IU alumnus starts 'dirty' Web site

A Web site launched this year introduces a place where flashy photos, celebrity gossip, crazy stunts and the latest fashions of the party scene come together. How does this site differ from the rest? You, your friends, and people from your school are in the pictures.\nThe Web site www.dirtymascot.com launched last month by 2005 IU graduate Ryan Alovis, aims to be the "voice of the majority of college kids."\n"We're for that kid who wakes up in the morning, not knowing what he did the night before," Alovis said. "We have the mind, focus and attitude of the college kid." \nPhotographers working for the Web site go to bars and clubs around different college campuses and hand out flyers that say "You've been pic'd by the Dirty Mascot." Students can then log on to the site and see photos of themselves from the night before and look at photos from other schools.\nThe Web site is free and features attractions that appeal to the college generation. \n"One of my favorite aspects of the Web site is the boom box," Alovis said. "It is a new and fresh list of rock and rap." The music, custom-made by his DJ, DJ Clutch, is also free for all members. \n"His Web site has a chance to be more popular than Facebook," said Maggie Prall, general manager of Kilroy's Sports Bar. "I don't think that everyone in the bar drags a camera with them. It is very convenient."\nThe company also is not finished progressing. Alovis said he does not intend to be a small Web site with only a couple hundred visitors per day. He said his attitude is to go all the way or not at all. \n"I think this is going to be the next phenomenon," he said. "We want to take over the country." \nNext week, the layout of the homepage will drastically change. \n"It will be edgier and more interactive, displaying new features," Alovis said. \nBut the trademark icon will stay the same, Alovis said. \n"That little guy is pretty pimp," he said.\nThe Web Site plans to send photographers to the nation's 30 biggest universities. \n"They will be shooting 200 pictures a night for three nights a week," Alovis said. The photographers distribute cards saying "You have been picked by Dirtymascot.com" and the next day the pictures will be available on the Web site.\nAlovis also looks to expand and increase networking among college students. \n"With the current popular Web sites, students only interact with people they already know," he said. "Soon, we'll have a way to meet college kids all over the country." \nThe Web site is also planning a regular newsletter. It will inform students about upcoming events sponsored by the company, and gadgets that are a "necessity for college life" according to Alovis, as well as other popular items. The newsletter will feature items and ideas that will "make you better looking and more successful," he said.\nThe title "Dirty Mascot" was a result of weeks of brainstorming. \n"Even my close friends worked on it with me," Alovis said. "We tried to find something that related to the majority of college kids. Most of them are dirty, and every college kid has a mascot." \nThe company is fully funded by Alovis who works as a professional party planner through Impulse, a company based in New York. "I've been planning parties since I was 16 years old," he said. "I love it." Profits come from advertising and "key features on the Web site," he said.\nAlovis graduated with a degree in management from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. During his IU career he started a local service, After Party Cleaning in Indiana. "I had a lot of support from two staff at SPEA, Orville Powell and adviser Stephanie Lewis," he said. "It was their encouragement and support that helped me become successful." \nSophomore Sarah Elliott said she will check out the new site.\n"I'll be interested to see what it's about," she said. "But its hard to beat Facebook. I really like (Facebook) and everyone's already on it"