by Emily Myer
Daily Lobo
It's cruel. It's malicious. But apparently, it's real life.
Catch27.com is a way to meet people online, but while other Web sites, such as Friendster.com, want you to share movies and books, Catch 27 wants to know how its users lost their virginity and how many hearts they've broken. And the masterminds behind the project want it said as vulgarly as possible.
Lindsay Johnson, director of campus public relations for Catch 27, said the Web site mirrors society.
"In reality, all of these stereotypes exist, so it's just kind of a snub-in-the-face of how your social life works," Johnson said. "Just saying, 'You know what? They exist. They're out there. Embrace it.'"
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Catch 27 was created by E. Jean Carroll, a former advice columnist for ELLE magazine, journalist for Esquire and writer for "Saturday Night Live."
"It was kind of a brainchild Jean had a couple months prior to that, and she ran with it immediately, even before she had even really fully developed the idea," Johnson said.
Catch 27 is limited to people 18 and older, but there is no maximum age limit. Johnson said its users are primarily college students and young professionals.
The users fill out an information sheet, and cards similar to trading cards for athletes are made. Most people also include a picture. They categorize themselves into one of nine groups - bitches, brains, freaks, geeks, jocks, rebels, sluts, stars and wise-asses. The only problem, Johnson said, is people don't admit what they really are.
Johnson said the Web site is meant to be a joke about our social lives, and not knowing if someone has categorized himself or herself correctly is part of the fun.
The first step is getting friends. Some friends you have to buy, and some you can invite and hope they're interested. Once a person begins to accumulate cards, they have what is called a pack.
"MVPs are the people with the most cards in their pack," Johnson said. "It could be people you've invited. Anyone you invited there, the people they invite are added to your pack, so it just kind of accumulates and rolls."
Johnson said it isn't difficult to get people to spend money on people they've never met because there are prizes involved. If a user catches 27 friends with one thing in common, such as 27 people wearing hats in their pictures, they get a prize such as an iPod or Jimmy Choo shoes.
