Save Karyn
Encyclopedia
Save Karyn is the name of both a Web site and a book. SaveKaryn.com was the first notable "web panhandling" (or "cyberbegging") site. Save Karyn: One Shopaholic’s Journey to Debt and Back is the book chronicling the events leading up to and through the height of the site's popularity.
The creator of both works is Karyn Bosnak
, originally a television
producer
, raised in the U.S. state
of Illinois
, who has lived much of her adult life in the greater New York City area. Up until 2000, she had a relatively high-paying job, and wasn't really concerned about going into debt to feed her affection for buying designer
-label products. However, when she was laid-off, her credit card
debt of more than $20,000 started looming larger every month she was unable to find steady employment.
domain name savekaryn.com, and launched the site to request voluntary donation
s from the public. It had occurred to Bosnak that if she could receive just a few donations of several thousand dollars from a few wealthy people, or thousands of donations of one dollar from average-income people, she could pay off her debts. She reasoned that any amount given would be relatively insignificant to the donor, but if she found enough donors, the aggregate would be quite significant to her. An early version of the site announced "WANTED: $20,000. CREDIT CARDS ARE BAD. Hello! My name is Karyn, I’m really nice and I’m asking for your help! You see, I have this huge credit card debt and I need $20,000 to pay it off. So if you have an extra buck or two, please send it my way... Together we can banish credit card debt from my life." Her request echoed the matter-of-fact style of her initial plea to the online community, which she had made using craigslist
.org.
Bosnak was not the first individual to openly solicit voluntary donations via the Internet; documented examples go back at least as far as 1998. However, she was one of the first to have a clearly defined goal (rather than "I want money", she stated that she needed a specific amount to eliminate her credit card debt). She regularly updated the site with amounts received and progress made toward her goal.
Throughout the summer and latter half of 2002, as word of the site spread, it received ever-growing press coverage, including mentions on CNN
, a spot on The Today Show, and articles in various domestic and international newspapers and magazines. The site also attracted numerous Internet detractors and critics, most notably a parody site entitled "Don't Save Karyn."
Many people agree with her contention that her efforts could be more closely compared to a street performer
than a panhandler, as her regular candid, and often humorous, writings on her site (continued in her book) provided an entertainment value that was unmatched by other solicitation sites.
, Mandarin
, German
, Japanese
, Thai
, Russian
, Korean
and Croatian
. With the proceeds from the book, she donated the amount of the original debt to an unspecified charity.
subsidiary for the rights to a movie chronicling her rise to fame. As of 2011, no movie has been produced.
The creator of both works is Karyn Bosnak
Karyn Bosnak
Karyn Bosnak is an American author of two published books: Save Karyn and 20 Times a Lady.- Early Life and Career :...
, originally a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, raised in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, who has lived much of her adult life in the greater New York City area. Up until 2000, she had a relatively high-paying job, and wasn't really concerned about going into debt to feed her affection for buying designer
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
-label products. However, when she was laid-off, her credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
debt of more than $20,000 started looming larger every month she was unable to find steady employment.
Site beginnings
In the summer of 2002, Bosnak registered the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
domain name savekaryn.com, and launched the site to request voluntary donation
Donation
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
s from the public. It had occurred to Bosnak that if she could receive just a few donations of several thousand dollars from a few wealthy people, or thousands of donations of one dollar from average-income people, she could pay off her debts. She reasoned that any amount given would be relatively insignificant to the donor, but if she found enough donors, the aggregate would be quite significant to her. An early version of the site announced "WANTED: $20,000. CREDIT CARDS ARE BAD. Hello! My name is Karyn, I’m really nice and I’m asking for your help! You see, I have this huge credit card debt and I need $20,000 to pay it off. So if you have an extra buck or two, please send it my way... Together we can banish credit card debt from my life." Her request echoed the matter-of-fact style of her initial plea to the online community, which she had made using craigslist
Craigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
.org.
Bosnak was not the first individual to openly solicit voluntary donations via the Internet; documented examples go back at least as far as 1998. However, she was one of the first to have a clearly defined goal (rather than "I want money", she stated that she needed a specific amount to eliminate her credit card debt). She regularly updated the site with amounts received and progress made toward her goal.
Growing the site
Bosnak added a number of features to the site, including both ways she was saving money, as well as suggestions of other ways people could save money.Throughout the summer and latter half of 2002, as word of the site spread, it received ever-growing press coverage, including mentions on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, a spot on The Today Show, and articles in various domestic and international newspapers and magazines. The site also attracted numerous Internet detractors and critics, most notably a parody site entitled "Don't Save Karyn."
Many people agree with her contention that her efforts could be more closely compared to a street performer
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
than a panhandler, as her regular candid, and often humorous, writings on her site (continued in her book) provided an entertainment value that was unmatched by other solicitation sites.
The site after the goal was reached
Once she had paid off her debts, as promised, she stopped accepting donations, and instead added links to other sites belonging to other people with specific needs.The book
The book chronicling her site's success has been very popular, and has already been translated into DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
and Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
. With the proceeds from the book, she donated the amount of the original debt to an unspecified charity.
The aftermath
As discussed near the end of the book, in 2003 Bosnak signed a deal with a SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
subsidiary for the rights to a movie chronicling her rise to fame. As of 2011, no movie has been produced.
External links
- The current site
- The original site
- Article on Karyn and Cyberbegging
- McVeigh, Karen, "Passing a buck", The ScotsmanThe ScotsmanThe Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
, Edinboro, 08 May 2004