Experience Project

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 The Experience Project
2 Leadership
3 Origins
4 General Media Coverage
5 Notes
6 External links

[edit] The Experience Project

The Experience Project is an online community premised on connecting members who share similar life experiences. The nodes of the network are life experiences, such as battling depression or surviving a divorce. Members who list experiences in common are connected, paralleling the the 'friends' concept of traditional social networks. The site emphasizes anonymity to promote conversations unhindered by fear of recognition or embarrassment, going so far as to forbid the use of real names^[1]. Introduced publicly in October of 2006, the site features members sharing stories about their life experiences, within the context of groups. As members share experiences, they are linked with others who have those experiences in common. Themes of the site include the concepts of 'You are not Alone' and 'Discover New People Like You.' The site is characterized by frank discussions of a genuine nature, which in the extreme case has members claiming that the site saved their life^[2].

Other features of the site include blogs, trivia games for helping animals, confessions, surveys, mood and wellness journaling, and a search engine that matches a mood to a particular song.

[edit] Leadership

Armen Berjikly is founder and CEO of the community, with executive leadership including Neil Sheth and Julio Vasconcellos.

[edit] Origins

Experience Project was started by Armen Berjikly in late 2004. After a close friend's diagnosis with multiple sclerosis Berjikly created This is MS, an online community for MS patients and caregivers focused on inspiring hope in patients through knowledge of current research. As This is MS grew, Berjikly identified that the key benefit to patients was not the editorialized content, but the relationships that formed between people who understood each other through the shared experience of being afflicted with multiple sclerosis. Experience Project extended the ability to connect with people who understood each other to all experiences, and thus, all people.