CollegeFacebook brings forum to Truman

TrumanFacebook might be the fastest and easiest way to meet more than 600 other Truman students.

The TrumanFacebook, which recently combined with CollegeFacebook, was started recently to help Truman students meet each other through online profiles. The site www.collegefacebook.com is independent from the University, but only students with a Truman e-mail address can access the site.

Freshman Christine Novak joined TrumanFacebook about a month ago after a friend from her high school sent Novak an e-mail invitation to join.

"It's another way to contact people," she said. "You can also use it to see who is involved in other organizations [or to] list your major, so if you have questions about classes, such as what to take, you can contact other people in that major and ask them about it."

Novak said she visits the site twice a week.

"You can send messages [over TrumanFacebook, and] that's how some people e-mail me instead of using Truview," Novak said. "I use it mainly to check messages."

Novak said one concern users might have would be with the personal information disclosed to other uses.

"Some people wouldn't want to use the site because they wouldn't want to put their information online," Novak said, "But you have the option of what you want to put on there, so I don't think it's that big of a deal."

Since it merged with CollegeFacebook, TrumanFacebook's new services have become available to users. Students may post class schedules on their profiles, search for students from other member schools, post high school information to find old classmates and other information in an "About Me" section.

Another feature of the Web site allows users to search for other people based on common interests, majors, dorms or activities and organizations.

According to CollegeFacebook, students from more than 100 schools across the nation are members of CollegeFacebook. Members of the site can search profiles of users from each of these schools.

Students who want to join TrumanFacebook requires students can go to the Web site to sign up. Students then enter their Truman e-mail address, create a password, answer a few questions and agree to the Terms of Agreement. The Web site will then send the student an e-mail to verify the address. Clicking on a link in the e-mail to verify the e-mail address then allows students to access the site.

Senior Brian Santos, who joined TrumanFacebook, said the process was easy.

"It was a pretty simple process," Santos said. "I like how you can choose the amount of information you submit. You don't have to answer all of the questions or put a lot of detail about yourself, or you can if you want to."

Santos said he visits the site for more social reasons.

"I really like meeting new people, and that's a great way to go about doing that," Santos said. "I like how it gives you a network of people your friends know. That way, even if you've never met, you can see that you have a common friend."

Santos said he uses the site to find new friends.

"It's a very unobtrusive way to get to know other people and find things you have in common," Santos said. "It's a good way to make new friends or to become even better friends with people."

Santos also said that trust becomes an issue when using the Web site.

"A big disadvantage is trusting what other people discern about themselves," Santos said. "You [also] have to be very careful about people stalking you or contacting you if you don't want them to."

About 630 people crrrently use TrumanFacebook.

"And I hope that number continues to grow," Santos said. "It's a good project."

About Face Corporation, the company that runs the online face books, had not responded to any requests for information about the Web site as of press time.