PLYMOUTH-I’m sure you have all heard the words on campus, “I have ninety friends on thefacebook,” “I facebooked him yesterday,” or “hey, we’re facebook buddies!” It’s an infatuation that is sweeping through Plymouth State University faster than you can say networking bonanza. It’s Thefacebook.
Essentially Thefacebook is an online yearbook that allows users to hook up with people from their own school, other schools, and even their high schools. More and more schools add to the service.
According to The Boston Globe, Thefacebook was launched in February of 2004 by a group of Harvard students. Thefacebook has since become a phenomenon, spreading to 573 campuses and 2.4 million users nation-wide. The free network allows easy access for students, who can create a profile that includes information about where you live, what classes you are in, what your interests are, and where you went to high school. All this information and all a student needs is a college email account. You can make your profile as personal as you would like. Students can include their AOL instant messenger screen names, phone numbers, cell phone numbers, pictures, who they are dating, and even share favorite quotes. There is also an area for people to post messages to you on what is called your “Wall.” Thefacebook also has a section for Groups to meet and send messages. You can start a group for anything you are interested in, and send messages back and forth with other students from Plymouth who share the same interests. However, not just anyone has access to your information. All Plymouth Students can view other Plymouth student’s information. However, people from other universities can find your name and that is it. In order for them to send you messages, view your profile, or add any information you wish to share, you must first confirm that you do know them and add them to your friends list. Lindsey Wilkins, a Plymouth State senior, has heard a lot about Thefacebook but does not have an account. When asked if she thought it was a good idea she had this to say: “I think you should be careful with what information you share. If you put your cell phone number on there you should realize that anyone from Plymouth can call you whether you know them or not.” Overall students have had positive feed back about Thefacebook. Many feel that it is a good way to keep in touch with people and meet other people at Plymouth State University who share common interests or have the same classes.
No one knows for sure how long Thefacebook will be around. With a lawsuit pending against the founder, Harvard sophomore, Mark Zuckerberg, the site could be shut down and all the profits would be awarded to Harvard graduates and founders of a similar network, ConnectU.com.
Divya Narendra, Cameron Winklevoss, and Tyler Winklevoss claim that Zuckerberg breached a contract when he launched Thefacebook.com using their source code when he was supposed to work for them. Though the conflict remains unresolved Thefacebook is still making large strides, adding about thirty campuses a month, according to The Boston Globe.