Globalization may have made the world a smaller place, but for most of us it's still not small enough. We are constantly innovating newer means of bringing people closer together. The phenomenal success of social networking sites has proved the basic need of people to connect to each other, and maintain these connections over periods of time. However, websites like Facebook, Orkut, MySpace etc. only bring people together to meet emotional needs i.e. the need for social interaction. There is still a large gap where meeting material needs is concerned. There are only a limited number of websites in India that bring people together to serve their need for merchandise or services. What is worse is that students are a sadly neglected breed, and even websites like eBay, Cleartrip etc. that do exist to meet material needs are often restricted to the privileged lot that own a credit card, and let's face it, there aren't too many people handing those out to students (and maybe with good reason :P). But that does leave us poor folks in a pickle. We need cheap access to housing, books, laptops, mobile phones, jobs etc. just as much as the next working person, in fact, even more. Yet while there are infinite sources that provide you with information about the best 5 star hotels, there are practically no websites that tell you about good hostels or paying guest accommodation in any city or campus.

So we decided that we'd had enough, and that we'd have to do something about it. We didn't need other people to help us meet our basic needs at university. We'd do it ourselves. And thus SearchMyCampus was born. searchmycampus is an online campus noticeboard where students as well as student service providers can advertise their needs - merchandise/services they want to buy or sell. The idea behind this is that all students need certain basic merchandise and services during their time at university, and they can help each other get access to these. What one student has and doesn't need another student may want. If they can be put in touch with each other, they can fulfill each others' requirements i.e. the need of one to get rid of something and the need of to obtain it.

I may have purchased a television when I was a student at university, but when I graduate I need to sell this television. Another student who has just started university may need a television, but may not want to purchase an expensive new one. If I can get in touch with him to sell my television at a reasonable price, we both benefit. Students also tend to have common needs. I need to get to college everyday but commuting everyday is expensive. If I can find 5 other students from areas near my house, we can share the costs among ourselves and so mutually benefit. I may have found an excellent apartment near university that I cannot afford to live in by myself. If I can get in touch with students from my college who also require cheap accommodation in a convenient location, I can share the rent with them, and save my money for more important things like food.

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