Not too long ago, the only way to meet someone interesting was through school, clubs, pen pals, newspaper classifieds or the local coffee shop. Nowadays, people everywhere talk through the Internet. The Internet is a tool to not only research topics for term papers, but is also a good way to meet people especially for adults in the 18-25 age group.

Welcome to the world of communication websites. These sites are not only for singles but to make friends too. The most popular communication sites among college students are LiveJournal.com and Friendster.com.

LiveJournal was born in 1999 to the parent of Brad Fitzpatrick, who currently resides as president of the company. LiveJournal is a journal for members where they can express themselves through writing, posting pictures, making a profile and read other members’ journals as well.

The journal costs no money unless members want more freedoms with their journal. In that case, there are some membership fees. The most anyone would have to pay is $25 for a full year.

To create an account with LiveJournal, interested people must acquire a code. Anyone can get a code through a friend. Any person who wants a journal must also have an active e-mail address. By having an e-mail address, members’ receive notification of friends’ birthdays, replies to their journal or web site news. Every member must also create a user name and a password in order to log in for each session.

Each member has a profile. This profile identifies each person by a few things: username, real name, birth date, interests, all the friends that person has [on LiveJournal], what account he has and what communities he or she is in. Members are also allowed to post one or two pictures of themselves onto their profiles. Profiles can also direct anyone to other websites that a member will let others see.

Meeting people on this site and making friends is easy. Reading other journals by clicking the link: random on the left side of the website takes members and those of the regular public to journals picked at random. Anyone can read these journals unless the owner of the journal chooses to make it “friend’s only”.

Amanda Mall, undecided, feels members can meet new people but can also stay in touch with current friends. “I think LiveJournal is a good way of keeping in contact with people especially if you don’t talk to these people all the time.”

Besides looking at other people’s journals and writing entries, members can also join communities. Communities are journals where people can discuss interests they share with other people.

Another cool feature to identify a member is pictures. Every member can upload up to three pictures unless of course that member has a paid account, which enables that person to have more pictures.

Having a journal can have its bad sides as well. Geoff Bechtel, Sociology major, says, “[LiveJournal] lets people speak their mind but it can be a bad thing because it can make people think they can say whatever they want. LiveJournal is impersonal and people put personal things on there that can sometimes create conflict with other people.”

Some interesting facts about LiveJournal are as follows:

• Out of all the users of LiveJournal, there are 63.4 percent of females who own journals than 36.6 percent of males.
• Out of 15 countries, the U.S.A. has the most journals
• Age 15-25 is the average age of people who own journals
• California and New York have the most journals in the U.S.A.
• LiveJournal has been featured in newspapers such as the New York Times, The Boston Globe and CNN.

Another communication site is Friendster. Unlike LiveJournal, Friendster is a place where members list a profile of themselves instead of writing an entry in a journal.

By posting a profile, other members can read it and send messages back. Through this method, friendships can be made and singles looking for that special someone can happen.

The membership costs no money, though if the site continues to be as crowded as it has been the last couple of months, the site may start charging money.

Friendster, which started in March as a test run, has accumulated over 1.6 million users. This statistic probably explains the reason why the site is so slow.

For prospective people wanting to join Friendster, the site invites the public for a formal tutorial. The tutorial gives insight of the different features each member is given.

Features include having access to a bulletin board, where friends of that member can jot down dates of upcoming events or questions they may have. Members can upload up to five pictures of whatever they want, as long as there is no pornography. Profiles can also list interests, location, birth date, occupation, gender, status, age, favorite books, movies, and T.V. shows.

Members can also write testimonials to other members, only if they are labeled as that person’s friend.

Additional features are sending messages to people of interest and inviting friends to Friendster.

So if you’re tired of going to the local coffee shop or club to meet people, try communicating through journaling sites or profile sites. It could either be a great experience or a bad one; you will only know once you try it.

Other communication web sites:

MakeoutClub.com

• This is a place where people share an interest in pop, hardcore, or indie music. This is also a great way to find friends of these interests or prospective dating partners
• Members can post a picture and list things about themselves
• Free membership
• A user name and password is required
• MakeoutClub.com has been featured in such publications as the OC Weekly, Mean Street and USC Daily Trojan

Lipstickandcigarettes.com

• This site is also a profile site where members can post pictures as well as what they are interested in
• Members can post in bulletin boards
• Free membership
• Members can also pick the colors they want their profiles to show when viewed
• A user name and password is required

DeadJournal.com

• This site is another version of LiveJournal though it is not run through the same people. All layouts, accounts, colors are the same to that of LiveJournal. The only difference is that because it is “dead”, the journal is toned down a bit and gives vibes of darkness. The home site is decorated in black where LiveJournal is decorated in blue and white.
• Free membership though if members want more features, a paid membership is required
• All other features members at LiveJournal have are the same features members have at DeadJournal
• A user name and password is required

Everyonesconnected.com

• This is a profile site mostly for singles to meet
• Free membership
• Has a tour of what the site is about
• Features include a profile, pictures, embarrassing moments, hobbies and interests, guest book and “things you didn’t know about me”
• Friends can list comments to their friends’ profiles
• A “Newspaper” feature allows friends to share news with each other
• There is also a “matchmaker date” where you can see if someone likes you or you can hook your friends’ up with other friends
• A username and password is required

Myspace.com

• A place where you can meet new and old friends, make a profile, share pictures or hook friends up with other people
• Free membership
• News on the sites main page let users know of any updates
• Username and password required