Though Max Martinez ’13 will graduate this spring, he hopes his brainchild — a humor website named Cornellious — will continue making an impression on Cornellians long after he leaves campus.
Cornellious, which launches Monday, is based on humorous and satiric content about Cornell’s culture, according to Jared Hoffman ’15, who designed the website. The website will poke fun at life at Cornell — something that Hoffman said is reflected by the website’s name.
“The name Cornellious is a combination of ‘Cornell’ and ‘hilarious,’” Hoffman said.
Hoffman said the site will feature different types of content, such as satiric writing; memes, or images with humorous text overlayed onto them; videos; and photos.
Hoffman also said that he plans to sell merchandise through the website. Each month, the proceeds will be donated to a different charity, he said.
“We are a non-profit, so all the money we make from selling t-shirts and hats goes to charity,” Martinez said.
As the website gains publicity, Hoffman said that he hopes to recruit students from across campus to create content, adding that, “Ultimately, we hope [the site] will run itself.”
The website will also pull content from across the Internet and different social media outlets, Martinez said.
“The beauty of Cornellious is that we are in a social media world, so people can submit their ideas through Twitter and Instagram,” Martinez said. “The best ones make the site.”
Martinez also reached out to comedy groups on campus to collaborate with the website. The website may mimic other sites like Barstool Sports or Campus Basement, which he previously wrote articles for, he said.
Martinez said that he and Hoffman started working together when he began searching for a web designer.
“I posted flyers in the engineering libraries and in Olin, and Jared [Hoffman ’15] was one of the six or seven people that replied and he just understood it,” Martinez said. Hoffman worked on the project, and came back with “an awesome website,” Martinez said.
Hoffman said he became more interested in Cornellious as he worked on the project.
“Initially, it was just a job. I’ve done freelance web design in the past and I just take the pay and move on, but I think this website has real potential,” Hoffman said.
Martinez and Hoffman have used videos to promote the website.
“We put out a hype video with the mayor of Ithaca, Svante Myrick [’09],” Hoffman said.
The video was successful, getting 16,000 views, Martinez said.
In the future,“there are also plans to involve [campus] celebrities like Happy Dave and Denice Cassaro,” Hoffman said.
Martinez and Hoffman said they hope the website will be a success.
“I started Cornellious because I wanted to leave a legacy of making people laugh and giving back to the community at Cornell,” Martinez said.
Original Author: Erica Augenstein