Secure Social Networking By Zackary Allred Dorm Book Secure Social Networking By Zackary Allred

Dorm life How can we improve the RAs’ ability to involve residents in dorm life? Social Network sites are popular with students. Facebook’s original user base was residents of Harvard University. Perhaps creating a social network service would get some of the more introverted residents to participate more. RAs could use this social information to plan activities that match their residents interests.

Features Every user will have a personal page with as many the features common to social network sites as time will allow. Every user will also belong to their dorm’s user-group. Every dorm will have it’s own forum and, possibly, sub-forums for individual floors and wings. The data on the users will be stored in a database, which can then be used to plan activities.

Danger, Will Robinson! My primary concern is that the residents information be safe and secure. What setbacks Facebook has had have primarily been the result of the public losing faith that their information is secure (i.e. beacon). Non-residents should not be allowed access to the site. The information the RAs can retrieve should not personally identify an individual (for example the number of dorm residents who ski would be available, but not necessarily the individuals). Privacy is a complex subject and deciding what is and is not acceptable may be difficult.