Earlier this year, if you were a college student who wished there was a social media platform just for students called “Facebook,” you were about a decade and a half too late.
But, as of today, you might just get your wish. Facebook announced a new section of the site called Facebook Campus, dedicated specifically to students.
According to the announcement, Facebook Campus will utilize new profiles, separate from the one users already have on the main platform. To create a Campus profile, students just need to provide their college email address and graduation year. Facebook Campus will be accessible on the main platform, as a tabbed feature, much like Facebook Watch.
Facebook Campus will feature a college-only newsfeed, specific to each student’s school. Students can create Campus-only events and groups, which only people from their school can access. A real-time chat room feature, called Campus Chats, will also be available on the platform.
One stand-out feature, especially in the age of the coronavirus pandemic, is the Campus directory. The directory will allow students to search for classmates based on their major, graduation year, enrolled classes, and more.
As we all know, Facebook was once a college-only website when it launched in 2004 as TheFacebook. Then Facebook opened its doors to everyone over the age of 13 a few years later and nothing has been the same.
The similarities were not lost on people who remember TheFacebook.
Can’t help but feel like Facebook Campus would be more successful if they opened it up to everyone, regardless of whether they were in school https://t.co/teEKIu5g9q
— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) September 10, 2020
As of now, the feature will roll out in 30 schools across the U.S. You can see which colleges and universities will get Facebook Campus first here.