What |s the locebook?

1he lacebook ls an onllne dlrecLory

LhaL connecLs people Lhrough soclal
neLworks aL schools"
(lacebookcom 2003)


arL huge chaL room parL dlary and parL daLlng servlce Lhe lacebook slLe allows
college sLudenLs Lo posL Lhelr phoLos and Lell abouL abouL Lhemselves
someLlmes Loo much" (Messenger 2003)
locebook#s Ma|n Ieatures
W Mokloq ltleoJs keeploq lo toocb
W 9etsoool wbltebootJs ot wolls
W ololoq Ctoops ooJ tbelt messoqe bootJs
W Jvettlsloq 9ottles / veots
W Ilewloq tbe compos ooJ colleqe 9olse
W 9tlvote messoqloq
W DplooJloq 5botloq oo oollmlteJ omooot of plctotes
W
What are the Dangers?
W |ct|on
W |mu|ate |nteract|on v lnLerpersonal lnLeracLlon (u Wlre 2003)
Llke emalllng your coworkers nexL door
locebook" Lhe rooommaLe down Lhe hall vs knock on Lhelr door
and Lalk Lo Lhem
W ta|k|ng
a unlverslLy of 1oledo freshman reporLed LhaL some of her female
frlends have had unwanLed male vlslLors show up aL Lhelr dorm
rooms afLer posLlng personal lnformaLlon on lacebook (8uckman
2003)
AL besL locebook ls a sLalklng servlce lL's Laboo Lo Lalk abouL lL buL
everyone uses lL" (!ohnson 2003)
W ert|sement of |||ega| an$or |nappropr|ate th|ngs
W ?ou/your groups' lmage?
Croups llke lL's cool Lo geL wasLed and noL show up Lo class" l
drlnk Llll l puke" are slmple examples of negaLlve lmpresslons glven
Lo people
1he plcLures you upload or LhaL are uploaded by oLhers?
?ourself reporLed lnLeresLs quoLes and blog enLrles
W eyon Centre 1he [ob search process
1he 8osLon Clobe reporLed LhaL some 8randels unlverslLy
admlnlsLraLors have begun readlng locebook proflles before hlrlng
Lhem for campus [obs (Woo 2003)
8randels spokespeople clalm LhaL ls noL a college process and lf lL
had occurred lL would have been done by lndlvldual admlnlsLraLors
and noL someLhlng represenLaLlve of Lhe unlverslLy (Woo 2003)
1! 8arber AssoclaLe ulrecLor for Lhe Cfflce of Campus Llfe aL
1rlnlLy unlverslLy lndlcaLed LhaL Lhere was an lnsLance ln whlch a
'graduaLlng senlor losL a [ob aL ulsney due Lo her lacebook accounL
conLradlcLlng some of her answers from and lnLervlew and
lnformaLlon conLalned on her resume'" (MonLermlnl 2003)
CorporaLe recrulLers enLlced by Lhe prospecL of galnlng a new
perspecLlve on appllcanLs have begun Lo uLlllze Lhe facebookcom Lo
perform Lhe equlvalenL of a background check" (Mossavar8ahmanl
2003)
W 1hls ls noL flrm/company or unlverslLy pollcy buL raLher
someLhlng lndlvlduals are dolng on Lhelr own Llme
W lL occurs because many recrulLers are Lhemselves recenLly ouL
of college and have accounLs or can pay college sLudenLs Lo
reLrleve Lhe vlLal lnformaLlon
W
W D|saff|||at|on the Greek recru|tment process

Why |s locebook so a|ct|e?
W A number of reasons
1he unquenchable deslre Lo see Lhelr llsL of frlends expand Lo
ouLrageous proporLlons" (WhlLall 2003)
W keep ln Louch wlLh old frlends from CenLre and oLher schools
W ually creaLlon of new groups LhaL flL people's lnLeresLs or
amusemenL
W See how many personal messages/wall posLs you are geLLlng
from your frlends
W vlewlng oLher people's plcLures Lhe new feaLures lacebook
conLlnually adds
W Searchlng for new people who have recenLly [olned whom you
mlghL know or wanL Lo meeL
lL's Lhe cool Lhlng Lo be dolng rlghL now
eople are already on Lhe lnLerneL (lL's llke checklng your MS
CuLlook)
lacebookcom has become our soclal 8lble for deflnlLlve
lnformaLlon on our classmaLes crushes and hlgh school peers we
haven'L spoken Lo ln whoknowshow long" (WhlLall 2003)

