“I just can’t be a college student without Facebook”

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1. Zaid
   

   November 13th, 2007 at 1:14 pm

   Like I keep saying, the Valley’s just discovering the Crackbook us college folks have been high on for several years now. Welcome aboard:)

   The best spot to go facebook sightseeing is in the back row of a 300 people lecture. You have the professor, the powerpoint slides, and several hundred facebook screens.

2. Michael Arrington
   

   November 13th, 2007 at 1:16 pm

   Ok, I need to see a picture of that Zaid.

3. bozo
   

   November 13th, 2007 at 1:19 pm

   Good marketing move, Zuck

4. Jason Honingford
   

   November 13th, 2007 at 1:19 pm

   So this is what college students are so worried about these days? Facebook? Dude! Just make a new account. Plus, you’re in college! Get off the computer and go get yourself some ***** !!

5. Allen Stern
   

   November 13th, 2007 at 1:19 pm

   And we wonder why other countries are passing us in education.

6. Kin Lane
   

   November 13th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

   Sorry…but Techcrunch is much more addictive than Facebook and Heroin.

7. Michael Arrington
   

   November 13th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

   Allen - luckily, most of FB’s growth today is international, so they’ll soon catch up with us in not learning, too.

8. Steve Craton
   

   November 13th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

   Brilliant.

9. Michael Arrington
   

   November 13th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

   Hey! Free iPod for Kin.

10. Your Daddy
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

    And frankly, I don’t care all that muc… but its a facebook story so I’ll put it up.

11. Alex
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:27 pm

    ..And frankly, I don’t care all that much…

    Well I guess TechCrunch has hit critical mass, no new readers needed. Nice line! But, indirectly I suppose you did him a favor by making a post out of it.

12. Zaid
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:28 pm

    Jason–that’s the thing about facebook accounts: when you lose it, you’re really losing your identity and a new account means you start from point zero having to recall which friends to add, re-upload pictures, wait for the wall to fill up again.

    Losing an established facebook account is like having a longtime email account shut. It’s painful.

13. Allen Stern
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:29 pm

    LOL @ #7

14. Andrew
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:29 pm

    same thing people were saying about Myspace, Friendster or any other fad that comes and goes. Better things come along all the time, and facebook will start losing market share as soon as another social networking fad rears its head.

15. kit
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:38 pm

    I love this post. It’s flat out funny.

16. Andy
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:40 pm

    “I have no idea if this guy’s profile is back up or not. And frankly, I don’t care all that much…”

    That’s a pretty telling remark.

    Sincerely,
    Just Another Worthless Reader

17. me
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:41 pm

    “they’ll soon catch up with us in not learning, too.”

    Funniest thing you have ever written.

    I burst out with a huge “baha!” in my cube and startled everyone in the office!

18. Snyggast
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:43 pm

    a Valleywag type post.

    http://valleywag.com/tech/nota.....p#c2805401

19. Greg
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

    I am so sick of facebook stories. Is there anything else new and interesting out there???

20. Sean
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

    Weird how this next generation (which is only ~5-8 years behind me depending on their year) is *so* hyped on Facebook. Mine just missed the whole social networking craze, at least during the college years anyway, but it’s insane how crazed these kids are about FB.

    Unfortunately insane hype equals insane desertion IMO… Fads are hard to maintain.

21. Mark Suckerberg
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:46 pm

    All y’all are my bitches now… hehe

22. Grimace McFriendly
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:47 pm

    This reminds me of the “Facebook Off” college humor video

    http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1761982

    “Facebook’s a website! You’re just a person!”

23. Steven
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:52 pm

    Jason Honingford, I guess my concern is never having the ability to sign-up and say I attend University of Michigan. Since Facebook deactivated my account under my umich email and Michigan doesn’t give you two different emails, I will never be able to impress any girl outside community college.

    Plus, this is a business issue. Why is Facebook monitoring user profiles? There are other people, besides myself, who wake-up and find their profile deactivated by an unknown administrator. Facebook’s business strategy would drastically change if students thought they were being monitored.

    Steven

24. www.CARversation.com
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:55 pm

    who cares why is this even posted?

25. facebookjunkie
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 1:58 pm

    LMAO AT 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    oh man. michael…you made my day.

26. Steve Poland
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:00 pm

    The one comment is primed for its’ own post about the ‘open internet’ and ability to bring your data/self with you (and not being trapped into FB) — http://www.techcrunch.com/2007.....nt-1755075

27. jim
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:01 pm

    I can’t believe Mike would read an email from a college student and posted that email on TC.

28. Yelp Sucks
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:02 pm

    i have heard of quite a few people getting their accounts “deactivated” for sending out too many invites.

    facebook is going to need a “facebook guy” ala Matt Cutts to start interfacing with the outside world a little.

