Emory Bubble has launched a beta version of its new online discussion and news aggregator service.

The new service allows Emory students, staff and faculty to participate in Emory-related public and private discussion forums, classifieds, event listings, announcements, nightlife and arts, and entertainment information. Oxford College is included in the rollout and has its own dedicated "Explore" section.

Emory Bubble is conceptually similar to the LearnLink discussion forum and email service decommissioned by University Technology Services last year. The application will continue to be enhanced throughout the fall semester in response to user feedback, says Bruce Covey, director of Campus Life Technology Services.

Any user can create a "Bubble" forum and optionally make it public. Users can log on at emorybubble.com using their Emory network I.D. and password.

Originally conceived in 2010 as an online news and event aggregator, the concept has since been refocused as an internal social network for a university campus.

Launched by recent Emory alumni Ian McCall, Nir Levy, Giovanni Hobbins, Spencer Barkoff and Pat Shea, Emory Bubble is a licensed partner with the Division of Campus Life, which will be responsible for monitoring for appropriate use, especially in the public forums, says Covey.