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Benton woman starts Web site for community |
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Monday, 21 January 2008 |
 Shelli RusselL of Benton is the developer of Mysaline.com, a place for local people to connect in the cyber world. (Courier photo by Josh Barron)
“Members can feel like they have ownership of it,” site founder Shelli Russell said. “They can find out about Benton and debate issues.”
Keeping it clean is one Russell’s goals. With all the obscene, inappropriate words and images streaming the Internet, Russell has developed a survey for potential members.
When people begin the process of setting up an individual page, Russell, 39, asks them if they will abstain from cursing and posting non-family-friendly things.
“I don’t even give them the option to say ‘No’,” the Benton mother said. “All they can click on is ‘Yes.’
“This is a politically correct site. When they sign up, we have an agreement and if they break it, I will kick them off.”
Once the small screening part is over, the networking may begin.
A click on different profiles will provide visitors and members a glimpse into who their neighbor, city representative or stranger is. There’s a place to write personal interests, why members have joined the site and who they’d like to meet. Photos allow a visual glimpse into the lives of members – and of course, these have to be in good taste, too.
Some people don’t live in the area, or even the state, Russell said, but they’re drawn to the network because of some tie to the county, such as family or friends.
Public officials with profiles on the site include Benton aldermen Jerry Ponder, Brad Moore and Greg White and state Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant.
With the saturation of MySpace and Facebook on the Internet, both to which Russell belongs, she said, “I’m not trying to reinvent MySpace. My purpose is for people to get to know their town.”
Russell said she uses the other networks to attract members to her site. She said she used to have a blog to express herself, but she is much happier with mysaline.com because others are included.
Mysaline.com also can be a fun place to play trivia games, such as “Movie Quote War” or “Cheesy Song Lyrics,” Russell said.
“It’s not just me doing it. We’re spinning off each other. It’s beyond being a Web site,” she said. “You can write about things and share and have access to public figures.”
About 15-20 members get together once a month at a local restaurant, Russell said. Everyone on the site is invited to the “Let’s eat together” events, she added.
The same group of people even met over the holidays and played a good game of Dirty Santa, Russell said.
Future goals include hosting events and anything that would bring people together, Russell noted. The events possible could benefit charity organizations, she said.
“I want to use this site as a catalyst for other things,” she said.
By day, Russell is a graphic artist for a state agency. She lives in Benton with her husband, Jim, and two children, Ian, 15, and Gracie, 4.
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