By Katie Zeiser

As the newest witch of Eastwick I’m still learning about being a professional or, as my best friend and I call it, a “real person.” Because I am still learning about PR – or “real life”- I’m sticking to something surprisingly useful that I know through and through: Facebook.

Today, Facebook is a giant, it’s taught in college curriculum, it’s the focus of numerous webinars, and it’ll be part of PRSA –SF’s Young Professionals mixer hosted by Eastwick Communications on October 15^th at 6pm. (Shameless plug #1)

But, before all the “bling bling” – the apps, widgets and the fan pages, there was “thefacebook.com,” a social network solely for college students. In only five years, Facebook has changed the game of communications and penetrated the “real world.” It shaped my college experience, so I want to pour a little out for my homies and represent for the recently graduated. This is a throwback to Facebook circa 2005.

Facebook: Then and Now

• Facebook users required a college email account- Sorry, community college goers, hit up MySpace.
  • Today, anyone over 13 years old can join, and there are more than 300 million users, with an average age of 35 years and older.
• Friending anyone in your college network- There were no perverts or parents, just potential friends. This meant friending (yes it’s a verb) all of the cute boys (or girls) you could find. Everyone had an awkward encounter with a Facebook friend you never actually met. It was an “I know you moment,” double take, and then a “nope keep walking… this is weird.”
  • Today, my profile is private. If I don’t know someone who friends me, they are automatically a pervert. Deny!
• No photo albums- The only way to judge people was on their default pic. In October ’05 came the photo album application, beginning a tagging and detagging frenzy.
  

  My 1st facebook default pic!

  • Today photo sharing is a key part of the use of Facebook. Companies preview products and provide company updates for their fans. Hello, two-way communications emphasized in PR101.

More to come tomorrow!