A new online social networking site for college students will launch its customized Web site for the University today – but this one aims to be different.
The new Web site, called College.com will blend features from Facebook, MySpace and Blackboard, but only college students will be able to join the Web site. All non-military academy users must have an e-mail address ending in .edu.
Sam Marks, a project manager at Florida-based College.com, said the Web site features specialized content, including class schedules, sporting events and other content related to each school. Eventually, the site will include a review section for restaurants and a classified section.
A course section sets College.com apart from other social networking sites, Marks said. Students will be able to upload notes, share slideshows and rate professors.
Marks said he expects the academics section of the Web site to grow the most in the next few months.
“It’s a one-stop shop for college students,” Marks said. “We want people to register and immediately feel in-tune to their college and their college life.”
College.com has been accepting user registrations since its “soft” launch in September, but the site opens for full use today. Jon Davidson helped start College.com after Facebook let those without an .edu e-mail address join the Web site in 2006.
“It seems like with every major move Facebook makes, they’re frustrating users, and it’s becoming more and more like MySpace,” Marks said.
Marks talked to students in study groups at colleges in Florida last year, he said.
“A lot of people were touching on how they felt about Facebook opening up to different networks,” Marks said. “The news feed was also a huge change, and everyone was pretty much outraged.”
Professors, too, will be able to register on College.com, but Marks said they won’t have access to student information and won’t be able to view student pictures.
The Web site may have a difficult time attracting students to join.
Alan Meyer, a professor of entrepreneurial management, said the online social network market is crowded right now.
“This is a market where the entry barriers are almost totally lacking,” Meyer said. “You don’t have to have a lot of money. You just need some decent Web design skills, a server, and you’re in business.”
For College.com to be successful, the company needs to differentiate itself from other social networking sites, Meyer said. If the Web site does this, more student users could add more appeal to the Web site, he said.
“If you’re the only one in it, there really is no value,” Meyer said.
At Florida State University, 1,500 people registered with College.com in a week, Marks said.
Although the Web site will only be open to college students, the safety issues will remain the same, said Jayne Hitchcock, president of Working to Halt Online Abuse, a volunteer organization in Maine.
“Whoever you add can view your profile,” Hitchcock said. “If you have photos that probably shouldn’t be there, other people will see them.”
Hitchcock also offered a rule of thumb for student users to consider.
“If you wouldn’t let your grandmother look at it, don’t put it online,” she said. Hitchcock added that students shouldn’t add any personal information, including telephone numbers, addresses and class schedules.
“Those who might be your friends today might not be tomorrow,” Hitchcock said. “You never know who can use that information against you.”
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