Facebook: Good or Bad?

There's been an interesting discussion thread re: Facebook on Tech Rhet the last couple of days. Basically, they're discussing whether or not it and similar services are a good thing...privacy issues, etc. I rarely weigh in on this list, but here's my two cents, emailed in yesterday:
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As a student who's always been intrigued by "life online" I am quite interested by all your thoughts on this topic. Facebook was new to my University this fall, so it wasn't even part of the discussion a year ago when I was first learning about online writing spaces. Since it "arrived" in September, it has exploded...it seems like everyone has it.

There are certainly some drawbacks. As one of you pointed out, there can be some unflattering thingas posted that not everyone finds funny. I know a big controversy erupted last spring at another school in the state over some photos of a student government candidate looking...less than professional. But, one could run into the same kinds of pictures on a person's blog or MySpace.

There is, from a student perspective, some good to Facebook, despite it's detractors. Among the "good" things:
-It's a fast, easy way to get ahold of people
-It serves as a sort of online directory for emails and phone numbers, etc.
-Announcement/ Event feature, while used to announce keggers, is also often used by clubs and organizations to get the word out about meetings or events.
-People reconnect through Facebook...I've found friends I lost touch with 3 or more years ago, and we're back in touch because we looked each other up.


And is there a distinction between Facebook and MySpace? Yes, I think so. Facebook is restricted to people associated with your school (or your friends from other schools). MySpace, by contrast is viewable to the entire wold...I'd think Facebook would be the more "secure" of the two, if there's such a thing as security on the net.


For college students, I think Facebook is a great thing. Do they need it at the high school level? Maybe not.