These days, stories of internet flops seem to far outweigh those of success. The most-used social-networking platforms are those developed by multi-billion dollar corporations, from Google to Facebook, leaving any potential independent developer understandably daunted at the prospect of entering the cutthroat landscape of social-networking. And yet, it’s into this landscape that Poppy Dinsey decided to venture with the launch of her “outfit sharing social network”, What I Wore Today.

Originally a personal project implemented to uphold a New Year’s resolution to wear more of her existing wardrobe rather than buy new clothes, Dinsey began the blog in January 2010 as a daily snapshot of her current outfit posted online. A seemingly simple idea, but one which quickly attracted a large audience. “I knew people would be interested in it,” Dinsey recalls, “But what was surprising was the sustained interest – that more and more people were logging on every day.”

With this growing audience, Dinsey soon saw the potential for something more than a small-scale blog. “There were people emailing me telling me that they’d bought stuff based on me wearing it, knowing how much traffic we were sending to retailers… that kind of thing was the sign that maybe it was sustainable beyond just me posting my stuff, that it was really sustainable on a bigger scale if I got other people posting their own stuff.”

In spring of last year she got the idea of turning the blog into a full-scale social network, but the process was a slow one. “I didn’t quit my job until May of last year, and then it was a very slow and steady process.” She found it was essential to ensure the proper researching of the project, and find the right people to work with. To her, this was the best method, as it felt like a more “natural progression”.

The basic idea of the site is that anyone can create an account, and submit photographs of their current outfit each day. Like Facebook, they can tag their posts with their mood and location, but the fashion aspect that it brings to social networking unique.

Coming from a blogging background, albeit in a very different field - property - Dinsey had already created an audience for herself. However, the overall promotion of the site relied much more on pre-existing social media platforms. When asked how sites such as Twitter and Facebook had helped to bolster the popularity of What I Wore Today, Dinsey is quick to reply. “It’s been fundamental, really, in terms of traffic. When people upload their outfits they tweet about them, they Facebook about them. It’s all that viral marketing that’s really important to the site.”

Her familiarity with these sites allowed her an insight into “what works and what doesn’t work” in terms of social networking. However, it’s also important for her to set the site apart from others. The idea of an accepting online community is an important one to Dinsey, and one which has featured heavily in the development of the site. “We don’t allow people to rate outfits out of ten, or to give thumbs up or thumbs down”. It also maintains a unique voice, one which she describes as quintessentially British. “It’s got a very cheeky and sarcastic tone to it all, it doesn’t take itself too seriously”.

This is a central ideal to Dinsey, as when asked about what she thinks most people’s view of social networking is, she’s quick to respond. “I think a lot of people take it far too seriously. It’s not like there are hard and fast rules”. For her, it’s all about the users. “People are using social networks to achieve very different things… It’s usually the users who will determine how a site is used”. This is a refreshing point of view, especially in an internet-using community used to constant complaints over new features and makeovers of more mainstream social networks like Facebook.

“We’ve got a bunch of features we’re planning to roll out, but we have to see how the users are using our own site first, and it’s them who will dictate the direction of the site, really, rather than us.” Perhaps Facebook should be taking notes?

In an age of industrial-scale social media, What I Wore Today feels, by contrast, much more individual and friendly, an ironically absent quality in most other ‘social’ tools, and this seems unsurprising considering its founder’s attitude. “Everyday there’s something awesome going on”, she says happily, and the positive attitude she clearly feels towards her job shines through in the final product.