By Ellen Jordan
Cardinal Staff
When Facebook opened its doors to Saint Mary’s University students two years ago, students did not imagine that using the networking site could result in their profiles going public.
In early September 2007, non-registered Facebook users were granted access to the site through Google, the popular search engine.
Read more... The public can access limited profiles, which include user names and current profile pictures. The public may also “poke” someone, send a message or request to be “friends” via Facebook.
Google is not the only site offering public contact with Facebook users. In the future, Facebook plans to extend rights to MSN and Yahoo.
The expansion of Facebook to other networks is expected with the growth of the site. Founded in 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, the site started as a hobby that would allow him to network with classmates at Harvard University. Within several months, the site had moved to other universities, including Yale and Stanford. As the site’s popularity grew, more colleges and universities allowed use of it. At the time, the only requirement for students to register was to have an official college email address.
Today, any person with a valid email address can have a Facebook profile. With such a large number of people on Facebook, questions arise as to what should be seen and what should not.
“The fact that the site is going public does put a strain on what I want seen in my profile, and I changed my privacy settings because of it,” said junior Anna Keller. “I know that only people who I am friends with on the site can see my information, but it still worries me.”
Another result of Facebook’s growth is the opportunity for the public to create their own applications and add them to the site for other users to utilize. Many students feel that Facebook has lost the organizational feel that made it so popular from the beginning.
“I originally signed up for a Facebook account because I thought that it would be a good way for me to meet new classmates and keep in touch with my friends from high school,” said junior Michele Mquillan, “but now with all of the applications, I sometimes don’t even bother looking at others’ profiles because it’s such a strain on my eyes.”
The public access to Facebook is not impacting every student. “I knew that Facebook was going to be opening to the public because it was advertised on the site,” said senior Kevin Collins. “I did change my settings, but it’s really not affecting me. I still use the site as much as I did before the change.”
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