Today a new Web site targeted directly at college students, shmoop.com, is designed to help everyone burning the midnight oil. “Shmoop” is a Yiddish word that means “encouraging word.” This definition coincides with what the CEO, Ellen Siminoff, told the University Times she hopes to accomplish by launching and maintaining this Web site. She wishes to give help to students in a way that is “more fun and relevant for students in the digital age.”
Shmoop provides an in-depth analysis of themes, characters, literary devices … and the list goes on. This content is all provided by Ph.D. and masters’ students, much more than can be said for sites like Wikipedia.org. Shmoop’s content is all regulated and updated on the norm by a full-time staff. What some have said is the best part of Shmoop.com is that it provides multiple perspectives on the same topic, not the stereotypical one-sided argument.
For all of those students that can’t seem to get started with writing an essay, there are writing tools galore. “Shmoop is a squirt of WD-40 to the mind,” says Siminoff. The thought-provoking content is designed to make the reader think with minimal work. There is an outline template that will allow anyone to just go through and write out some thoughts; the Web site will generate an outline based on the input.
Visit Shmoop.com, type in a topic, and instantly pictures, movies, audio clips, music and various links are at your finger tips. With a custom-built content server, Shmoop has designed an easy way to deliver content and find the specific content that you are looking for, even if it’s not in the database.
Another unique thing to Shmoop.com is its sticky notes, clippings and folders features. You can select various portions of text from the content that you are reading, and save them to a virtual folder, making them readily accessible whenever you are ready to start writing that paper and need to cite something. The virtual sticky note feature lets you jot down ideas and keep them in an organized format. You also can’t misplace these, because they’re permanently attached to your account until you delete them!
For those history majors, there are “cram sheets” on this site designed to condense important dates and facts into a readable format that isn’t bogged down with unnecessary fluff. With the Shmoop.com timelines, any reader can piece together important dates in history without having to sift through a cumbersome textbook.
Another fun feature of Shmoop.com is the discussion groups’ add-in. An entire class can login to Shmoop.com and have a live, active discussion about a literary piece or a portion of history. The discussion group feature was designed with the intent of making the site engaging, and an active part of learning the material.
The Shmoop.com team wants everyone to be able to cite its Web site with confidence. When talking with the vice president of business development for Shmoop.com, Brady Wood, he spoke of how Shmoop.com employees take pride in their name, and stand behind their content. They are constantly adding content; their goal is 5-10 new pages a week. Siminoff and her team at Shmoop.com derive their motivation from their own passion. Siminoff ended the interview by saying, “I really like lit. and history; we just want to make it fun.”
At Shmoop.com, the site’s ultimate goal is to bring literary works and history alive, with a fresh new look.
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