Facebook gets design facelift

Just in time for the advent of the fall semester, everyone's favorite online yearbook and social network and has undergone a revamping. \nThefacebook.com re-launched last week with a new layout and page design. The new look, intending to give the site a "less cluttered" look, according to a statement from the Web site's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, is in response to its skyrocketing popularity. Other changes include the acquisition of the domain name Facebook.com (eliminating "the") and more in-depth search options. \n"They made it look a lot cleaner," said sophomore Michelle McIntyre, co-president of the Facebook group, Facebook Addicts Anonymous. "But I'm just a little bit of a neat freak."\nThe other half of the group's presidential duo, sophomore Meg Zuzolo, agreed.\n"To be completely honest, I like it. They got rid of some of the unnecessary things like away message stuff." Facebook was founded in February 2004 by Zuckerberg and a few colleagues at Harvard University. Within a few months, half of the university's student population had joined the Web site, and Facebook began to branch out to other colleges. Now, 18 months later, there are 3.4 million registered users in the United States, according to a recent Facebook press release, and the Web site expects the number to double by the end of the year. It has created such a buzz that it has picked up sponsorships from companies such as MasterCard, Electronic Arts and Victoria's Secret. \n"It looks a little sleeker, but I don't know," said senior Pat Ellison. "I'm not very impressed. They didn't do much to change it."\nBut Ellison is impressed with the sheer volume of traffic the Facebook receives.\n"It's ridiculous. Everyone checks it," Ellison said. "I think that it should be a requirement of incoming freshmen to join. Honestly, it's such a great social tool. You can contact almost anyone at school from it."\nWhen asked if she considered the Web site a necessity and requirement for newly arrived students, Zuzolo wavered. \n"I don't know about that," she laughed. "But it is something to have fun with. Everyone and their mother is on it."\nAnd there can be no arguing with the social opportunities afforded to the Facebook's many users. \n"My next-door neighbor met a guy she's interested in through the Facebook," admitted McIntyre.