May 15 –22, 2007, Number 444
Facebook is one of the most popular networking sites.
Social Networking
Michigan Tech is known for bringing students from all different geographic areas to its campus. I know in my four years at Michigan Tech, I have become friends with many people from around Michigan, the great lakes areas and even foreign countries. Years ago, staying in touch with everyone would have been hard to do when college was not in session. There are now many social networking websites on the internet that are revolutionizing the ways people keep in contact.
One of the most popular websites for college students is Facebook. It started as a social networking site that was exclusive to college students and faculty. The only way a profile could be created, was if the user had a school email address. Once on the site, a student creates a personal profile with a picture and information about themselves. With privacy filters, they can control the amount of information that strangers will see. Friends can be quickly added and there are quick view options to let students know when friends have changed information in their profiles. There is also a wall, which allows friends to post messages and leave comments. My favorite part of Facebook though, is the number of pictures they allow each user to post. I take a lot of pictures with my digital camera, and then I upload them to Facebook in an album. Currently I have 15 albums containing pictures from Circle K events, Winter Carnival, and pretty much anything else I took a picture of.
After much debate, Facebook did open its doors to the public. People can create profiles based on companies they work for and regions they live in. This decision was made since many colleges were asking to be added to the popular website. Even though it is open to the public, the basic functions have remained the same and the site is constantly being updated with new and better features. Now that I am on Facebook, I don’t know what I ever did without it.
MySpace, too, is a hot site.
MySpace
There is another social networking site that has been around longer than Facebook and is also better known. MySpace really was the start of social networking sites. It allows all people to create a profile, post pictures, and write on other people’s walls. It also allows users to create running blogs of things going on in their life. MySpace is much more customizable than the Facebook site as it allows movies and music to be added to a persons profile page. The profiles also accept HTML code so custom backgrounds, fonts, buttons, and layouts can be created. There are a number of websites that have already written the HTML code and allow users to sort through the many layouts.
MySpace, and to a lesser extent, Facebook have received much criticism from the media. There have been a plethora of article and shows dedicated to some of the negative points of social networking sites. Since MySpace and Facebook are open to the public and allow users to create any profile they want, there is no guarantee the profile the user creates actually reflects who they are. For younger children, this could pose a possible threat, so parents should know who is on their friend’s lists. Another thing that can get users in trouble are the images they post on the websites. Once the image is posted, unless the correct privacy settings are set up, anyone can then see the image. As a general rule for me, if I wouldn’t want my mom to see the picture, I don’t post it on the internet. Another popular thing is that employers are actually using sites like MySpace and Facebook to search perspective students and see who they really are.
Although there are new social networking sites popping up everyday, Facebook and MySpace are the biggest and most well known. These sites can be a lot of fun and help students keep in touch over the long summer. I know I check my Facebook page daily and am always writing messages to my friends in an attempt to stay in touch.
If there are ever any topics that you feel should be addressed, please send me a personal email and I will try my best to include them in my future articles.
Until next week,
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885