Type of site Social network service Owner BrusterPowers, LLC | Available in English Website www.YawpBox.com | |
Created by Anthony Bruster, co-founder & Jay Powers, co-founder Alexa rank 19,257,589 (March 2014) | ||
YawpBox was an online community. It claimed to have been the first social networking site to be founded in Texas, and to converge Internet, television and radio, into one Internet application. The site, launched on December 20, 2007 by Baylor University alumni The site was designed by its owners Anthony Bruster and Jay Powers for users to upload video files, journals, or photos based on a number of available topics. Users could leave comments for other users, rank stories, and submit topics to be added to the site. Submitted videos were selected by Bruster and Powers for the YawpBox TV show (in development), hosted by DJs Lex & Terry.
The sites tied journals, videos, and photos to their submitter's user profile, aiming to allow users to collaboratively share their life experiences.
History
Bruster and Powers launched YawpBox in Dallas, Texas, in December 2007, after overhearing a couple discussing an experience from one of their vacations. After wondering how many others had shared a similar experience, he implemented an online social network where people could share their life experiences.
Bruster and Powers settled on the name “YawpBox” after discovering the term “yawp” was used in the 1900s to tell or share a story or event with others. They purchased the domain www.yawpbox.com on September 4, 2007. They then moved into development of the site.
With the site under construction, Bruster and Powers signed DJs Lex Staley and Terry James of the Lex & Terry Morning Radio Network, a syndicated and XM Satellite Radio program, to host a weekly, half-hour YawpBox TV show, featuring the most popular videos and photos uploaded to the website. Popularity was determined by online vote. The TV show also featured some of the people behind the submissions.
The DJs posed various challenges to their listeners, who were encouraged to upload video or photos of the competitions to the website. Submissions were selected by vote, and the winning videos or photos were shown on a segment of YawpBox TV.
The voting was handled by through a thumbs-up, or thumbs-down system.
The site was free to registered users. "Yawpers", as YawpBox users were called, could create personal profiles documenting personal events. These experiences were expressed through photos, video, and journal entries. Other Yawpers could then view the profiles and leave comments about their own similar experiences. The site also featured computer games, allowing Yawpers to meet and compete. It did not offer advertising space for sale.
The site closed in 2010.