W locebook launched ln lebruary 2004 has garnered more Lhan m||||on
un|que users naLlonwlde who log on each monLh accordlng Lo ComScore a
Lracklng servlce for lnLerneL use (WlLhall 2003)
W locebook exlsLs aL more Lhan 2000 colleges (1oomey 2003)
W Cverall Lhere ls an esLlmaLed of college sLudenLs across Lhe counLry
LhaL are members of locebook (1oomey 2006)
W of locebook users log on every day (WlLhall 2003)
W Lach day beLween an 2 new members slgn up (1oomey
2003)
W 1he slLe ranks
th
|n terms of oera|| h|ts on the Internet behlnd fellow
onllne neLwork MySpacecom (WhlLall 2003)
W locebook logs over 2 m||||on page |ews ln any glven 24hour perlod
(WhlLall 2003)
W no sLudles have been done aL CenLre College Lo measure or assess sLudenL
lnLeresL or usage ln locebook 8esearch measurlng overall lnvolvemenL
Llme spenL and academlc performance would be lnLeresLlng

What stuents say about the|r a|ct|on?
W SomeLlmes l'll slgnoff locebook and [usL sLare aL Lhe logln screen llke a
cocalne addlcL looklng aL Lhe edge of hls coffee Lable Lhlnklng Lo myself
'Well l've really goL noLhlng beLLer Lo do rlghL now' and Lhen l slgn rlghL
back on" (8enner 2003)
W 1rue addlcLlon lncludes people who vlew class as merely an obsLacle LhaL
keeps Lhem from locebook and who consLanLly check Lhelr frlends'
recenLly updaLed proflles Lrylng Lo flgure ouL exacLly whaL has changed"
(8enner 2003)
W 1o Lell you Lhe LruLh l am on lL all Lhe LlmeLhe flrsL Lhlng l do Lhe second l
sLep ln my dorm room ls locebook When l had Lo wrlLe my 10page paper
lasL nlghL l llLerally checked lL maybe every 13 mlnuLes" (1oomey 2003)
W l was one of Lhose people who LhoughL 'WhaL do l need Lhls for?' buL now
lL's addlcLlve l check lL aL leasL Lwlce a day" (1oomey 2003)

Is there anyth|ng goo about locebook?
W ?es!
ert|s|ng$market|ng |nexpens|e|y
W 1 Lo 1 markeLlng/adverLlslng vla messaglng posLlng
lnformaLlon on group boards
W $10 a day college wlde markeLlng
xce||ent network|ng opportun|ty
W lor sLudenLs
W lor professlonals
W keep ln Louch wlLh sLudenLs alumnl and/or peers who have
graduaLed or are aL oLher lnsLlLuLlons
Mon|tor|ng the stuents fo||ow up on |nest|gat|ons etc
Cffers us opportun|t|es for |earn|ng an stuent ee|opment
where we can engage our sLudenLs 'on Lhelr Lerms' and Lalk Lo Lhem
on a level Lhey can compleLely undersLand and relaLe Lo

Market|ng ert|s|ng cheap|y
W CfLen we work on llmlLed budgeLs and resources where we
ofLen flnd ourselves Lrylng Lo squeeze blood from a Lurnlp"
W CreaLlng groups and posLlng lmporLanL lnformaLlon on
message boards/personal messages ls free
W locebook offers $10/day adverLlslng vla a slde adverLlsemenL
on Lhe webpage LhaL ls vlewed by all sLudenLs aL CLn18L
W 1hls has noL occurred aL CenLre yeL buL sLudenLs and
admlnlsLraLors elsewhere have began uslng lL
W SLudenLs adverLlslng Lhelr SCA candldacy eLc
W Creek Llfe adverLlslng recrulLmenL SLudenL acLlvlLles
adverLlslng an upcomlng concerL or fesLlval eLc
Mon|tor|ng the stuents
W WhaL groups are sLudenLs creaLlng? Pow are Lhey uslng
locebook ln general?
W Pow do Lhey feel abouL campus declslons pollcles eLc
W WhaL plcLures are Lhey uploadlng
W WhaL behavlor are Lhey parLlclpaLlng ln?


