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Click, meet your roommate
By Nancy | May 28, 2008
According to Wired Campus, social networks may be the perfect media for matching college students with roommates.
Tulane University recently announced a partnership with RoommateClick, a service that allows incoming students to select roommates through a closed social network.
RoommateClick provides about 10 colleges with customized roommate-choosing networks, where students fill out a questionnaire regarding their living habits (cleanliness, smoking, etc.) and provide profile photos and other open-ended profile information about themselves. Students can then search the closed network to choose roommates if they don’t wish to be assigned matches by the housing department.
Several other Web 2.0 companies also offer roommate selection matching. The school adopted the partnership because students were already using social networking in doing “background checks” on new roommates.
“Over the last few years we have seen such an increase in calls in July and August with requests to change rooms because of what students have seen on MySpace or Facebook,” said Marty Brantley, Tulane’s director of housing services.
Some truths remain eternal: Life can be treacherous for those not socially skilled - whether in the real world or virtual.
Topics: Teens, Analog lifestyle |