Much like Instant Messenger or iPods, thefacebook.com is the most recent college phenomenon.

The website, created by Mark Zuckerberg and four friends, was originally designed for use by Harvard students. It was released to the public in February 2004 because he wanted to create an online database that would connect people through social networks.

Currently, more than 1.5 million students and alumni of 370 different schools, including the University of Illinois, use thefacebook. To join, they must be 18 and fill out a profile, which is posted on the site. The users are in complete control of how much they choose to divulge.

To make thefacebook unique, Zuckerberg and his fellow designers included certain special features to help connect members. They attribute much of its popularity to the site’s versatility. Users employ the site to find information about peers, make connections with friends and to communicate.

Courtney Lee, sophomore in LAS, reconnected with a friend from fifth grade by taking advantage of its global search, which provide profiles of students from different schools.

“It’s fun to find people from grammar school and reconnect,” Lee said. “I talk to my old friend on Instant Messenger now.”

Advanced searches enable students to seek people with similar interests and find people in their classes.

“One time I wasn’t sure about an assignment and I found someone on thefacebook who was in my class to clear things up for me,” said Cathy Suh, freshman in LAS.

Jesse Kendrick, a freshman in engineering, used thefacebook to help him find used books.

One feature of thefacebook that nobody understands is “poking.” It even stumps the creators.

“We have about as much of an idea as you do,” the creators stated in the frequently asked questions section of the Web site. “We thought it would be fun to make a feature that has no specific purpose and to see what happens from there.”

Students can also join others with similar interests in virtual groups.

Erica Van Ollefen, freshman in LAS, belongs to a group called “Poke War!!!” that has come up with a creative method of poking.

“The purpose of the group is to poke everyone on the list and whoever is the last one poking wins,” Van Ollefen said.

However, the idea of joining thefacebook is not appealing for some.

“If I want to communicate with someone I’ll use Instant Messenger or the phone,” said Dan Collado, freshman in engineering. “Thefacebook is not an efficient form of communication.”

Erica Griffin, senior in LAS, agreed.

“I think it appeals to the underclassmen more, plus I don’t like the idea putting so much information about yourself out there for people to see,” she said.

But some members, like Amanda Frazier, junior in ACES, do not see a problem with posting personal information.

“You can get someone’s phone number and address off of the UIUC Web site anyways, so putting it on thefacebook isn’t that big of a deal,” she said.

Putting personal information on the Web also helps students meet others.

“People are using thefacebook in the way it was intended,” Suh said. “They are meeting new people and are nice when contacting people they don’t know.”