Furman University senior Chase Pittman has spent his four years at Furman developing a program that he believes people really need right now. Pittman, an economics major, is excited for the Sept. 16 launch of his creation ScrubSome–a program that removes unwanted social media posts that may hinder one’s future career. Throughout college, Pittman became inspired to create an algorithm that allows people to erase tweets that may eventually cause a roadblock during the job application process. According to Pittman, cancel culture is at an all-time high, and “our society is very unforgiving.” Pittman knows that job candidates do not want to have any old social media posts pose as obstacles while starting their careers, so he decided to create a solution.
When a candidate applies for a job, the employer will often perform background checks on each applicant. For an initial screening, they will typically investigate the applicants’ social media profiles. Regardless of the individual’s current credentials, an immature post from high school may unravel their potential success. Pittman shared that “[The ScrubSome team] doesn’t believe that something someone tweeted as a teenager should cause an adverse effect down the line.”
When discussing ScrubSome’s features, Pittman described the program as a “social media soap” that allows users to delete every derogatory term they may have used on social media. Pittman shared that “[The ScrubSome] algorithm has the potential to search up to one-hundred words at a time, and all you have to do is press the go button.” The ScrubSome program features a function that allows users to search for inflammatory or offensive language, and then filters their posts so that they can easily find the problematic vocabulary. Once the potentially damaging posts are discovered, the user is then given the option to delete whichever posts they believe to be harmful. Pittman has transfigured this algorithm into the ScrubSome program that users can now purchase for $5.99.
For Pittman and his team, the process was not easy. It took several sleepless nights and countless trial and error attempts. Nevertheless, the hard work has finally paid off and Pittman is excited for the launch. He said the lengthy process was worth it given that “[The ScrubSome Team was] finally able to produce an app that we think can help a bunch of people.” What started as a long journey is now, according to Pittman, “absolutely worth it since it allows others the opportunity for a good social media scrub!”
