The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 19, 2001, Page 5, Image 5
THE GAMECOCK + Monday, November 19, 2001
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CONTACT US I—I h \/| I V THEY SAID IT
I 1 \j B B /m BARRY HANNAH on voyeurism: It’s
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I I k I V 11/ got a delicious quality, remote and
Writeusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com B B f B B .A m delicious. You can’t do any harm,
. and it’s just like found art.”
Justin Shearer, Jose DeCecco and Leslie Johnson clown around the office of
Justinsane Design, photo by aubrey fogle
Student-founded Internet company
provides Web design, hosting, forums
BY AUBREY FOGLE
THE GAMECOCK
Justinsane Design is an
Internet business founded by
Justin Shearer, senior sociology
major. It’s a Web-page design
company that makes use of
USC’s incubator program, which
provides student companies with
office space, computers, faculty
experience, research and other
incubator resources, along with
$1,000, for up to two years.
Selected from 15 finalists,
Justinsane Design was one of
the first six companies the
Incubator Advisory Committee
chose, and it’s slated to be the
first company to be graduated
from the program since the
incubator’s creation at the
beginning of 2001.
The design company’s
employees, in addition to
Shearer, include Jose DeCecco,
Web designer and sophomore
graphic design major, and Leslie
Johnson, financial and
* marketing advisor and
sophomore marketing major.
Johnson said his company
does more than just design. “We
also have this new software,
‘dotnet solutions,’ and for $29.95
a month, you can get unlimited
use of easy-to-operate software,
your own domain name and
quality hosting.
“If you wanted a Web page
and you didn’t use this
software, you’d have to pay $25
a month for hosting, $25 a year
for your domain name, and if
you wanted to get it designed,
you’re looking at $10,000 to
$20,000 for good quality, with
databases and animation and
everything.”
Shearer added: “We also do e
commerce, shopping carts, realty
modules and forums. So, if a
fraternity or sorority wanted to
have its own forum, they can
come to us.”
“We offer all-encompassing
Web solution,” she said.
Shearer said the company
isn’t doing much individual sales
anymore. “We’re actually
targeting associations and large
corporations. We just partnered
up with South Carolina’s largest
ISP; they have a user base of ten
or fifteen thousand. We’re also
trying to partner up with student
media and different media in
small towns.”
When asked how much
income the company takes in,
Johnson said, “We’ve only heen
going since May; so it’s hard to
say, but we’re doing well, and for
a start-up company, we’re doing
very well.”
The incubator program has
tremendously impacted
Justinsane Design. Johnson
said: “Joel Stevenson (the
program’s director) is just
wonderful. He’s not only a
business mentor; he’s almost
like an extra fatherly figure.
Anything we need to know, if he
doesn’t know the answer, he has
about 5,000 names he could give
you of people who will know the
answer.
“The $1,000 capitol they gave
us to start up was a big help.
The free incorporation that we
got was a lifesaver; if you
wanted to get a company
incorporated, it would cost you
at least $600 to $1,000 with
attorney’s fees and filing fees
and everything.
“ The connections the
incubator gives you is
fantastic. The Greater
Columbia Chamber of
Commerce is a supporter of the
incubator - we only had to pay
$100 to become a member of the
chamber, where if we were just
a regular company, we would
have to pay at least $400 to
join.”
Shearer said the company
would still be around without
the incubator, but “it would
have been a lot harder, and
there would’ve been a lot more
money out of our own pockets. It
would definitely still be running
out my house without the
program.”
The company is currently
looking for a full-time
salesperson and a full-time Web
designer to be added by
Christmas. Shearer said, “By
May I’ll be able to work full
time with them, and that will
make things a lot easier for us
since right now we’re all doing
this mostly part-time with
classes.” The company also ,
wants to set up a board of
directors by February. “With
the board we hope to raise
$50,000 to $100,000.”
“Our goal,” Johnson said, “is
to basically become the first
student company to graduate
from the incubator program and
to move out to much bigger and
better things, like having an
office where more than three
people can sit.”