@comeotocot
W Colleges/unlverslLles musL declde where Lhey draw Lhe llnes wlLh locebook
W We musL ask ourselves how far we are wllllng Lo go
Some scenarlos for LhoughL
W lf someone ls smoklng poL ln a plcLure wlll Lhe College
prosecuLe?
W underage drlnklng consumpLlon of alcohol ln orlglnal
conLalners
or lnsLead of ad[udlcaLlon do we lean Loward seeklng opportun|t|es
for |earn|ng an stuent ee|opment
W 1alklng abouL percepLlons lmages wlLh sLudenLs
W Pow are you represenLlng yourself / Lhe groups you belong Lo
W Who all can 'vlew' Lhls lnformaLlon and how LhaL mlghL effecL
Lhe sLudenLs fuLure
W 8y uslng locebook we as college admlnlsLraLors are offerlng ourselves
more 'access' Lo lnformaLlon buL LhaL comes wlLh a prlce WlLh lncreased
lnformaLlon avallablllLy comes lncreased pressure Lo respond 1he adage of
lgnorance ls bllss" flLs perfecLly here because lf you know abouL
someLhlng we musL declde how we wlll respond
Should we remaln lgnoranL or should we conLlnually search for
more lnformaLlon
Are we geLLlng enough lnformaLlon from our sLudenLs currenLly?
W An argumenL can be made LhaL by lncreaslng admlnlsLraLlve/faculLy/publlc
safeLy presence on Lhe locebook noL only are we lncreaslng our ablllLy Lo
monlLor buL we can serve as a poslLlve model for approprlaLe locebook
use and Lhrough our 'presence' on here sLudenLs mlghL come Lo reallze
erhaps sLudenLs wlll become more consclous and aware of whaL
Lhey are puLLlng up for everyone Lo see lf Lhey know Lhose who hold
Lhem responslble have dlrecL access Lo Lhelr lnformaLlon
l submlL LhaL many sLudenLs have been ln Lhe dark abouL
admlnlsLraLlve presence and Lhlnk we don'L use lL" or we wouldn'L
be on lLlocebook ls someLhlng for sLudenLs only"
l had no ldea LhaL admlnlsLraLors could see my locebook proflle l
[olnedon Lhe assumpLlon LhaL admlnlsLraLors were noL golng Lo
read LhaL Web page l was so naive" (Woo 2003)
tuent#s fa|se sense of 'ecurty
W ?ou have Lo be a college sLudenL or ln college Lo geL on locebook lL's only
for edu addresses
College admlnlsLraLors polnL ouL LhaL lL's noL hard Lo geL an 'edu'
address slnce faculLy sLaff and alumnl of colleges ofLen have Lhem
and can share Lhem wlLh frlends" (8uckman 2003)
W 1he popularlLy of Lhe slLe
Many admlnlsLraLors say Lhey wlll lnvesLlgaLe lllegal or
lnapproprlaLe conducL deplcLed on lacebook Lhls ls broughL Lo Lhelr
aLLenLlon" (8uckman 2003)
W hoLos ln your proflle or group showlng you vlolaLlng campus pollcy
regardless of wheLher or noL you posLed Lhe phoLos may also lead Lo
charges agalnsL you" (Mendelson 2003)
W oLenLlal employers wlLh a lack of lnformaLlon abouL a sLudenL could
access locebook and oLher slLes for lnformaLlon" (Mendelson 2003)
W eLe 1renLacosLe AsslsLanL ulrecLor of unlverslLy Pouslng aL norLhern
kenLucky unlverslLy noLes ?ou feel anonymous on Lhere buL lf Lhere's
anywhere you aren'L anonymous lL's Lhe lnLerneL" (ChalfanL 2003)
W ?ou're wrlLlng a publlc dlaryLhe presumpLlon ls LhaL anybody can see lL
lL's noL hard Lo geL lnLo Lhe locebook no maLLer who you are" obo
9olftey lecLurer and execuLlve dlrecLor of Lhe 8erkman CenLre for lnLerneL
and SocleLy aL Parvard Law School
xamp|es of the stup| th|ngs stuents put on locebook
W A WrlghL SLaLe admlnlsLraLor has seen plcLures from anoLher college of
sororlLy members smoklng poL 1he capLlon read uolng a onehlLLer"
(8uckman 2003)
W A llsher College sLudenL (Lhe SCA resldenL) creaLed and parLlclpaLed ln a
group almed aL removlng a campus pollce offlcer LlLher we geL a peLlLlon
golng or we Lry and seL hlm up Pe's goL Lo do someLhlng wrong ln elLher
case he's goLLa foul up aL some polnLanyone wllllng Lo geL arresLed?"
(SchwelLzer 2003)
1he sLudenL was expelled from llsher College marklng Lhe flrsL and
only occurrence of a sLudenL belng expelled for locebookrelaLed
acLlvlLles (Woo 2003)
W A sLudenL aL 1he unlverslLy of vlrglnla creaLed a group LlLled eople for
Lhe ropagaLlon of Lhe Aslan leLlsh" whlch conLalned blaLanL raclsL and
sexlsL remarks by some sLudenLs (8ao 2003)
What#s been one so far?
W roacLlve
AdmlnlsLraLors aL Lhe unlverslLy of Callfornla SanLa 8arbara Lold
Lhelr sLudenL newspaper LhaL lf Lhey happened upon acLlvlLles LhaL
proved a vlolaLlon of campus pollcles Lhey would use Lhe evldence
agalnsL sLudenLs" (Messenger 2003)
Workshops llke u 1oledo on Lhe dangers of puLLlng Loo much
personal lnformaLlon onllne (8uckman 2003)
W 8eacLlve
lacebookcom does remove some offenslve conLenL from Lhe slLe lf lL
ls broughL Lo Lhe company's aLLenLlon and vlolaLes Lhelr sLandards
pollcy eg nudlLy haLe speech or phoLos of lllegal acLlvlLy such as
drug use (8uckman 2003)
enn SLaLe unlverslLy pollce used phoLographlc evldence from
locebook Lo help nab more Lhan 30 sLudenLs who vlolaLed unlverslLy
pollcy by swarmlng Lhe fooLball fleld afLer a game wlLh rlval Chlo
SLaLe" (8uckman 2003)
norLhern kenLucky unlverslLy 4 nku sLudenLs recelved flnes
probaLlon and requlred aLLendance aL an alcohol class when
admlnlsLraLors saw plcLures posLed on locebook LhaL deplcLed Lhem
drlnklng ln a kenLucky Pall dorm room 1he plcLures feaLured
sLudenLs surroundlng a keg of beer Lhey managed Lo brlng lnLo Lhe
dorms (ChalfanL 2003)
kansas SLaLe unlverslLy used locebook Lo look lnLo posslble
breaches ln Lhe honor code when sLudenLs used locebook Lo Lrade
lnformaLlon wlLhouL Lhe professor's knowledge (Mendelson 2003)
unlverslLy of new Mexlco blocked access Lo locebook from campus
faclllLles because lL vlolaLes Lhe school's accepLable use pollcy
(Mendelson 2003)

