In their final semester, small teams of students apply the skills acquired in APOC to create a working online community. These teams are advised one-on-one with an industry expert who is creative, visionary, technically adept, dedicated, and knowledgeable about the substance and process of online communities. USC Annenberg finances these projects, while students retain ownership of the final product. Students are encouraged to use this working product for research or to enter industry.

2009

UrbanSalt – “Curating the street style of Los Angeles and beyond”

Every neighborhood, and often key streets, have their "look." UrbanSalt is an aesthetic look at the streets of Los Angeles, showing the styles of each niche area. The social networking site urban salt promotes and nurtures a community of fashion lovers who share photos, comments, articles, and other content that demonstrates how much fun people across Los Angeles have defining their neighborhoods through the art of fashion. In the future, as the site grows to include other cities, we expect to see additional location based services added, as well as links for those interested in buying and selling the fashions displayed. Stroome is the future of video sharing and collaboration.

EchoParkOnline – A community for the people of Echo Park, CA

Echo Park Online brings together the residents, businesses, nonprofits, artists, students and educators to recreate a Echo Park in an online setting. The hyperlocal site finds its strength in the power of the crowds and gives responsible neighbors a voice in their community. EchoPark.com allows the entire community of Echo Park to come together and share information, blog and comment for each other, share photos and video, and enhance their community. Stroome is a great example of hyperlocal community building.

Art Starters – A site for university artists and their fans

ArtStarters is a community of like-minded people who share a passion for the arts. This community primarily for university artists encourages students to share their creative content, comment, critique, and enjoy the art. The site also invites enthusiasts and potential patrons to enjoy the experience and to participate on the site and beyond ArtStarters allows sharing and caring for the arts.

2008

Stroome – “Mix it up. Mash it out”

The downturn in the music industry opened up a huge opportunity to musicians and fans. In response, the social networking site stroome is the first truly collaborative community for video editing. This innovative project, which has received coverage in the NY Times and more will allow journalists and other content creators to share their video and collaborate on visual content. Stroome is the future of video sharing and collaboration.

Would You Eat It – “For those about to eat: We salute you”

Would You Eat It? is a community of food lovers from around the world who come together to post photos of meals and food items, comment about their best and worst dining experiences, and have the chance to experience with others the ideals of eating food. WouldYouEatIT is a hilarious spin on such sites as Hot or Not and Yelp,allowing users to upload photos of food, either as originally served or just the mere left overs and then people rate whether or not they would eat that food WouldYouEatIt is fun and informative for food lovers.

Hey Ney – “Your block lives here”

Hey Ney is a community for people who live on the same block and want to share a site to enhance their microcommuity. HeyNey allows close neighbors to shout "Hey neighbor" across the street or down the block via social media. This hyper hyper local site promotes community interaction, help, and regular communication. .

2007

Boomspin – “Music is Finally Free”

The downturn in the music industry opened up a huge opportunity to musicians and fans. In response, the social networking site Boomspin brings free, legal music downloads to the masses. Musicians are able to manage their careers apart from record labels and make money from merchandise and events. Fans get a place to discover and interact with up-and-coming artists. Boomspin is the future of digital music distribution on the web.

Green or Die – “Your Choice. Everyone’s Future”

Green or Die gets younger individuals involved in the future of their planet by making climate change personal. Social networking features such as message boards and profiles spread a message of “think globally, act locally.” The website is promoted with a unique, humorous video spread virally on YouTube.

Grunchable

People are more likely to complain than compliment -- this is where Grunchable comes in. Grunchable is a social network for people who want to complain about the lousy treatment they got at the market, the horrible food they ate at a restaurant, or the sticky floors at a theater. People can post reviews and address grievances about specific venues they have been to. The network empowers voices of consumers while allowing businesses to address issues critically and constructively.