It’s 11:19 at night. Your chin rests steadily on the palm of your left hand while you click through one of the most recent weekend photo albums from your classmate’s profile. During the past hour and 13 minutes, you have perused through the Marketplace, cried laughing at countless bumper stickers, peeped through random events and done a sufficient amount of “stalking.”

But somehow you immediately become sidetracked. It is the ever-so-popular Jetman application that has caught your attention. You have had lofty hopes of terminating your buddy’s high score for weeks. You’ve been well within range before. Will tonight be the night? Your showdown with a molecular biology exam tomorrow morning whispers in the back of your mind, but you know this will only take just a few, short, timeless moments.

The actions listed above are mere side effects one might experience while using the popular social-networking website, Facebook. This world-wide phenomenon, which generates more than 90 million users each month and two million new accounts each week, was developed in 2004 by Harvard student, Mark Zuckerberg.

So what is Facebook? The site claims that it is “a social utility that connects you with the people around you.” It allows members to express themselves via the internet. Applications on the site give users the opportunity to create a viral replica of themselves. Members can establish profiles that list their likes and dislikes, favorite movies and books, and allow them to post anything about themselves they wish for other members to see.

Then there are “The Wall” and “Friends”, both of which have proven to be the most popular applications. The Wall application is featured on every member’s profile, and allows other members to post comments to you. James Siegler, Johns Hopkins ’09, describes the Wall as an uncensored form of communication between two people. “Typically, messages are posted here as they would be brought up in conversation. Meaning posters do not care if others read what they say. If a message is more private, there are other options on Facebook available for such forms of communication,” said Siegler.  The Friends application facilitates personal connections through people that you know or meet. Meeting someone in a class or at a party, often results in a request to become a friend on Facebook. Individuals literally become virtual friends via the internet, even if they’ve never actually “met” face-to-face.

Facebook is being used for more than fun applications, online games and marketing schemes. Undergraduates from across North America are using the website as a vehicle for recruitment purposes. Chapters are developing groups on the site that are focused on joining Beta Theta Pi. Potential new members can use the group to view different pictures from activities such as athletics, philanthropies, social life and volunteer work.

Students can also find a list of events that will be held at the chapter houses throughout the recruitment period. Contact information for the recruitment chairman and executive board can also be found. This form of “virtual” recruitment has proven to be quite popular with several Beta chapters.

Brothers are also using the site as a way to stay connected with other Betas they meet during various leadership conferences and conventions. Jordan Steinert, Wisconsin-Oshkosh ’10, says the website is a great way to stay in contact with Betas from different chapters.  “Having Facebook has helped me stay connected to all my brothers, especially after leadership development opportunities. A majority of the time I have joined the session groups that are created to talk about new ideas on how to improve our chapter, or just to keep in touch with the Betas that I have met,” Steinert said. Chapters also use Facebook as a means to communicate and reconnect with alumni. 

So… it is now 12:43 in the morning. After logging in more than an hour, you have still failed to beat your buddy’s Jetman high score. Unfortunately for you, molecular biology still lurks a mere seven hours away. Welcome to Facebook. — Alex Hammel, Florida '08