    “At facebook we constantly hear from users who have their accounts deactivated for “no apparent reason.” Irregular activities on facebook are constantly flagged and reviewed. For example, sending out too many invites is “not natural” and may represent a spammy profile. Additionally sharing apps that link to bad neighborhoods may decrease your profile rank. In the future just think “is this going to benefit facebook users?” Please refer to the facebook member guidelines.”
    - Facebook guy.

29. drew olanoff
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:11 pm

    thanks for posting this mike. this has to be the most touching thing i’ve ever seen in web 2.0 land.

    i feel his pain though, I wouldn’t want to lose my facebooks and im not even a damn college student!

30. dad
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:12 pm

    get a life. keep this email and you will find how foolish you are just writing an email like this.

31. Slappenstance
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:13 pm

    There’s lots of stuff interesting and new out there. Techcrunch just chooses not to cover it.

32. Ryan
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:15 pm

    I visit techcrunch more than facebook also. Where’s my free ipod? haha

33. Helen
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:18 pm

    Does anyone in the adult world use Facebook and, if so, for what? I am still trying to figure it out…

34. Alex
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:20 pm

    This is insane… Yeah, I think we are in a bubble after all.

35. Seni Thomas
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:22 pm

    Michael,

    I wrote a post a while back on the history of Facebook from a student’s perspective, including the massive betrayals of the initial user base. Think it expresses a perspective that gets lost on the tech blogs. If you interested check it out:

    http://senithomas.wordpress.co.....eal-world/

    Cheers,

    Seni

36. Andrew
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:23 pm

    @33…for stalking jailbait, stalking old girlfriends and stalking the whores in the office

37. joey
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:32 pm

    Let’s be honest. Most classes are boring and the only relief is internet. The reason facebook grew so quickly was because it provided a quality procrastination utility that happened to be social. Even outside of the college realm, it provides unmeasurable boredom relief to cubicle dwellers all over. If there was no facebook, college students would be spending their time on other stupid destinations.

    Anyway Steven, I suggest you figure out a way to rescue your account before this weekends big game. You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to get tagged during Michigan’s victory celebration.

    Hail to the victors!

38. brian
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:33 pm

    How about girls. You can make it through college without facebook if you spend time talking to girls, drinking beer and having fun on campus.

    Get a bit a perspective.

    Michigan Alum

39. Christian Flickinger
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:35 pm

    Ahhh… heroin and Facebook… Facebook and heroin.

40. pippin
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:37 pm

    Stop posting pointless stories about Facebook.

    Look at yourself, Michael!

    It’s come to the point where you’re getting Facebook Technical Support Emails from random strangers!!!

    That’s how bad TechCrunch has become.

    Unbelieveable. If this isn’t a proof of point for all of us who complain about how much pointless sh*t you post about Facebook, then I don’t know what is.

41. John Allsopp
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:49 pm

    This profoundly underscores the fundamental problem with having identity silos. facebook (or whoever) can make arbitrary decisions with potentially significant impacts on people’s social and business lives, with no ability to appeal those decisions.

    Once more illustrating why open platforms are infinitely superior to closed ones. Full stop.

42. Anon for this
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 2:55 pm

    @4: The funny thing is that Facebook *helps* you get laid. Seriously. I have gotten laid many times due to Facebook. That’s why it’s so addictive, and that one reason I can understand Steven’s sentiments.

    I remember reading an essay quite some time ago that basically said the same thing. Let me find it - Here it is: http://www.jwz.org/doc/groupware.html

    “So I said, narrow the focus. Your “use case” should be, there’s a 22 year old college student living in the dorms. How will this software get him laid?

    That got me a look like I had just sprouted a third head, but bear with me, because I think that it’s not only crude but insightful. “How will this software get my users laid” should be on the minds of anyone writing social software (and these days, almost all software is social software).”

43. Amit Chowdhry
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 3:03 pm

    The kid’s first mistake is going to University of Michigan where all you do is study, check out the ugly girls on campus, and not socialize offline. The kid wouldn’t complain if he went to Michigan State and got his account banned.

44. The Foo
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 3:06 pm

    the question is, why in the world did his account get deactivated. i think from reading the comments we’ve established that

    1) FB is more important than getting your degree

    2) you need FB to survive in college and get laid

    3) FB be is better than heroin

    4) you’ll get a free ipod from MA if you discount #3 above.

45. Jincey
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 3:22 pm

    So, what happened with the kid’s account?

46. Steve Jobs
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 3:25 pm

    Good post. If you keep this up, I might have to recant what i said about you….eh maybe now, frankly, I don’t care all that much.

47. Steve Jobs
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 3:26 pm

    er:
    “noT”

48. Mark Suckerberg
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 3:38 pm

    *Pops a zit*

49. Jason
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 3:41 pm

    Careful with spinning the amazing loyalty. Talking about college kids and that loyalty can do a 180 in only 4 years. Right now you can’t be a college kid without Facebook. What do incoming freshmen think? What about next years incoming freshmen?

