts our bravery and keeps us from meeting new people. Overcoming her nerves, Jankord has continued to collect strangers and has now documented the photographs and stories of nearly twenty strangers.
"It was when I got my first rejection that I first got nervous," she said.
She remembers not being very nervous in the beginning.
"It really helped me get out there and meet people," she said.
Jankord is not the only student on campus participating in the project.
"It's a neat learning tool with an online community where people encourage you and you can learn from them."
Baffa, much like Jankord, began the project as a way to grow as a photographer and to break out of social timidity.
Collin Baffa, a senior from
Olathe and a participant in 100 Strangers, thinks it has a lot of social relevance.
"In day to day life you walk past so many people and you just have a brief encounter, you don't even notice them," he said. "Now I'm stopping people and getting to know them and it's interesting because they're often a lot more friendly than you would think."
According to the 100 Strangers page on Flickr, there are currently more than 7,000 participants.
Index
For more information about 100 Strangers, including portfolios of the project's participants, you can visit www.100strangers.com and www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers
Edited by Anna Allen
CLASSIFIEDS 7
CROSSWORD 4
TYLER BIERWIRTH/KANSAN
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
Kody Collins, a sophomore from Overland Park, enjoys a non-alcoholic White Russian while dressed in character as "The Dude" during The Big Lebowski night at Jaybowl on Thursday. Students enjoyed free popcorn and bowling while watching the movie.
*&#% IT, DUDE.
LET'S GO BOWLING
SPORTS 8
SUDOKU 4
Don't forget
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2012 The University Daily Kansan
They've got shoes, but if you've got your own, bring 'em. Cosmic bowling at 10 p.m at the Jaybowl in the Union.
Forecasts done by University students. For a more detailed forecast.
Today's Weather
see page 2A.
Break out those wellies!