Facebook is an online social network created in 2004 as a method of connecting Harvard students to each other. A social networking website is defined for the purpose of this research as an online service that allows users to profile for themselves, has a method of organizing individual users into groups allow the users within the network to connect to other users through varies communication methods (i.e., sending a text message, sending pictures). The network expanded to other Ivy League schools and beyond till it reaches most of the colleges and universities in the United States and many of the high schools. According to a 2005 survey, 85% of college students had a Facebook profile if their college had a Facebook site. The average Facebook user will spend 20 minutes on Facebook on a given day. Facebook and the myriad of other online social network represent external (Internet) social networking sites (ESN). ESN’s exist to attract a large group of users and funds itself through advertising. This level of connection is in direct contrast to an internal (intranet) social networking (ISN), which is a closed community whose function is to support the actions of the larger real-world linked community.
