New Web site aims to get people happy

Happiness is just a few clicks away with the addition of simple-minded butterbeehappy.com to the Internet.

The Web site is the creation of John Brooks Pounders, a senior majoring in advertising. No stranger to designing places where people can frolic on the Web, this is only Brooks' latest creation - and his best work so far, he said.

Butter Bee Happy follows a simple premise, he said.

"It's based on research done by psychologists, who researched what made people happier," Pounders said. "Most notably, the person who influenced the site directly was Tal Ben-Shahar."

Shahar is an author and lecturer at Harvard University, and he currently teaches the largest course at Harvard, "Positive Psychology." Pounders said he read one of Shahar's books, which had the suggestion that turned into the inspiration for Butter Bee Happy.

"They did this research that shows if you write down five happy thoughts every day, you'll become a happier person through habit," Pounders said. "So I read his book and thought, 'Well, I need a new Web site.'"

He made the site very simple, and said people have been utilizing it and it has been growing.

The Web site officially launched at the beginning of March, he said, but has been under development for about four months.

Aside from his new Web site, Pounders said he has built a widget for MySpace.com and other blogs, which allows users to post their thoughts on their blogs. He has also created a Facebook application which will be available soon, and allows friends to see each other's happy thoughts, and post theirs directly through Facebook.

"The idea is very simple, but there's a lot going on behind it," Pounders said.

When the site launched, he said he sent out a press release touting the benefits of Butter Bee Happy, and has since spoken to a few publications about the Web site.

Butter Bee Happy visitors can sign up to participate with their own user name, giving them their own identity at the site and the ability to post their thoughts daily.

Pounders said some simply use it to jot down their thoughts for a minute, but others write much longer posts. There are currently more than 700 users and more than 17,000 happy thoughts, he said.

"It's been an experience," he said. "I've gotten e-mails from people who have said that, because of the site, they've become happier people. This one woman, who lost her husband, said that it was the first laugh she's had in a long time."

"It's helping people," Pounders said. "And I like making things. I'm really focusing on this [Web site] because it's gaining a lot of people and interest.

"It's really easy to sign up, and writing on the site doesn't take a long time," he said. "It's a good habit to get started."