DearDrunkMe.com is a Web site created for sober people to speak to their drunken alter ego.
 
VSU students Alex Abell, a senior marketing major and Omari Brown, a senior computer science major, created the website on July 1.

 Abell and Brown started the site after partaking in several drunken nights.

 Realizing that they were engaging in inappropriate behavior, Brown decided to give himself a reminder through his Facebook status: “Dear drunk me, please don’t go out and blow our paycheck again.”

 That was the first “drunk me” story and the beginning of DearDrunkMe.com.

 “When I put it on Facebook, I got an unusual amount of likes and comments on it and I really didn’t think anything of it at the time until Alex came into play,” Brown said.

 Abell had similar experiences with drunken nights and a lack of memory the next day. He thought that Brown’s idea of a reminder to his drunken self was a good one and suggested they create a website.

 “Most times, while out at the bar or at a party or wherever, that’s your drunk me and it’s not the same person; it’s like a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde type thing,” Abell said. “Sometimes you have to let them know things.”

 They have gotten a significant amount of positive feedback, but they have also had some negative comments.

 An older woman described the website as the destruction of the youth in America because of the encouragement of drinking.    Brown made it clear that this was not the goal of the website but more to inform the public about safety with drinking.

 “It hurt my feelings because I take this website so seriously,” Brown said. “We are more of an alcoholism awareness website. We are involved in Mothers Against Drunk Driving and we do volunteer work with them.”

 They have several goals for the DearDrunkMe.com, including helping students become aware of the negative affects of alcohol.

 “The whole goal of the DearDrunkMe.com is to not end up on the website,” Brown said. “Don’t end up being one of the funniest pictures of the month; don’t end up having to write a post. Basically the goal is to stay away from it.”

 Another goal is to lighten the mood because of the current state of the economy.

  People have found alternative ways to deal with the current economic downturn including constantly working to stay afloat. This website gives people the opportunity to have a small break from reality.

 “It’s either an outlet for them to get a good laugh and enjoy their day or a need to go out and maybe not make these bad decisions but go have a good time,” Abell said. 

 The website is becoming very popular all over the United States; their fan base has grown from Valdosta to Atlanta, New York, Florida, and even Idaho.

 “A group of rappers asked me for T-shirts for the website and they’re going to wear them to all their shows in Minneapolis,” Abell said.

 Abell and Brown are planning a large beer pong event called Beer Pong Extravaganza.

 They have already had two of the 16 games in the tournament and plan to have the rest when they find a big enough venue and when their profits increase for better prizes.

 They are also going to attend First Friday in downtown Valdosta in front of Smokin’ Aces.   They will be handing out key chains with their logo on the front and a warning about drunk driving on the back.

  DearDrunkMe stories and pictures can be found at deardrunkme.com.

 They also have a Facebook page (deardrunkme) and a Twitter account (deardrunkme) where they can be reached.