On the first day, the technologically savvy gods said, “Let there be…. MySpace!”

On the second day, the technological gods woke up with hangovers and thought better of their earlier creation and so they said, “Let there be….. Facebook.” (And really, we can’t thank you enough!)

From there, the technological gods gave us Twitter. A social media platform that allowed us to follow all of our favorite stars, friends and frenemies. And on the seventh day (okay, I know I skipped a couple days here but there were parties and hookahs and lamb offerings and Beyonce-themed karaokes), opting to work instead of enjoying their day of rest… the gods gave us Tumblr.

In a maze of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Stumble, the weary brethren (myself, included) struggled to understand the meaning of the seventh creation. Tumblr? A place to…. tumble? An ode to the gymnasts? A home for floor routine inspired decor? Read More »

Growing up in AOL chatrooms, on MySpace and now as Facebooking adults, we all understand the importance of having a good profile picture. Hell, in some circles, a sexy or interesting picture can create more envy than an adoring boyfriend or a good GRE score. This single snapshot imposes a strong impression on the rest of the world and whether you are going for the fun-party-girl look or the sensitive-animal-lover facade, the right profile picture can be the key to conveying any desired impression.

So how do you take the best profile picture to impress others and inspire conversation? OKTrends has done a significant amount of research through their online dating website about this very topic. If you want to give off a sexy or fun vibe, consider these tips:

1)  Even though women smile about 50% more than men do, this socially encouraged form of invitation isn’t the most recommended look for obtaining messages. In fact, you know that flirty lips-puffed-out look that we all hate? This is actually the number one look for women to use in order to get attention via profile picture.

Warning: This look only works with eye contact towards the camera. Flirting away from the camera was found to be the single worst profile look. Read More »

When we think of social media sites, we think of one thing: Facebook. It’s where we post out status updates, where we post our pictures, and where we have obnoxiously long, unnecessary commenting wars with our BFFs. It’s the perfect way to stay in touch, and the perfect way to procrastinate. In our eyes, it’s perfect. (Despite its many, many issues with privacy settings.)

But I’ve got news for you ladies. Facebook is not the only social media site out there. And, no, I’m not just talking about MySpace of Friendster, those sites you haven’t visited since junior high. I’m talking about up and coming, entertaining, totally worth your time, social media sites. These are my top five picks.

1. Twitter. Every girl should be on Twitter. And you don’t even have to Tweet to make it worth your while; you just have to follow. Follow who? Anyone from Charlie Sheen to the New York Times to College Candy! Your home page is constantly updated with little 140 character bits of goodness. From links to the hottest articles to what your favorite celeb ate for breakfast, Twitter has it all. With instantaneous updates!

Read More »

We live in a social media obsessed world. There’s Facebook, Myspace, (although I wonder if anyone actually still uses it), Twitter, and many blogging platforms such as Tumblr, WordPress, and Blogger. Although we upload our pictures to Flickr and Facebook all the time or write about our weekend experiences in personal blogs, there could be a possible downside to all of this internet exposure: According to the Wall Street Journal, 85% of hiring managers Google a candidate before or after an interview. This fact, which is becoming more and more well-known, brings up the question: To blog or not to blog?

While I’m not saying that anyone who publicly posts pictures of themselves puking into a fraternity bathroom shouldn’t be a cause for concern, I am posing the question of boundaries and what and when a company should base their decision on hiring someone because of what comes up when they use Google. For example, take all the CollegeCandy contributors. Should our future bosses decline an interview with us, even though our resumes may be well qualified, simply because we once wrote an article that mentions sex or highlights the importance of birth control?

Personally, I think keeping a blog of any kind is a worthwhile venture. As a writer, I like to post things I’m interested in, things that drive me crazy, and of course, continuously write about things that matter to me (this includes everything from literary theory criticisms to the correct usage of the Real Housewives of New Jersey’s infamous phrase “prostitution whore”). However, I often worry that if I post liberal-sided articles or a picture of me enjoying a glass of wine that someone may use those things against me and blow them out of proportion one day. Despite more and more social media outlets being introduced to society on a regular basis, it seems like the idea of censorship or hiding oneself (at least the internet brand of oneself) is becoming a constant battle. Read More »

This is boring.

