This week marks the fifth anniversary of Facebook, the social networking site that grew from a little-known college website to a $300 million company with over 150 million users. College seniors, in particular, have witnessed the amazing growth and expansion of the site over the last half-decade. When today's seniors first logged onto Facebook as freshman, the only features included were the biographical information, groups, messaging and the wall. Etiquette rules were still being developed
Soon, however, high schools were invited to join the network and then companies with large employee pools. The newsfeed caused controversy, as did the news that Facebook collected user information and then provided it to advertisers. Privacy issues, born of instances cases of surveillance, data mining, stalking and identity theft, have become a major concern to all users of social networking sites, as has awareness of web identities, the information that potential employers and recruiters can see quickly.
Despite all this, Facebook has been a generally positive force and stellar business model, building upon each of its new innovations and having a clear goal in mind. It has ushered in a new age of connectivity and is changing the way people communicate.
There is some irony, then, that the same day that Facebook celebrates its founding, another college-oriented site has seen its last days. Juicycampus.com, where users could anonymously post rumors and gossip from their schools, has shut down due to a lack of revenue. Apparently, businesses were not keen on putting their ads on a site known for hurtful and hateful posts.
Juicy Campus did have some novelty, in the same way that notes on bathroom walls do. We wonder who would have the gall to write and say such things without putting a name behind it. It took the worst things about anonymity and tried to benefit from it, and then cried foul when they were criticized for it.
Juicy Campus failed because it could not do what Facebook did - expand its product in a meaningful and innovative way. There are stupid things on Facebook, including snowballs, zombies and mafia wars, but there are also useful tools and applications that increase information flow and encourage personal connections. Juicy Campus had a drink mix wizard.
Let the demise of Juicy Campus be a lesson to the next generation of web developers. The future lies in flexibility and forward thinking, not novelty and cruelty.
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