50. Adam
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    “What other brands have this kind of loyalty? Heroin?”

    Errr, no its coke, pot and alcohol

51. bernie lomax
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 4:01 pm

    Way to be a dick. This blog continues to go downhill … slowly killed by its own arrogance.

52. Ben
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 4:20 pm

    I thought it was a funny story and worth posting. It sucks to loose your account like that but believe me when I say you will live on to see a new day…

53. Elder
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 4:26 pm

    “Way to be a dick. This blog continues to go downhill … slowly killed by its own arrogance.”

    Not to mention its misogyny.

54. Addicted Society
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 4:33 pm

    Consumption, compulsion then addiction. A cycle know all to well by the media driven society we live in.

    We want everything now and will do anything to get it. If we don’t get it we go into withdrawal, despair and then depression.

    Hands up, who’s addicted to: Food, sex, drugs, shopping, love, or some computer program like facebook?

    Is there a pill for that?

    Well no, there isn’t. There is however a free solution…its called life.
    Unplug, get outside, live life.

55. jaike
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 4:44 pm

    Nah its more pot and coke, heroine is for the adults

56. John
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 4:51 pm

    orkut anyone?

57. Sam
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 5:06 pm

    “What brand has this much loyalty?”

    It’s not heroine…unfortunately, it’s NASCAR

58. Ariel
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 5:24 pm

    You wont be able to find an advertising agency that gets your brand anywhere close to that result.

    Does anyone know if Facebook actually has a marketing agency behind?

59. Ree Tanjuatco
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 5:27 pm

    No wonder so many college graduates nowadays lack the necessary aptitide to prepare them for actual work. This is especially true for the STEM area. This is what the typical US college goer is busy about? Why do you think companies turn to foreign workers for their workforce?

    Has anybody even bothered to conduct a study on the effect of social networking sites such as myspace and facebook on the productivity of employees and students? In the long run, it looks to me that it is so distracting and a waste of valuable resources to no good enough end.

60. TB
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 5:46 pm

    What’s facebook?

    Seems like its a must “see” site.

61. Ray
    

    November 13th, 2007 at 6:19 pm

    227 unread msgs in your inbox, Michael. Damn you’re a popular guy! I’ll be lucky to have 1. Time for me to search for some friends…

62. Yuval
    

    November 14th, 2007 at 2:51 am

    Get with it people! hello? #42 got it!

    “I have gotten laid many times due to Facebook. That’s why it’s so addictive.”

    There you have it. Addiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum. FB has become the social *substrate* in colleges. The kids’ loyalty is completely justified.

    The reason grownups HAVEN’T figured this out yet is because it has a shitty UI. U gotta spend some time digging to find the gold. You need the patience to install the first few dozen apps, many of them worthless and time consuming. Slowly move your life online, a bookshelf at a time on the visual bookshelf app if you like books like me and so on. It doesn’t matter that there’s better stand-alone alternatives (in my case, librarything.com). People *live* on FB!

    Young people are more computer savvy, they’ve seen it happen around them, and they have more time to spare. So they did it. It’s not that they didn’t have a choice. They got firsthand accounts of this thing working and CHANGING people’s lives for the better.

    As any amazingly successful product does.

63. avgbear
    

    November 14th, 2007 at 6:56 am

    I work at a university and it’s insane how much time these kids spend on Facebook. A quick walk through the computer lab and you’ll see 90% of the monitors have Facebook on them.

    What’s really interesting is that a lot seem to have replaced other means of communication (aside from text messaging) solely with Facebook. They think email is a joke– you might as well be writing on stone tablets.

64. Michael
    

    November 14th, 2007 at 7:41 am

    If facebook went down tomorrow, college students would seriously be rioting the streets.

    It’s insane.

65. Nicolae
    

    November 14th, 2007 at 11:31 am

    Hey Guys,

    on this note, here’s a little spoof me and some of my buddies made regarding this exact topic - hope you enjoy it:

    http://purpleduckfilms.com/realfacebookpt1.html

    The link to part 2 is there too.

66. PT
    

    November 14th, 2007 at 11:50 am

    When I first opened a Facebook account, there probably weren’t even 40 colleges that had Facebook. Now, my brothers in high school look at me like a weirdo when I tell them I have a Facebook account.

    Before Facebook the only thing dating in college revolved around was alcohol. Now it’s Facebook AND alcohol.

67. Daryn
    

    November 14th, 2007 at 12:31 pm

    @Steve (comment #23)

    I go to Michigan and you can make another Umich e-mail by going to the student directory and creating an e-mail group. I did it a couple years back when they allowed fake facebook profiles.

    Seriously though, shouldn’t you be worrying about something else besides Facebook right now? It’s midterm time.

68. ash
    

    November 14th, 2007 at 1:20 pm

    steven..

    the sheer idiocy of your email is embarrassing. in the future please do not advertise your affiliation to the university of michigan.

    -umich alum

69. resimler
    

    November 20th, 2007 at 6:44 am

    Seems like its a must “see” site