A student at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia is trying to create the internet’s longest horizontal website, a one mile web wall made entirely of public posted material, and raise money for school in the process.
(PRWEB) February 8, 2006 -- A 19 year old College Student is trying to raise money for college, prove himself as a young entrepreneur, enter the Guinness book of world records, and create a web destination for advertisers, artists, and just about anyone with a message to the world - all with one clever idea.
Travis Smith, a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia is trying to create the internet’s longest horizontal website, a one mile web wall made entirely of public posted material. The Mile Wall www.themilewall.com which currently sits just over 20 feet consists of postings from a large assortment of businesses, and individuals alike. Smith's original intention was for the wall to be used for a myriad of purposes. While many of the current participants are advertisers, he is pleased to have a growing number of creative personal postings, dedications, and artwork, giving the wall even more dimension.
Since the age of 16 Smith has been selling his artwork and completing commission paintings online for income. Being a full-time student and managing a personal business may sound like plenty to most people, however with an impressive amount of drive and entrepreneurial spirit; he decided to expand his list of activities to world record holder.
Not only is Smith trying to put a creative twist to internet advertising, but his site has an array of original features, displaying his obvious artistic and technical talent. Some of the features include a top marks page to showcase the most viewed and compelling wall pieces, a dedications page, and a jump button to explore different parts of the wall in an untraditional fashion. Additionally to encourage those creative artists, when the wall reaches one mile Smith will reward $1,000 dollars for the best flash movie design, as voted for by page visitors.
Smith is trying to distinguish his site from www.milliondollarhomepage.com and other similar sites, which are renowned exclusively for advertisements and a $1 per pixel price.
"The most noticeable and important difference is the variety of people that can be part of this site, making it truly unique and allowing it to be appealing and appropriate to everyone," says Smith. "There can be so many types of posts, anything from large, respected company advertisements, to small personal pictures, dedications, and individual creations."
All entries cost $1 per square inch for a permanent spot on the site, and can contain still images, text, and mixed media featuring almost anything. The exceptions according to Smith are tasteless entries including any sort of pornography, gambling sites, and distracting offers for “free” products and services which he says “doesn’t encourage a viewer to return to something that is meant to be artistic.”
It took Smith just one month of hard work to create, and has been publicly viewable for a mere 4 weeks, but the wall has already received international participant attention and press. Participants have been drawn from around the world, after the Mile Wall was featured in several news articles and blog entries.
If Smith’s wall goes the full mile, he'll collect $450,000, enough to cover the $35,000 tuition he pays. He said he will use the remainder to help his mother, and to feed his entrepreneurial spirit. According to Smith if the pace of submissions continues at the rate it has the wall could reach a mile in 6 months at which point he would submit it to the Guinness World records as the longest horizontal website.
Smith hopes the Wall will mark new ground on the internet, encouraging creativity, and individualism. This virtual Wall will stand permanently, and will no doubt attract many viewers for years to come.
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