Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and even Tom from Myspace and laid the foundation for social media sites. Now SIU student Jordan Jones is following in their footsteps.

Jones, a sophomore from Joliet studying computer science and business management, said he created UniverCity360.com to help college students connect.

“Being a freshman last year, I noticed how hard it was to meet people and find out what was going on,” he said. “I wanted to create something that had not been invented yet.”

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UniverCity specializes in promoting on-campus events. About 200 SIU students use the website, Jones said.

“On the site we publish a series of articles that gives a range of advice, specifically targeted to incoming freshman,” he said. “Later on down the line we want to pair the students signed up with this site with employment and internship opportunity as well.”

The site’s first and only post is “How to save money in college.”

Jones said his site is strictly for college students and does not allow people to sign up unless they have an .edu email address.

“Through word of mouth and people on Twitter seeing me and my team use the hashtag #DiscoverYourUniverCity, people were curious and signed up,” Jones said.

Marshon Tucker, a sophomore from Chicago studying civil engineering and the chief financial officer of the company, said he expects more than 100,000 users to have accounts in the next five years. He said he wants to host several events for people to network and learn more about the site by fall 2015.

Kendall Crayton, a senior from Peoria studying mining and resource engineering, account manager and chief visionary officer for the site, said it’s simple to get the word out about a site, because it’s human nature to want to explore.

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“Say for example, it’s a Saturday night and you and your friends are bored,” Crayton said.

“You may hear about events going on, but don’t know where they’re located. The site provides a central location for all the information you need to get the most out of your college experience.”

Jones said there have been some glitches in launching the site, which is still in its early stages.

“Last spring semester, I participated in an app competition because UniverCity was originally going to be created as an app first,” he said. “However, I backtracked because I knew how to build a website better than an app. The app will still get created, but I’m using the website to figure out what features should be included or taken out of the app.”

Jones said there is about $1,000 worth of work left to complete on the app version, which is set to be released next spring.

Erik Fitzgerald, a sophomore from Big Rock studying marketing, is marketing director for the company. He said he found it challenging for students to gather in a social setting.

“I always desired to be a part of things bigger than myself,” he said. “When I first arrived in Carbondale, I was astonished at how difficult it was to get people to come together for events. When Jordan first introduced me to his idea, I realized how it could revolutionize the college experience.”

For more information, visit www.univercity360.com.

Kia Smith can be reached at [email protected], or on Twitter @KiaSmith__.