#techzulu

Since joining USC, you've been very active in the startup scene as a student leader on and off campus (IncubatriX, StartEngine, TechZulu) . What are some resources specifically at USC you've utilized to help you become more successful in connecting with other start-up entrepreneurs in the community?

Perhaps one of the most powerful resources at USC is the network. Everybody, from students to professors to alumni, are willing to speak and help. The first step I took was to just go to events and competitions we have lots of great events that attract some of the start-up enthusiasts across campus. From these events, I heard  about all the good opportunities and meetups in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. I really took the time to build a strong network, it was much easier for me to provide value for different people in the start-up community. It was really about being open and willing to reach out and meet people.

What are some social media tools, apps or websites that you've found most useful for personal and business purposes? Do you notice any trends in University life in terms of social media technology that differs from the way its used in high school?

I use Buffer a lot to schedule personal posts on Twitter. I use HooteSuite for Flippr so that I can post across all the major social media feeds. Obviously, Instagram and SnapChat have jumped up in popularity more recently. I wouldn't say that the trends of how people used social media changed between when I was in high school versus when I was in college was more so because of the overall trends that happened in social media than anything else. There was definitely a shift towards pictures. At least on my feeds, I'm seeing more and more pictures on both Facebook and Twitter. Instagram and SnapChat seemed to spawn from that trend and had a huge emphasis on fun. It seemed to move more from "What did you have for dinner?" to "Try and make me laugh".

Can you talk a little but about your latest venture Flippr? What was it's genesis, where do you see it going and where are at now with the project?

Flippr is a way for networkers to realize, express, and SHOW their personal brand in a unique way that helps them stand out. We want to simplify the networking experience as well as help networkers achieve their goals. We actually started it during my senior year of high school, where Justin, my co-founder, and I met while taking an online class on gamification on Coursera. From there we started working on various ideas on a Stanford online course called Technology Entrepreneurship through NovoEd. As we started building out the team, and began working on the idea, we started picking up mentors and began building. We really want to disrupt the way people network, which is currently so inefficient. We know we can help so many people in the process.

Connect with Sydney Liu

Flippr: http://flippr.me

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liusydney