Here's a poll for you: What Website has had the most profound effect on the students of Notre Dame this year? While many would check the box for Abercrombie.com, the big winner is a local upstart — NDToday.com. This site has come from near obscurity to establish itself as a mainstay in the lives of many students, faculty and alumni. Developed by three enterprising students, NDToday has become a campus sensation with its great features, student info and general Web-surfing potential. NDToday is a portal site; that is, it specifically targets Notre Dame students, with the goal of having NDToday serve as the primary launching page for its users when they connect to the internet. Drawing nearly 20,000 page views per day, NDToday has grown from an idea to a reality.

"We just thought that it would be pretty cool if it existed," co-creator Frank Helgesen said. "It's an idea that we began to discuss at the end of last year."

Helgesen shared his imagination with his friend, Andy Warzon, who became Frank's partner in design. The site was beginning to come together, but they still felt that it lacked another important dimension.

"I'm an engineer, Frank's good with business and yet, there was still another aspect that we felt we were missing," stated Warzon.

During this past summer, Helgesen contacted another friend with strong Web design capabilities, Nick Fellers — the triumvirate was now complete. That union forged more than a Website, it marked the birth of 3bstudios, the company that oversees NDToday.

The superhighwaymen began working over the summer, each from their respective homes across the country, to lay the initial groundwork for the Website. They communicated only through e-mail, except when a substantial decision needed to be discussed over the phone. This past fall, they returned to Notre Dame to begin their junior year and brought their new concept back with them .

This past August, potential visitors to the site didn't really have much to look at once they ventured to it. The graphics weren't together yet, many of the services offered to the students were not functional and 3bstudios was actually paying out money in order to get links to sites such as Jcrew.com and Monster.com. Nevertheless, the three Webmasters pushed on — not only intent upon building their dream, but equally focused on providing their schoolmates with a Website exclusively aimed at the students' interests. This has been their goal since the site's inception — to go beyond cheesy gimmicks and in the words of Fellers, "provide services that consistently bring students back to the site and are helpful to them."

The creators see their site as an extension of the Notre Dame community. All over campus, students and faculty are meeting, they're conversing and people are interacting with each other. By introducing the campus to NDToday, the triple entente has given the student body one more outlet for interaction, on the Internet. 3bstudios has never contributed to the content of the page; they leave that up to the students. It has only provided the forum for the students, giving them a voice and allowing them to decide what gets put on the page. Students send hundreds of e-mails to 3bstudios giving ideas, sharing opinions or posting editorials on the webpage's "Free Press" site.

Also, the creators talk to many students on a daily basis. They really make an effort to talk to their friends, faculty, administration and other random students to gain a valuable perspective on what's working and what's not.

Nevertheless, all the extra input from others certainly doesn't detract from the innovative brilliance exhibited by Fellers, Warzon and Helgesen. The site is a reflection of their creativity and their personalities. As students, they know what life is like at Notre Dame. NDToday serves as a marvelous example of a Website meeting the needs and opinions of its users. The end result is an exceptional, collaborative effort between the creators and the interfacers.

Just what features have made NDToday so popular? How did this Website go from zero to trendy so quickly? The modest creators will say that the overwhelming input from the student body as a whole has contributed to the flourishing page. It is clearly evident, however, that the never-ending commitment to development by Fellers, Warzon and Helgesen is the actual reason for success. For example, no one can deny the remarkable impact that the voting booth feature has had as a means of student awareness. Every 10 minutes, about two dozen new polls are created by the students themselves — yet this concept emerged from the collective brain of 3bstudios.

"It's a quick and easy way to see what other students are thinking about all over campus and to share opinions," Fellers said. "It helps connect students to one another."

The three wise men of NDToday also saw the popularity of the voting booth as the first stage in an evolutionary process. Students who come just to check out the polls eventually find themselves clicking on links to other features or Websites. The message board is another excellent means of communication and exchange of ideas between students.

In addition to the voting booth, the creators are especially proud of some other services and features. Most notably, during this season of DART, the online teacher course evaluations may prove to be a smart way of researching a course before a student makes a potentially damaging course selection. Students who wish to express their feelings on a specific course or professor enter the evaluations themselves. "The Leprechaun," a new online comedy magazine on the site, was shaped not by 3bstudios but by other students who envisioned a good idea, e-mailed the NDToday boys and created an amusing feature.