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like soul mates!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

Schools all over have been experimenting with social media lately – some of them getting into it and some of them encouraging their students to stay out of it. Now Harrisburg University of Science and Tech are blocking all social media from the school’s network including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and AIM for a week. They’re not the first school to try a move like this, but my question is, is it right?

I think we’re all willing to admit that we’re maybe a little over-connected, maybe a little obsessed with our social media and it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world not to check our Twitter feeds every two minutes. I’m not striking out against the school not supporting social media – it’s their network and if they don’t want students using it that way, it’s their prerogative to block those sites. My problem is that this is an experiment. That’s right, a guy at Harrisburg saw his teen daughter juggling a lot of social media and decided to see what would happen if he took it away. Except, instead of conducting this little experiment in his home, he chose to use his position at the college to pull a social media blackout for a week. And then proceeded to tell virtually no one about it. My qualms about the experiment’s ethics aside (hello, consent?) the bigger question is, is this something the school should really be policing?

Read More »

I love you, Photo Tagger.

The writers over at The Ultimate Hatelist composed a list of the Top 10 Most Hated People on Facebook: The Constant Status Updater, Facebook Couples, People Who Post Little Pictures… Clearly, we agree with them. Those girls with the freakin’ peace-sign-and-pouty-lip pics (of course we never do that in pictures!) and the people who actually pay for Facebook gifts (you’re throwing away money on a birthday cupcake floating in cyberspace during economic times like this?!) should go back where they belong: MySpace.

But we got to thinking, and while there are those people who we want to punch right through the computer screen every time we load up our NewsFeed (read: every 4 minutes), there are also some that we truly love. Those who make our Facebook experience what it is. Those we can’t get enough of and know Facebook just wouldn’t be the same without.

The Comedian
I appreciate a witty saying every now and then, and when I sign on to Facebook to procrastinate I’d like to be greeted with a laugh, not some vague song lyric begging for attention/Facebook gifts. Which is why I love the comedian. He’s funny, he’s quick on his feet and he always has a funny status update or video posted for me to enjoy. This guy is a real pal, bringing a little happiness to hours of homework and studying.

The Girl Who Never Left Home
When you’re having one of those God awful weeks where you bombed a test, fought with your boyfriend and realized you have no idea what you want to do with your life, stalking this girl always makes you feel better. While everyone else left home only to return on holiday breaks, she’s still living in her parent’s basement, getting fat at the same deli you ate at for four years of off-campus lunch, and parties with the coolest of the cool…high school seniors. Seeing her life makes you feel a whole lot better about yours. It might be mean, but it’s true. Read More »

"I swear, I wasn't cheating on you."

Need some advice? Ask nicely and I’ll hook you up. Email me at tuffyluv@collegecandy.com and I’ll get back to you on the fly.

Dear Tuffy Luv,

Please respond! I’m in a rough spot.

Also, this is a very long story.

My boyfriend and I have been dating for 2 1/2 years. We love each other very much and he is my best friend, but we have had a lot of trust issues. It all started close to a year into our relationship. I went over to his apartment one evening to hang out and he was watching football so I sat down at his computer to entertain myself with the internet. I wasn’t snooping but something in an open AIM window caught my eye. The last line of the conversation read “Wait don’t you have a girlfriend?” So being curious I read the rest of the convo. To sum the whole thing up, this chick (who he had been trying to set his good friend up with) was flirting with him and he said ” If I were to go there, or you were to come here, we would hook up. Don’t pretend like it wouldn’t happen.” And she pretty much agreed.

So after reading this I confronted him. He said that in the process of trying to hook his friend up with her, the girl developed feelings for my boyfriend and he just didn’t want to hurt her feelings. I told him  that he needed to be honest with her and tell her that he has a girlfriend and nothing was going to happen between them. I made him show me the AIM conversation in which he said this to her.

