Facebook, another 'Friendster' thingy

I have been using Facebook for quite awhile now. This service is more common among students who study in American colleges but its network is expanding quite quickly. Many colleges in UK and Australia are also part of the Facebook network. I honestly prefer Facebook to Friendster since it is simpler and definitely has less junks than Friendster. Also, this service makes it easier for me to keep in touch with college friends. Attached here is an excerpt about Facebook from Wikipedia.

Facebook is a social networking service for high school, college, university, corporate, non-profit, and geographic communities primarily in English-speaking countries. As of December 2005, it has the largest number of registered users among college-focused sites (at over six million US college student accounts created with an additional 20,000 new accounts being created daily).^[1] It is the number one site for photos, ahead of public sites such as flickr, with 1.5 million photos uploaded daily, and is the thirteenth most trafficked site in the United States, according to Alexa.

Anyone with access to a valid e-mail address from 2,000+ universities can register for and access the site. This includes university students, alumni, faculty, and staff, although the vast majority of Facebook’s users are students. Facebook is also available at 25,000+ American and Canadian high schools as well as 850+ corporations and non-profit organizations, such as Microsoft, Pepsi and Teach for America.^[2] The site is free to users and generates revenue from advertising including banner ads and sponsored groups (revenue is rumored to be over $1 million per week). Users create personal profiles, typically containing photos and lists of interests, exchange private or public messages, and join groups of friends. The viewing of detailed profile data is restricted to users from the same school or confirmed friends. The site boasts incredible usage statistics as, according to TechCrunch, "about 85% of students in supported colleges have a profile [on the site]. [Of those who are signed up,] 60% log in daily. About 85% log in at least once a week, and 93% log in at least once a month."^[3] In a 2006 study conducted by Student Monitor, a New Jersey based LLC specializing in research concerning the college student market, Facebook was named as the second most "in" thing among undergraduates, tied with beer and losing only to the highly popular iPod.^[4]

Facebook employs people in Palo Alto, California and in Boston, Massachusetts.^[3] The name of the site is based on the paper facebooks that many colleges give to incoming students, faculty, and staff depicting members of the campus community.

Add me at ktong@wisc.edu if you do have an account.