Favor List Gains Favor

Posted by Bonny Albo Feb 20, 2007

Favorlist.com is a new sensation sweeping across America's Internet. Launched by husband and wife duo Stephen and Grethel O'Leary of Alpharetta, Georgia, Favorlist.com began as a social experiment to spread good deeds through a free online community. It is now quickly gaining popularity as the number of favors granted nears 10,000 in its first few months of existence.

"The response has been overwhelming, people are really pouring their hearts, skills, and abilities out to one another," says site founder, Stephen O'Leary. Favorlist.com is designed to benefit members from each others' unique talents or services. Members swap an array of favors from teaching piano to foreign languages, to baking cookies, and even repair and maintenance services.

Favorlist.com stems from a pay-it-forward concept where online members separately list favors they wish to grant to others, and receive for themselves. This opens up infinite possibilities since people no longer have to negotiate a trade with only those who are offering a favor they can use in return. Favorlist.com differs from traditional swap sites by encouraging more human interaction through photos and dialogue. Once members perform a favor, they receive credits, as well as rewards from the site. To collect a favor, members use the points from their initial balance, or from those they have earned.

Stephen O'Leary is surprised to find the free Starbucks incentive gift cards the site offers continue to go unclaimed, as favors keep rolling in. "The stories we hear of the good deeds accomplished through Favorlist.com are heartwarming, and people seem to do them out of kindness, not in an effort to earn the rewards Favorlist offers," he says.

Doing onto others has become addicting for this crowd. Some of Favorlist's members equate the site to a gambling addiction with a guaranteed win. "You place little things on the line, and enjoy how meaningful they become to other people," says site visitor, Rachel Kathleen. Once onboard, members keep the site's momentum alive with frequent visits and more ingenious ways to offer favors to others. Site members offer everything from care packages to American troops abroad, to legal help and snow removal.

Site member Shelley Giannino describes her experience with Favorlist.com: "My faith in the world and people has changed thanks to Favorlist.com. I have resumed faith that there are truly wonderful people out there that will help a person, no questions asked, out of the goodness of their hearts." Giannino took advantage of favors on the site during a tough period in her life, and now offers many favors in return. "I love (the Favorlist.com community) so much. They feel like friends and family," she says. Indeed, Favorlist.com's creators' vision is seeing its day, as the world becomes a smaller, friendlier place through the Internet.