Back to the future for ‘students only’ social network
A new social networking site will operate like Facebook did in the early days – letting students link up without parents or future employers being able to snoop on them.
Unii.com will only be available to British students with a university-accredited email address and claims to offer users complete privacy.
It will operate in a similar way to Mark Zuckerberg‘s brainchild, which began by restricting membership to students before opening up to the rest of the world.
Marco Nardone, Unii.com’s 24-year-old CEO, said his site would ensure that “what happens at uni can now stay at uni”.
He added: “Most students wouldn’t invite their parents to a party, or loop them into a phone conversation, so why should they have to worry about what they might see on social networks?
Most students wouldn’t invite their parents to a party, or loop them into a phone conversation, so why should they have to worry about what they might see on social networks? Marco Nardone
“University is a place where students experiment responsibly, make new friends and find their feet, so we’ve developed a social network that allows them to do just that solely amongst their peers.”
As with other social networks, members of Unii.com can group their connections within circles to decrease or expand on the number of people who can see each post.
A spokesman said: “It is available to all students at university within the UK and as such requires a university accredited email address in order to log in.
“This gives students complete privacy in their online activity meaning they can post and communicate with other students in their networks without worrying about their online footprint with families and potential future employers.”
Eden Zoller, principal analyst at research firm Ovum, said: “I think it’s a nice idea and I can see where they are coming from.
“I can see how it might be desirable for students to keep certain things under wraps but I think ultimately what might happen is that a naughty picture posted on the network could find its way on to Facebook.
“And I think, over time, they would want to follow Facebook’s trajectory and open it up to a wider audience.”
The website was launched as a OnePoll survey found that 56 per cent of fathers and 54 per cent of mothers admitted to checking up on their children on Facebook at least once a month.