Did you meet a special someone at an off-campus party and all you got was their first name and dorm? The search engine at ND-Today is powerful enough to match some hits and will never return with "too many entries to print." ND-Today plays cupid with the eDogbook, another fine example of meeting campus social concerns. One simply enters his or her name and the name(s) of people they might like to get to know better into their database. The computer then notifies the interfacer of any potential matches — all in complete privacy. Furthermore, NDToday offers several other unique features, such as movie reviews, food guides, campus events, a message board, the local weather and links to literally dozens of other Websites.

3bstudios enjoys working closely with students and with other businesses in an effort to provide the student body with discounts, coupons and entertainment resources. While definitely not an Internet billboard, NDToday boasts some of the most sought after links on the internet. By accessing NDToday, one can visit Alta Vista.com, Raging Bull.com, Barnes & Noble.com and a host of others. 3bstudios also takes pleasure in working with local establishments and businesses. Two weeks ago, ND-Today teamed up with Coach's Sports Bar to provide a first-class party highlighted by drink specials, give-aways and free appetizers. Students will be able to purchase The Undertones' CD as well as access mp3s from local bands. The movie and restaurant reviews are right on, and taken with their follow-up suggestions, can provide for either a quality night in South Bend or a delicious dine-in from one of the many restaurants found on the site.

Technologically speaking, the site is quite sound. A far cry from the HTML days, the creators have implemented "Cold Fusion" — a modified expansion from the original HTML. Cold Fusion is an interactive dynamic — not a static system. For example, it is Cold Fusion that allows one to interface with NDToday through the voting booth, free press and other features. A static system would not allow the user to do much with the site other than scroll up and down and visit links, merely for observation. As a building language, Cold Fusion is on the tip of the software industry, and for that reason, is the language of choice for NDToday and 3bstudios. This dynamic also enables the site to boot-up differently each time it is accessed, meaning that different photos or different features could be showcased the next time one enters the site's address. Also, one can customize NDToday, first by registering with 3bstudios on NDToday. Then, every time one logs on to NDToday, he or she will see only the specific items according to his or her personal preferences.

While NDToday serves as a model collegiate Website in many regards, it has met with both criticism and favor from the Notre Dame administration. "We're very much in contact with them and they have been, overall, very supportive of us," stated Fellers.

Warzon followed, "We were surprised by their positive reception." According to Helgesen, Warzon and Fellers, the University acknowledges them on a professional level and is concerned only that the Website reflects well upon all that shares in the Notre Dame community. The co-creators do a superb job maintaining the integrity of the students and the University. To illustrate, the "Waterboy" fiasco was handled resourcefully by the site managers — not allowing a single, slanderous remark to be broadcast over their Webpage. It is interesting to note that many faculty members enjoy viewing the Website and several administration officials also peruse its links on a regular basis.

Glancing into the future, ND-Today looks to continue blazing up the ladder of achievement. Increased distribution and popularity has made ND-Today, as well as 3bstudios, hot commodities in the Internet world. Helgesen, Warzon and Fellers have each received offers to be purchased, however, the creators will not discuss it. They feel that the site belongs to the Notre Dame students, and therefore, must be maintained by Notre Dame students. As for 3bstudios, while it is not for sale, it's services have been employed by several companies needing Web design and production. All three Webmasters see NDToday, while not for profit, as a launching pad towards future success in Web design. The production of the site and its wonderful reception speak better for their respective reputations than any monetary payment.

NDToday is "always developing." The designers want to implement more academic resources. They would like to have graduate students serve as experts in different academic areas, fielding questions from undergraduate students. They would also like to bring Cliff's Notes to the Website. The trio is also trying to compile a CD of local bands that they would sell from their site. Helgesen remarked that the group would like to see greater student club interaction on the Website. Clubs could post info, put editorials on the free press or message board or perhaps get a personalized section of NDToday — exclusively reserved for their use. Outside Notre Dame, they hope that their efforts will catch on at other universities. If not, they'd be happy to construct a new Web-site for another school.

Bottom line — the Website is in the hands of the students. It is what the student body makes it. Frank, Andy and Nick have set the benchmark in terms of stu-dent/Inter-net interaction. While all three are juniors and will return to Notre Dame for their senior years, they plan to keep NDToday in the hands of Notre Dame students indefinitely, eventually passing it on to worthy undertakers. As always, they and the site are open to the criticisms, suggestions and opinions of the students.

A fascinating Website and Web experience, NDToday is a testament to Notre Dame students. Created by, maintained and popularized by Our Lady's student body, NDToday will continue to expand and improve upon its solid foundation. While Frank's personal quest for free beer for all students may never actually be achieved by the Website, it's that kind of determination and creative spirit that has forged an incredible concept known by its simple, yet fully explanative title — NDToday.

Emmett Malloy contributed to this article.

• Chatting it up with the guys behind the campus' favorite Website