In some students' books, posting on the Web site is tantamount to selling your soul. Thread views have dwindled from four figures to two. But nearly one year after the launch of infamous virtual gossip mecca JuicyCampus.com, site founder and chief executive officer Matt Ivester, Trinity '05, is betting that Dukies-and students at other college campuses nationwide-are still thirsty for "the juice."
Boasting a redesign, JuicyCampus is the same old gossip queen in a flashy party dress. Users can now view the most popular searches, peruse the site at 10 times the previous speed and share links to spread social gospel farther than ever before. Whether or not recovering addicts at Duke-the site's flagship campus-will take notice remains to be seen.
"The last time I looked at it, I didn't really see anything promising or juicy, so I haven't been back since," sophomore Christophe Lafargue said. "There are plenty of other ways to get my kicks.... JuicyCampus and I have parted ways."
Students were not the only ones who could not stomach "the juice." Last Spring, the attorney generals of New Jersey and Connecticut launched investigations into JuicyCampus for suspicions that the site violated consumer protection laws. Ivester, however, has announced that the site will grow to serve 500 college campuses in September.
Ivester said the objections of some administrators have not factored into the company's decision-making process.
"The campuses where [administrators object to the site]... are probably the campuses that need JuicyCampus the most," he said.
He added that Blue Devils remain among the site's most devoted followers. Ivester acknowledged that traffic on the Duke thread dipped during the summer months but noted that activity has picked up since students returned to campus.
"JuicyCampus is the only place on the Internet where students have the opportunity to discuss the topics that actually interest them," he wrote in an e-mail. "And since it is completely user-generated, the site is authentic-it's not a bunch of goody-two-shoes adults trying to shove their bulls- down students' throats."
Sophomore Brooke Hartley confessed that the gossip forum was a guilty pleasure for her last year.
"Part of the appeal is the car-wreck mentality," she said. "You're thinking, 'This is so disgusting, this is so terrible, but I feel like I need to watch it.'"
But Hartley said the site's luster faded when the content devolved into little more than libel.
"It lost its relevancy when every post became, 'This girl's a slut," she noted. "You feel worse for the people who are writing on JuicyCampus than the people who are written about. I felt like by reading it I was feeding into this horrible power."
Hartley said there is little the site can do to win back upperclassmen, but she noted that freshmen might be lured by the promise of inside scoop.
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