A new website, IfMine.com, was recently launched in Bowling Green.

The website is designed for users to exchange critical feedback, collaborate and seek mentorship on a variety of projects.

“The site was built for people in all fields,” said Danielle Hunter, social media director of ^IfMine. “Basically, if you have a project in need of feedback, ^IfMine is for you.”

Dr. Joel Shiffler, creator of ^IfMine, came up with the idea for his website in 1996 when he was writing a true story about an aspiring genius from a disadvantaged family.

“My problem for the main character was ‘How is he going to succeed with surmounting huge odds working, like an army, against him?’” Shiffler said. “I knew he needed tools of organizing others together for the cause. These tools would have ideas managed into time — well-searched-out information, easy access, available at any time and as quickly as possible.”

He used the thought process behind this story to build an idea for what is now IfMine.com.

Users can post any type of project and invite others to view, critique and even edit or revise it. Multiple people can also join together and collaborate on a single project or document, whether it’s an essay or a business plan.

“When you think about what’s out there on the web, there’s a lot of places where you can put something up, but it doesn’t necessarily connect you with the right people,” said Anthony Fontana, IfMine.com designer and University instructor in the School of Art.

To connect with people who would be most helpful on a certain project, ^IfMine uses a tag system similar to the hashtag on Twitter, Fontana said. The project tags determine which users will see it, such as users who share a knowledge or interest in the project subject.

“As the system evolves, people who are also business professionals would see those projects come up and be able to offer feedback because that’s their area of expertise,” Fontana said.

Because the website is still in the very early stages, it doesn’t have many users, but the goal of ^IfMine is to attract a large population with varied interests, including experts in different subjects.

To accommodate the many interests of ^IfMine users, the website can also be used as a tool for people of shared hobbies to collaborate.

“I’m currently using the site to start a collaborative eBook about scrapbooking,” Hunter said. “I’ve also shared recipes and [I am] in the works of compiling a top 100 books to read aloud to children.”

Hunter said her mother-in-law also uses ^IfMine and she plans on using it to collaborate with Hunter on building her cupcake business.

The site is currently in a private beta testing period, which means users have to sign up for the site and wait for an invitation before they can begin using it.

Its developers really want to work on getting University students involved, Hunter said.

“We would like to offer that [registration] to anyone with a BGSU email,” she said. “You would pretty much be automatically given an invitation to sign up.”

Even though the site is geared towards users of all statuses and professions, Fontana said it could serve as a useful resource for students in particular.

“This could be a great tool for students who are working on papers and projects of any kind and are looking for feedback outside of their closest circle of friends,” he said.

^IfMine offers an outlet outside of a classroom where people can come together and share their own knowledge with each other to not only improve the skills of others, but of themselves as well.

“The student wins if they see how talented they are, simply by others putting it out to them,” he said. “That’s where mentoring, collaboration and followers are true friends  — when they give to each other something that counts.”

The website is scheduled to have an official launch to the public in early March at South by Southwest, a conference and festival in Austin, Texas. Twitter was officially launched at the festival in 2007.

While in these early stages, ^IfMine is coming out with new features every couple of weeks or every month, Fontana said.

The social function should be integrated sometime in January, which will allow ^IfMine users to link their projects to other social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, Hunter said.

“I look forward to the future of ^IfMine,” she said. “It has the potential of becoming a big-time website.”