Playboy Gets in the Social Networking Game

Since the advent of Facebook, social networking has become an essential part of the college experience. If you’re looking for a local shindig to attend, ogling that girl in your class you’ve never officially “met” or want to browse through pictures of your very own drunken antics, all you had to do was log in without fear of reprisal. Unfortunately, times have changed.

In late 2006, Facebook decided against being a social network simply for college students, and opened up the network to the public. Suddenly parents, teachers, bosses and random kids off the grid could learn all about your personal life with the click of a mouse. Social networking on Facebook suddenly turned sour, riddled with problems stemming from letting non-students in. But all that’s about to change with Hugh Hefner’s social network, Playboy U.

Playboy U launched in August 2007 with the mission to do what Facebook originally intended to do: offer up an exclusive site for college students, and no one else. No parents, employers, high-school students, and disciplinary officials checking to see if you’re drinking underage. Not even recent alums are allowed to join; once you graduate you’re gone. To sign up all you have to do is provide your college email address and you can get an account.

However, unlike its printed counterpart, Playboy U does not allow nudity. You can post pictures of scantily clad women, your compadres doing keg stands, yourself puking after a keg stand and any other ridiculous acts you commit. After all, isn’t that what college is all about?

So if you’re a college student who wants to join a social network, but are afraid a pedophile named Herbert is viewing your profile from his dingy basement, join Playboy U.