YOUNGSTOWN IN CYBERSPACE Forget 'Guiding Light' -- online soap has local intrigue, scandal

The creator hopes to add more area residents and businesses to the site.
TRACEY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Oakwood Valley is a city that exists only in cyberspace. But Mahoning Valley residents who visit might get the sense that they've been there before.
The Web site, www.oakwoodvalley.com, is an online soap opera based on people, places and things in the Mahoning Valley.
Rich Taneri, a Sharon, Pa., resident originally from Niles, created the site after reading other soaps on the Web. The computer technician at RMI Titanium liked the concept and decided to add some local flavor to make it more interesting to local readers.
"I saw some online soap operas and I thought it was a good idea, but a lot of them continued every day, took way too long to read, were boring and were always geared toward one particular group, like older women or teen girls. Most also required you to sign up and become a member. So I decided to take this idea and make it short and concise, free and appealing to everybody," said Taneri.
Taneri compares Oakwood Valley to the new evening soaps, such as "Desperate Housewives," "Nip/Tuck" and "Supernatural," which are growing in popularity. In addition to the usual soap fare of romance, heartbreak and scandal, Taneri said there is a lot of action, horror and violence that should make it appeal to a wider audience.
Oakwood Valley officially launched on May 1, and a new episode is posted every Monday -- episode nine was posted June 26. Each episode takes about 15 minutes to read, and Taneri said they are easy to read and can be printed out if users prefer a hard copy.
Site features
The interactive Web site is easy to navigate and offers a "Help" link that guides new readers through tips and usage. Taneri said most people should have no trouble accessing the site, which has instructions on how to download the programs needed to view the site -- Windows Media Player and Java -- if necessary.
Other helpful features include a list of the current characters with a brief bio of each, a city map with photos and descriptions of locations in the story, and an archive of past episodes. Another page on the site features a chat room, message board and guest book, which allow readers to discuss the soap opera and offer opinions and advice to the author.
Each episode includes links readers can use to view the people and places they are reading about. Within the text of the story are icons to click to hear sound effects; for example, the sound of sirens and screams during a scene of mass hysteria at a local mall. Taneri said he is also going to include video clips in the near future, some of which he has already filmed.
Readers will recognize some well-known faces in the current cast, including Keifer Sutherland, who plays Kirk Sable, a bouncer at "Club Amnesia" and one of the not-so-well liked citizens of Oakwood Valley.
Denzel Washington plays Sgt. Dexter Wilson, the governor's former bodyguard and Kirk Sable's nemesis, and Heather Locklear plays Heidi Littleton, former prom queen and valedictorian who works as a nurse at Valley General Hospital. Readers can vote on celebrities they'd like to see in future episodes, like Howard Stern, Shakira or Eminem.
You could be a star
Taneri plans to localize the site more as it gains readers and host contests in which the real-life winners from the area will be added to the cast of the soap opera. He also wants to include local businesses in the storyline.
"I want to get permission to use real life businesses, and I'll use advertising banners [on oakwoodvalley.com] for those businesses, possibly with links to the businesses' Web sites," said Taneri, mentioning the bonus of free advertising.
One of the soap's locales, Oakwood Valley University, bears an uncanny resemblance to Youngstown State University, where Taneri earned a degree in telecommunications. Taneri, who has also been a disc jockey for 14 years, said he had to write several scripts for classes while attending YSU, and that experience now helps him with producing the soap opera episodes.
"I'm an alumni there, I learned a lot there, and I think it's a great school. It helped me get started in my career, and I made a lot of friends there so I wanted to use it," said Taneri. "I plan to use [more] real life people and places in the Youngstown area and incorporate them in [the soap]. I like this area and I think it sometimes has a bad reputation. I'm going to keep the negativity out of it."
Taneri said he works on the site in his free time, which is limited because he DJs part time and has a full-time job, a wife and a 2-year-old daughter. Taneri said his wife helps by reading and editing each episode before he posts it.
Taneri said he is getting a good response from friends and family who have become regular readers.