Understandably, after this incident I became intensely paranoid. So, I stole his Myspace password. Not only his Myspace password but Facebook, Yahoo, and Gmail. I know that that’s really horrible but I didn’t know what else to do because I really didn’t want to break up with him but I didn’t feel I could trust him. Everything had been fine until twice in the past month or two the girl that originally set this whole thing into motion has sent naked pictures to his Gmail. Read More »

"Oh dear Lord have mercy. What is Melanie doing with that funnel??"

Check out this website. It’s hysterical and it’s the story. of. my. life. Every week, I write CollegeCandy’s Weekly 10 on the hard hitting issues of the moment. Issue of the week (Or maybe the issue of our generation as a whole)? Parentals on Facebook.

My mom is a very cool, tech savvy lady. She even had a Twitter before I did (and she loves to remind me of this) and is totally engrossed in Facebook. My dad also has a Facebook, but uses it much more sparingly. However, he has managed to comment on a picture of mine saying, “Look at my beautiful daughter! And smart too!” A good guy friend of mine observed that it seemed like he was trying to auction me off. Via Facebook. Let’s not even discuss the debacle when he scanned a baby picture of my sister and put it on her wall.

However, between my parents, my mom is hands-down the most Facebook happy person I know. Many of my friends add her, and she immediately accepts and writes on their wall to remind them to “eat their vegetables.” She also uses the “like” feature as if she needs it to continue breathing.

I’m sad to say that I occasionally delete what my mom says on my wall, you know, because I value my social life, but here are my 10 favorite gems thanks to good ol’ Mom. Read More »

In this digital age, we are never apart from the ones we love, at least not for too long.  With smart phones, texting, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Skype, and SMS updates, we are just a press of a button away.  We are closer to other people than we have ever been before.  Even long distance relationships don’t seem that long-distance anymore.

But between new couples and old, is all this technology really bringing people together, or is it driving us apart?

While new technology is an awesome time-waster (among all the other fabulous things it does), the fact that it makes everyone so accessible is a little scary, not to mention the lack of mystery, chase, and boundaries between us all. We’re texting/IMing/Gchatting guys before we go out with them. And before that, we already know their favorite books, movies, quotes, hometown and birthday. We know what they’re doing, when they’re doing it… without ever asking them. Read More »

For those of us who log into Facebook every five minutes or so because of boredom (hey, it’s better than snacking) or a strange addiction to bumper stickers and flair, the news that all Facebook accounts will be getting vanity URLs is so yesterday.  Mostly I ignore those little gray-paneled announcements at the top of my newsfeed, so during my first 20 logins of the day, my outrage had not registered.

Now?  Outrage has registered.

I know, I know, every time Facebook makes a change, all of us whine like three-year-olds who don’t get dessert (or 22-year-olds…) and then we end up accepting it and even loving it (I. Love. Newsfeed.).  And this change doesn’t even seem like that big a deal. Honestly, how many of us really noticed that our Facebook URL is just a bunch of numbers?  And who really cares? If people want to find me, they can use the handy-dandy search box.

But I guess some people do, because this new change will make it a lot easier to stalk search for people. Only there are two small problems:

1. Names come on a first come, first served basis. That means that once your name of choice is taken, you’re screwed. Do you know how common my name is?? I’m going to have to be one of those geeks who wait around for 12:01 am late Friday night if I want to get a URL anywhere close to my own name instead of a random selection of letters and numbers (much like what I have now…).

2. Names cannot be changed. So, unlike my AOL screen name that changed with me as I grew up, this one is more permanent than that tramp stamp my friends have on their backs.

Ah, changes like these make me think about the good old days when Facebook was only for college students and the world wasn’t alerted when I went through a painful breakup.  Now it’s pretty much the bastard love child of MySpace and Twitter. Like a cheerleader, it’s popular and pretty, but it can be such a bitch sometimes (I can say this because I was a cheerleader, so nyah).