Jordan Campbell just transferred to the University of Saskatchewan from Waterloo, but she hopes to make her mark on campus.

The fourth-year geology student just launched OMG SASK, a site that publishes anonymous musings from U of S students.

“It’s a venting medium,” she explains.

OMG SASK, which is based on a similar site Campbell ran at the University of Waterloo called OMG UW, lets users post about any topic they like and, after some editing for grammar and spelling, it gets posted to omgsask.com where others can rate and comment on the posts.

In the last few years, other anonymous sites like this have become popular. On FMyLife, for example, people share embarrassing or frustrating stories. On Group Hug, users confess things anonymously that they would not tell their closest friends.

But what makes Campbell’s Waterloo and Saskatchewan sites different is their narrow focus on individual universities.

“Its because it’s local,” she said of the popularity of OMG UW, which sees about a quarter million pageviews a month. “It’s soothing that it can relate directly to you. It’s an extension of the community you’re a part of.”

Although OMG SASK only launched on Sept. 14, she has already had a handful of submissions from students. The only promotion Campbell did was online advertising and some posters and signs around campus. She says a site like this only becomes popular through word of mouth.

“I think Saskatchewan could use something like this,” she said. “There isn’t a really strong online community here.”

There are three types of posts users can submit. The first is an OMG — general kvetching or confessions. The second is a “missed connection,” in which someone describes that beautiful stranger they wish they had talked to but missed their chance. Lastly, users can submit an “I love you” in which they can express their admiration for anything from “getting a blow job before going to my morning classes” to “People with a strong grasp of hallway logistics.”

OMG SASK also has a chat feature through which bored students can talk to one another — anonymously, of course.

Campbell has plans to expand her OMG network to other campuses in the future, but for now the U of S is her focus. And no matter how popular the site might get, she has no plans to get rich off the project.

“I think if I did put up ads, it would only be to cover the costs of the site,” she said. “I’m just worried about it becoming tacky.”

Campbell says the earlier site eventually became a source of news for Waterloo students and even led to an engagement after someone responded to a “missed connection” post.

The newly launched Saskatchewan version may take some time to generate such a following, but now that the groundwork is laid, it may just be a matter of time. Especially around midterms and finals, traffic tends to go up as people look for a study break.

The appeal of the site, Campbell says, is in the anonymity.

“It gives people more power”¦. Here you have the ability — for lack of a better way to put it — to talk behind people’s backs without fear of repercussion.”

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that OMG UW received a quarter million visitors per month. In fact, it receives that many pageviews.

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image: OMGSASK