[August 24, 2011] In their arena Tweet PEMBROKE, Aug 24, 2011 (The Robesonian - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- An international shoe website may not get Francis Bayog's business, but it has grabbed his attention. Zappos.com's core values, including "Create fun and a little weirdness," "Embrace and drive change," and "Be humble," have been a driving force behind Bayog's own website -- one that's creating a buzz in Pembroke. "I saw Tony Hsieh (founder and CEO of Zappos) being interviewed on a news show and I just felt inspired," Bayog said. "I don't even go to their website but just the way he spoke as a businessman with his values; they're not the typical corporate values, they set them apart from other companies." Bayog, a senior at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, is the co-founder of Fliprap Arena, an interactive website that allows users to post poetry, rap, art and videos. The forum allows -- actually, requires -- constructive comments on pieces contributed to the site. "We have this feedback rule where you have to give two feedbacks to other members before you can post your own," Bayog said. "That way it's not just a one-way thing." Membership to www.fliprap.com is free, and about 800 have signed up. Many are UNCP students, but members include people from all as far as the Phillipines and Africa. "You can browse through the content without signing in, but signing in would just make it more interactive for the user," Bayog said. The site's other co-founder, UNCP senior Johnny Chang, met Bayog in a Chinese class. Chang's knowledge of coding and other technical aspects complemented Bayog's business plan for the site, which launched in February. The two used an open-source software, which provided the nuts and bolts of the website. Now they update it based upon their needs. "If something's good, we use it and if something's not, we take it out, so it's kind of like an experiment," Chang said. The site's Facebook page has more than 2,500 likes -- mostly from word-of-mouth recommendations, Bayog said. His voicemail greeting ends with, "And don't forget to visit www.fliprap.com!" Advertisements, like a Best Buy banner across the top of the page, have kept Fliprap paying for itself. When the key players sit down and discuss the site, one gets a feeling that it's the Facebook of UNCP -- an underground site on the verge of hitting it big. "It's kind of like Facebook, but instead of a general audience we have a target audience, which is the artists who want to encourage creativity in others and want to deliver that in a positive way to the community," Bayog said. Bayog, wearing a plaid fedora and matching button-down, introduces himself as the president and artistic director, but says he also says he is a webmaster, writer and promoter, among other things. "I have a lot of titles," said Bayog, who is called Jake by friends. His business card is emblazoned with the motto "Create Revolution!" Bayog hopes to get professors at UNCP involved with Fliprap, possibly using it as a tool in classes. Karen Helgeson, an English and creative writing professor at UNCP, supported the two students while they created the site. Joshua Webb, a senior at UNCP, often comments on other people's poetry on the site, as well as posts a few lines of his own. "I prefer to give other people feedback on poetry," Webb said. "I actually like reading it." Poetry is the most discussed medium on the site, Bayog said, and poetry battles give it a competitive edge. "They are given a topic and they have to write a poem by a certain deadline," Bayog said. "It's a great way to encourage creativity. It motivates them. I think competition breeds creativity." Webb, a 25-year-old English Education major, is helping Bayog to develop a logo for the site. "I hope that they would be interested in doing things besides following in their parents' footsteps or looking to be a basketball star," Webb said. "There's other options." Rakeem Overby, a junior at UNCP, uses the website to promote his free mix tape "Unpopular," which is available for download in the site's store. Overby said that most of the nearly 150 downloads the mix tape has had in the past couple months have been from Fliprap. "The media right now is so preoccupied with the negative side of hip hop," Bayog said. "... But there's also an intellectual side to hip hop and we want to deliver that in the website and make lyrics matter -- not just the sound of it or the beat of it." Overby also posts weekly video blogs. "I just like the fact that it's something new and I can be part of something new, like the first person to be on Youtube," Overby said. "I feel like once fliprap.com becomes something big I can say that I was a part of it before it blew up." -- Features Editor Amanda Munger can be reached at (910) 272-6144 or at [email protected]. ___ (c)2011 The Robesonian (Lumberton, N.C.) Visit The Robesonian (Lumberton, N.C.) at www.robesonian.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]