A local website is taking social networking to a whole new level.

UINightlife.com, a student created and run social networking site, focuses on the UI bar scene, allowing students to make plans in one simple and convenient setting.

The site was started by three UI students, Steve Zazeski, Jeremy Abrams and Michael Candido, who, working from August to November on development and testing, finally launched the current version in December. Despite being the new kid on the block, the site has already acquired over 100 users, said the founders in an e-mail interview.

The three “hope the number will increase exponentially as word gets out. [The goal is] to get about 2000 users (5% of the student population) on the site,” they said. “That’s not to say we wouldn’t be happy with more. We want it to become the default go-to destination for students trying to keep up with friends late at night,” they said.

UINightlife allows students to display their plans for every night of the week. Students can constantly update their plans and see what friends are currently doing by checking the site from a computer or even texting the site while already out. Users not only have the option to say which bar they are at, but options such as “apartment party,” “pregame,” or “studying,” are also available.

The texting feature in particular, the founders said, helps “to eliminate the chronic communication disruptions that occur between parties at loud bars.”

William Armstrong, senior in LAS, said that the site is very useful “especially on the weekends, or for parties and bar crawls.” He finds it most useful for learning the drink specials.

Vivianna Sapien, a UI alumna, has a little different use for it.

“I use it to stay in touch with all of my friends still on campus,” she said. “Sometimes I plan my weekends around what’s going on. It’s a cool way to help me stay updated with all of the happenings on campus without actually being there.”

The site is also useful for organizing bar crawls, which can be set as public, available to everyone, or private, just for friends. Also, to make the process even more convenient, Zazeski, Abrams and Candido are working with A & A Graphics so that users can order t-shirts directly from UINightlife.

“Normally, one person would have to put up the total cost of the order and then have everyone pay their share individually. With our system, no one has to be in that position, which frankly is not a good place to be,” they said.

Another feature of UINightlife is that it provides a brief description of each bar as well as a schedule of daily specials, which users can rate and comment on.

“I love that people can review,” Sapien said. “Sometimes, when I’m skeptical about a bar, it’s reassuring to read how the atmosphere and vibe is and know I can count on the review because it was done by a person my age.”

UINightlife is set up so that each member makes a profile. Each profile is fairly simple, and students have the option of putting information such as “favorite drink” or “favorite drunk food” as well as a picture.

“We ask questions that you probably aren’t often asked,” the founders said. “Not only is this a more interesting way of doing things, but it also provides some anonymity since none of them are directly identifying.”

In addition, the profile displays the student’s plans, and offers a space to receive messages. There is also the ability to instant message.

Zazeski, Abrams, and Candido are also working on a new feature that they think will be very useful.

“We want to add ‘bar-line’ cameras to the site,” they said. “Each camera will take a picture of the bar lines every minute and upload it to the site. Students will be able to see how long the lines are before they head out.”