Shearer said a drive for
success is what makes or breaks
a starting business, even in the
incubator program. “It’s what
you put into it. You still start
from nothing, it just helps you
out a little bit. You’ve got to have
a passion for it. It’s like
anything; if you don’t have a
passion for it, it’s not going to
succeed.”
Johnson said there are some
things potential applicants to the
incubator program should be
aware of: “Know how you’re
going to make money, know
exactly what you’re going to do,
know who you’re going to sell it
to, and how you’re going to sell
it. If you don’t know those four
things, it won’t even really
matter how great your idea is.”
THE
CHARTS
Top 10 Movies
Figures are for the weekend of Nov.
17-19.
MOVIE BOX OFFICE
1. Harry Potter $93.5 million
2. Monsters, Inc. $23 million
3. Shallow HaJ $12.7 million
4. Domestic$5.6 million
5. Heist $4.67 million
6. The One_$4.2 million
7. K-PAX $3.3 million
8. The Wash $3.0 million
9. Life as a House $2.73 million
io. 13 Ghosts $2.19 million
Top 10 Albums
Figures are for the week of Nov. 6
13.
title artist
1. Britney Britney Spears
2. Echoes - Best of... Pink Floyd
3. Invincible _ Michael Jackson
4. Escape Enrique Iglesias
5. A Day Without Rain Enya
6. The Great Depression DMX
7. The Hits - Chapter One BSB
8. Silver Side Up Nickelback
9. The Road Less... George Strait
10. Pain is Love Ja Rule
The Strokes bring ’70s-style rock to Columbia
BY WILLIAM MILLS
THE GAMECOCK
The ’70s rock style has made
its way back into the
mainstream and is inching its
way toward Columbia. Every
once in a while, Columbia gets a
really big rock show, and, this
month, it’s The Strokes.
These five New Yorkers put
the oomph back in rock and roll.
Strong vocals, a simple beat and
thick guitars are how the boys
brought back the original rock
sound, making The Strokes one
of the most sought-after rock
bands in the United States and
England. Its debut album, Is
This It?, was an immediate
success, especially in the UK.
The band was so loved in
London, it signed with a British
record label.
The version of its debut
album thp band released in
England includes the song “New
York City Cops,” which was
removed from the version BMG
released in the United States
because of the events of Sept. 11.
The group’s stardom began in
England, where it was
compared to the Velvet
Underground and The Stooges.
This comparison sets The
Strokes on the shelf with other
indie-rock legends.
The group tries to steer clear
of the overproduced steroid rock
so frequently played on the
radio. Many of those radio
rockers have a lot going for
them, such as fame and fortune,
but can you dance to their
music? The Strokes have a sound
that makes it impossible for the
audience not to dance. The
group’s most powerful aspect,
however, is the prevailing
vocals. The scratchy raw vocals
come from Julian Casablancas,
singing with his mouth touching
the microphone.
It’s a wonder the American
public has taken such a shine to
these gritty rockers, whose style
brings to mind ’70s punk, with
tight blue jeans, T-shirts, suit
jackets and long, shaggy hair.
They’re quite a change from
Limp Bizkit and Korn. The only
reason to compare The Strokes
with those rap-rockers is they
all have videos on MTV. The
Strokes, however, make one
stipulation before agreeing to
make a video — they must be
allowed to play live so they’re
not faking it. So, in the video,
when band members knock
things over, you can tell they’re
really playing. That’s another
thing that brings the group into
the genre of raw rock and roll - it
has a fun, vivacious, yet
destructive stage presence.
Could The Strokes’ instant
fame revive the ‘70s rock scene?
A large part of survival in the
music industry is timing. This
could be the time for vintage
rock to make a massiVe
comeback. Sold-out concerts
and massive press coverage is
the past, present and the near
future for this rock powerhouse
bent on simplicity. ,
! The Strokes
When: Sunday, Nov. 25
Where: The Elbow Room
How much: $10
I
Critically acclaimed rock’n’roll band The Strokes come to Columbia Nov. 25. photo special to the gamecock