warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Circlet: Students Create USC-Only Version Of Craigslist

Benjamin Li |
April 30, 2014 | 8:03 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

The Circlet logo. (Circlet.org)
The Circlet logo. (Circlet.org)
After years of confusion and indecision over where to sell used items or buy secondhand necessities, a group of fellow Trojans decided to take the consumer-to-consumer trading market into their own hands.

Say hello to Circlet, a peer-to-peer online marketplace intended to streamline the buying, selling, and trading of goods taking place every day on and around the USC campus.

According to its founders – a group of ambitious USC undergrads – Circlet aims to deliver to the USC community an online trading service that’s efficient, easy-to-use, trustworthy, and most importantly – designed exclusively for Trojans, by Trojans.

“It all started when I started getting sick of falling back on Craigslist whenever I needed to sell a bike, or a piece of furniture,” said Alexandra Nguyen, who came up with the idea. “I never knew if I could even trust the person on the other end of my classified ad. More often than not, I couldn’t.”

Frustrated by the lack of reliable resources for the simple act of buying and selling secondhand items, Nguyen rallied the efforts of her classmates in one of her Communications courses (COMM 340 – The Cultures of New Media) to build a trustworthy alternative.

Her solution: designing a trading service that limits its membership exclusively to USC students.

“If you don’t have a @usc.edu account, you can’t sell your stuff on Circlet,” said Nguyen.

For the past few months, Nguyen’s team have been grinding out a prototype of the Circlet website and mobile application. The Trojan-based peer-to-peer trading service is launching this week.

From textbooks to Coachella tickets, Circlet is aiming to be the premier platform for the USC student trading market. If Nguyen and her team pull it off, the USC community will have access to a safe, reliable and exclusive online flea market.

"No need to worry about shipping or fees. Or strangers coming to your door. Post something, get a message, and meet up on campus. It's that simple," said Eric Szurek, Circlet's web developer.

 

Visit Circlet.org:

Circlet's Facebook:

 

Contact Executive Producer Benjamin Li here:



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness