The school of social media is being turned upside down by transfer students and graduating seniors, and I am not sure how I feel about it. It seems like only yesterday Facebook was walking the hallowed halls of Altgeld and now he’s snapping his picture in front of the Alma Mater.

Sending off our social-networking seniors is never a clean goodbye. There are often tears and unresolved feelings about chatting. You can’t shake the feeling from the pit of your stomach that things may never quite be the same. The future of privacy policy is undoubtedly questioned. Yet then somehow you learn to accept the fact that new freshmen will be marching onto campus. The process is an inevitable one, and so we are forced to embrace it carefully, with caution.

Metaphorically speaking, Facebook and Twitter are graduating from the College of Social Media. MySpace and Flickr are looking into retirement plans and Friendster is close to its cyber death bed. There is a new class of social media vying to rule the school and their most ambitious students go by the names of: Google Plus, Instagram and Lift.

This is not to say we won’t be hearing from our seniors, but the buzz may be a lot softer than years previous. Of course they will always retain a special place in our hearts as pioneers of their field, but I think we’re finally ready to stop resenting the newbies.

So without further adieu, I introduce you to the Social Media Class of 2012:

Google Plus

Google Plus is like the freshman football player who jumps up to varsity and ruffles a few feathers. That’s what it’s doing right now with Facebook — creating some friendly competition. While some are dubbing the site the “Facebook Killer,” Google Plus is proving he’s got definite quarterback potential. We can’t be sure whether this implies an eventual dismissal of the former starter, but one thing is clear: Google Plus has Facebook beat when it comes to organization.

With features zeroing in on the specificity of social networking, Google Plus uses “circles” to organize friends, “sparks” to discuss interests, and “hangouts” to chat with colleagues.

Though at first this jargon had me sporting a scrunched-up, squinting, haven’t-got-a-clue kind of face, with an invitation and some exploration, Google Plus becomes easily accessible.

Instagram

A photo uploading app with flair, Instagram has become a popular tool among iPhone users to share photos while formatting them with a retro-filter. Allison Pilcher, senior in the College of ACES, compares it simply to Twitter for pictures.

Yet unlike sites like Flickr, Pilcher explains that rather than uploading professional portraits, Instagram’s users are people who specifically take photographs with their camera phones and then share them through other media sites like Facebook and Tumblr.

The reason Pilcher is a fan of this new student stems from Instagram’s open, friendly environment.

“My favorite part of Instagram is that you can post any picture you want and no one will judge you. Usually someone actually likes the photo and comments!” she said.

Lift

Proving to be “too cool for school,” Lift is a top-secret, brand-new social networking site that is keeping the details of its identity completely under wraps. Like a mysterious transfer student from out of state, Lift has created all kinds of intrigue around the social networking world with its anonymous nature.

Crafted by the co-founders of Twitter, Lift is described as “an interesting new application for unlocking human potential through positive reinforcement.” Its tagline, “Achieve anything,” only adds to its ambiguity.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Emily is a junior in LAS.