So I was having a discussion with my friend last night about how his old high school classmates had found him on his new MySpace account. I knew he had already been using Facebook for almost two years.
I asked, “Why didn’t they just find you on Facebook?”
“Because none of my high school classmates are on Facebook,” he said.
“Eh? I have, like, dozens of my high school classmates on Facebook!”
“I graduated in 1998, remember? You graduated in 2000. There’s a big gap right there.”
I didn’t really want to believe that Facebook could be so grossly ageist, but he had a point. Facebook, a social networking site limited only to students and alumni, was launched in February 2004, around when my high school classmates from 2000 were now college seniors.
But still, there’s got to be some spillover effect, right? Surely the 5- and 6-year college students also caught on Facebook and spread that particular gospel to their high school peers? Apparently not.
I quickly got the numbers of high school graduates on Facebook by class year, and whipped up this Excel graph (click to enlarge):
So, there you go, guys. If you graduated before 2000, you’re out of luck with finding your high school classmates on Facebook. Don’t even bother trying–but it’s still good for networking within your college crowd.
Still need to find your high school friends without clicking on those ubiquitous yellow ads? Do what my friend did - use MySpace instead (something I simply won’t do…those background graphics drive me blind).
Social networking can sound very egalitarian, but it’s useful to remember that some sites are more open (e.g., MySpace, Friendster) than others!
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17 Comments
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It’s funny to read this blog now because I just came from my MySpace page…
I guess your friend has a point…I’m a ‘94 HS grad and I’ve never heard of Facebook. I ended up on MySpace thanks to my brothers (’96 and ‘98). From your research, it seems pointless for me to even bother with Facebook, but now at least I won’t have a blank look when someone mentions it!
Oh, and those backgrounds? I agree with you that they’re annoying. Mine stays white and boring on purpose.
Facebook is more alumni focused then MySpace. (I never made the jump myself to MySpace and still use Friendster. Although not very much. They all seem like sort of a waste of time — or a time waister.) For whatever reason — my high school class (’92) is really into Classmates.com, I guess it probably launched when we were all in college.
Does anyone miss Ringo?
Westhill, my alma mater, no longer has a deaf program. The program moved to another school district right after I graduated in 1995.
My class did use Classmates.com a lot and even used the website to arrange our 10-year reunion last fall.
oh my god…. =)
Advice:
Be careful about what is posted on your Facebook/My Space pages. Currently, MOST if not all employers check for a prospective employee’s web page in those places as well as googling their names. No joke.
Yes JJ you re right. i know a person who applied for a job. He is a computer speicalist. A private investigator found his homepage, myspace and links about him. They might not hire him. Yikes
I want you, JJ-san. Excrete onto wok, stir fry is yum! Will help job victory, gainful employ!
Moon,
What’s the pay? I don’t know about lunches with you, but I am such a money whore….
Companies are also looking out for blogs as well. It’s not a pretty picture because even it is not business related but at your own time at home will put an employee at a disadvantage.
Human Resources people are looking at new hires’ blogs. It’s scary.
My high school doesn’t even use MySpace. I may be showing my age here (which really isn’t even that old!), we use Classmates.com. That’s a dinosaur for you youngsters.
*sighs* Now I sound like a grandmother of five. I don’t even have any farkin’ kids, much less grandchildren. *mental note to self - makeover!*
Same here, my class of ‘90 use Classmates.com, never heard of Facebook.
A number of my classmates (1997) are on Classmates.com but that site costs money, so none of us are actually in touch with each other…
I don’t post my stuff online. Period. I have memberships on sites and i have comments all over the place. Anybody could follow those comments and find out plenty about me. That’s enough exposure for me!
:)
An interesting twist: Maryland gubernatorial candidates are putting up their profiles on Facebook.
[…] Technology: Adam tells you what happens to Sidekick thieves and older alums on Facebook, plus David discusses the collision of relay services and answering machines. […]
I can’t even manage to get on Facebook. It says I’m too old to register as a high school student (born in 1981, graduated in 1997), I don’t have a college-related e-mail address, and my company isn’t on there.