1he luture of locebook?
W SLeve !ones a communlcaLlons professor aL Lhe unlverslLy of llllnols aL
urbanaChampagne predlcLs LhaL 20 years from now a pollLlcal candldaLe
wlll be ln hoL waLer due Lo someLhlng posLed on locebook (WlLhall 2003)
W l predlcL LhaL ln Lhe nexL 4 years close Lo 100 of CenLre's campus wlll be
connecLed Lhrough locebook as Lhelr recenLly launched hlgh school slLe
provldes access and creaLed addlcLlon aL a much earller phase 1he 'rlLe of
passage' wlll change from flnally belng allowed Lo [oln Lhe locebook Lo
changlng my hlgh school slLe over Lo Lhe colleglaLe verslon
W lf colleges graduaLe schools and prospecLlve employers are noL uslng
locebook proflles ln Lhe hlrlng process now ln Lhe fuLure Lhey may play a
more slgnlflcanL role
W AddlLlonally lL would noL shock me Lo see SCA campalgns sLudenL
markeLlng endeavors and Lhe llke begln surfaclng on Lhls popular and ever
expandlng webslLe 1he Lechnology and medlum ls deflnlLely Lhere already
locebook faux pas
W 1lp 1 Do not spen more than 2 m|nutes a ay on locebook
WhaL ends up happenlng ls you see someone on campus and Lhen
reallLy and locebook reallLy" comblne for some uncomforLable
momenLs
W 1lp 2 Do not put any |nformat|on that you on#t want computer geeks to
take aantage of
!usL by havlng your emall address and a plcLure onllne makes Lhe resL
of your llfe preLLy accesslble Lo Lhe enLlre school
uon'L make lL any easler by puLLlng your phone number
W 1lp 3 efra|n from upat|ng your s|te too often
eople Lend Lo noLlce Lhls lf Lhe daLe changes every day and all LhaL
means ls LhaL you're spendlng Loo much Llme on Lhe compuLer 8lg
soclal faux pas
1lp 4 Don#t create or [o|n groups of wh|ch you wou|n#t be prou to
te|| your mother you#re an "act|e" member
8elng a member of urlnk lrresponslblyor uon'L urlnk aL All" or l
llke Lo puL my hands down my panLs" lsn'L golng Lo help you ouL ln
Lhe soclal 'scene' lL's [usL gross
1lp 3 Don#t request fr|ensh|p of peop|e you on#t know
lf you wanL Lo be frlends wlLh someone send Lhem a message flrsL
1lp 6 Don#t post messages on the wa||s of peop|e you on#t know
1lp 7 If you#re go|ng to put a p|cture of yourse|f on Iacebook make
sure |t#s the best one you can f|n
1lp 8 Don#t |n|t|ate (or respon to) cha|n ma|| 1haL wenL ouL ln Lhe
7
Lh
grade