by Joseph William Perry
Just when you feel like all the fun has gone and will never come again, joy comes from an unexpected place.
For more than seven years I worked for a test-scoring company. It was seasonal work, only about four to six months per year, but it was a good place with good management and interesting work. Plus there were lots of interesting people around. I made lots of friends; I felt like I belonged—like at summer camp when I was a kid. I had extra-special men-friends and lady-friends. I had friends older than me, old enough to be a father-figure; I had friends younger than me, young enough for me to be a father-figure to them.
Every year when our test-scoring season ended I knew I would miss my friends but I also knew most likely I would be back the next time the testing projects came rolling in. For income I scrounged for odd jobs and did web sites (some of them paid money) to make ends meet. This year, when testing ended, I knew the scrounging was going to be hard. I was tired (sick and tired) of doing repair and remodeling jobs for people. Not that I don't like the work; I like the work; it's just that I'm not able to succeed in it as a business. I can fix toilets, patch holes in walls or make mud-room cabinets out of love. I love to do it out of love, but I can't do it as a business. The business part of it makes me crazy. All that to say this—I knew I had to find a job.
And then I got a job—through no fault of my own a job presented itself, I enquired, I hustled to meet the requirements and I was hired. I am thankful. Now I have a paycheck. Again, I am thankful. But now I won't be able to go back to the testing place. Apparently I wouldn't be able to go back to "summer camp". That source of love and fellowship is gone. I grieved—to be honest, I grieved bitterly.
Then one day when I was perusing the world wide web, on a search for something—don't remember just what—I came across a website with satirical stories about the Christian life and its institutions (mostly the institutions). It was hilarious—and poignant. I read the stories, punched the link to the archives and had a big time with it. That web site was Lark News, created by Joel Kilpatrick. As is my custom with sites I like, I looked at the bottom of the page for more information about the management. I found a link to kilmil and followed it. There I found Joel's brother Ian's portfolio, which included some business sites, some music sites (like Randy Stonehill) and yes, more satire and parody. But there was one site in the list that was different—BeenUp2. It had a nice bright logo in the upper left, a column of latest postings on the right, a block with random people, and two frames of google ads. It was an interactive community with photo-posting, commenting and friend making. The byline was "Wut U BeenUp2?". So I hit the register link.
My excuse for joining was that I'm interested in interactive stuff (check my Rootabaga and Dotlove efforts) and wanted to see what the BeenUp2 experience was like.
The byline was "wut u beenup2?". So I hit the register link. Here's how it works. You post photos from your data-enabled cell phone, email or web browser. You include a caption and a location for the picture. Then any other member can see your picture and make a comment on it; you can comment back and you've got friendly banter going on. You upload a picture of yourself; other users see you and what you've "beenup2" and ply you with comments and friend requests. At least that's the way it was with me. Quite a few jumped in and made me welcome. Reggie was the first. Ian was second—he's the energetic force of BeenUp2. Reggie is his mother-in-law, as near as I can figure. Before long Ian asked me (in a comment) how I found beenup2. I told him just what I told you (well, not in as much detail). Jen tagged me too. She is Ian's other half and is very active on beenup2. Her sister Christy is also active, as well as a bunch of Ian's extended family members. It's a hothouse atmosphere; everyone everyone knows is participating, having fun and helping get BeenUp2 off to a healthy start.
One of the main features is the location attribute. First of all you ID your location when you register. Then when you post your photos you ID where you are—state, city and locale or place of business. Kind of like this, 'Here we are at Such-and-Such eatery in So-and-So community, and here's what we are eating; it's great; isn't this fun?' Then someone comments, 'oh I love their food, I wish I were there too'. People love to talk about food. Then you can click on the name of the business and even pull up a google map to find out how to get there. Anyone can see the possibilities for advertising revenues there.
Ian, Ana Maria and others have been posting their grocery shopping on BeenUp 2. I discussed the price of milk with Ana Maria and with Ian the popularity of Little Debbie snacks. We both have a soft spot for them.
BeenUp2 is people and relationships. I met a guy on there whose name sounded familiar. I thought, oh that's who he is! BeenUp2 is sharing where you're going and what happened on the way. It's light and fun but it can be caring and personal and the possibilities are endless for meaningful communication. It's family pictures and 'aren't they cute', 'isn't she precious', and 'is that dog food or garden pebbles?' BeenUp2 has started up and it is rolling—doesn't seem to be gathering any moss. The system, with the resources of Amazon Web Services, looks to have the capability of exponential growth. New folks are joining every day, stumbling in or being invited by friends who already stumbled in. BeenUp2 is infectious and can be slightly addictive—in a good way, at least for me it is.
My feeling of being welcomed so warmly might be due to the hothouse atmosphere—the pitch-in spirit of the startup team's effort—that's alright. Howe'er it was I stumbled in, or was led in at this particular time, I feel liked and wanted by the BeenUp2 family. I am thankful. It feels like summer camp.
Here's my BeenUp2 profile page.
