College.com: Returning To Facebook’s Roots

Over the past year Facebook has been broadening its horizons, facing a bit of criticism each step of the way. First there was the newsfeed. Then there was the opening of the network to high schoolers and the general public. Largely the expansion has paid off for the Facebook, with the site’s growth rate hastening after each change. However, the changes have left some users wistful for a time when Facebook was a place just for college students.

College.com plans to serve those users. The site has all the basics of any other social networking system, but includes features specifically tailored for college students. They’ve just launched the site into public beta with over 30,000 students at Florida State University. To support the alumni network, they’ve also kept registration open to anyone, .edu address or not.

Like other networks, you can create a profile, make friends, write blog posts, hold events, join groups, and post videos. It’s all specific to what college you go to or of which you’re an alum. Similar to Facebook, your viewing privileges are linked what college network you joined with. However, they’re not tied to your email’s domain name. On top of the usual features, College.com has added some of their own. The more notable smaller features are dating compatibility tests, flash cards, news bulletin board, and a wake-up call feature that rings your phone at any time you choose.

The bigger difference comes with their school specific features. Like Facebook used to support, College.com lets you find and post your class schedule to your profile. To aid with college life, they’ve also included specialized profiles for professors and the Greek system. Professor profiles are listed in a school-specific directory, allowing you to read bios and rate them. The Greek system features profiles for Fraternities and Sororities on campus, with the ability to rush or list new organizations.

I can’t help but feel that a lot of this functionality may wind up returning to Facebook through the application platform. Not to mention the number of college specific Facebook competitors stacking up (ConnectU, CommonRoom) or that they need to keep alumni engaged post graduation in order to sustain any real growth. However, MyYearbook has gotten a lot of mileage out of targeting a social network that’s for and by high schoolers. College.com may do the same.

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How to Calculate Your Age by Chocolate

Yes, it's true: If you are old enough to do mathematics and you like chocolate, you might be able to figure out your age. By crunching these numbers (including the weekly frequency of your preference for chocolate), your age is mathematically revealed. It's a nifty trick for kids learning basic mathematics, who can practice it on adults and elicit reactions of surprise and amusement. Try it out to see for yourself, and then read on to find out how it works.

Steps

1. Determine how many times a week you eat or want chocolate. It must be a number between 1 and 10, including 1 or 10.
   • Let's say you eat chocolate 8 times a week (we won't tell).
2. Multiply that number by 2.
   • 8 x 2 = 16
3. Add 5 to the previous result.
   • 16 + 5 = 21
4. Multiply that by 50.
   • 21 x 50 = 1050
5. Add the current year (Gregorian).
   • 1050 + 2007 = 3057
6. Subtract 250 if you've had a birthday this year. If you haven't had a birthday this year, subtract 251.
   • Let's say your birthday hasn't passed yet.
   • 3057 - 251 = 2806
7. Subtract your birth year.
   • Assuming you were born in 1975...
   • 2806 - 1975 = 831
8. You'll end up with a 3 or 4 digit number. The last two digits are your age (if you're under 10 years old there will be a zero before your age). The remaining one or two digits will be the number of times per week you eat or want chocolate (the number you specified in the first step).

Why it works

• This really does work for anybody from 1 to 99 years old, although the chocolate part is just for fun (an added distraction). Here's how the mathematics work.
• Select a number between 1 and 10. Multiply by 2, add 5, multiply by 50. These steps are just a fancy way to push your (or your assistant's) random number out into the hundreds place. Here is what you'll get for all possible selections:

1	350
2	450
3	550
4	650
5	750
6	850
7	950
8	1050
9	1150
10	1250

• Add the current Gregorian year (2007):

1	2357
2	2457
3	2557
4	2657
5	2757
6	2857
7	2957
8	3057
9	3157
10	3257

• Subtract 250 (or 251 if your birthday hasn't happened yet this year). This yields the year of your last birthday (2006 or 2007) plus 100 times your chosen number:

1	2106
2	2206
3	2306
4	2406
5	2506
6	2606
7	2706
8	2806
9	2906
10	3006

• Subtract the year of your birth and get your age plus 100 times your chosen number. Put another way:

  (Year of your last birthday + (100 x your chosen number)) - Year of your birth = Your age + (100 x your chosen number)

Warnings

• This will not work consistently for people who are 100 years old or older.
• Your friends may think you are strange for playing this game as it requires inputting information from their date of birth into the equation.