Jolinko, a Web site created by the makers of The Daily Jolt, has recently become available to Penn State and is gaining popularity as another way for students to communicate.
Similar to the Web site www.thefacebook.com, Jolinko enables students to freely communicate with others with common interests.
Students can upload images, search for friends, look through groups, and send and receive messages.
Daily Jolt administrator Ryan Karchner said the Web site's navigational abilities are what make Jolinko distinct from similar sites.
"It really is, in my opinion, better put together," he said. "It's easier to navigate and access what you're looking for. It has a very different feel; it's a positive feel."
Jolinko contains blogs, on which students can post their daily plans, a "snoop" that lists who has been talking about them on their own blogs and a snitch option that allows the user to see who has been looking at their profile.
Chris Herron, Daily Jolt president, said Jolinko has fewer restrictions than sites like www.thefacebook.com.
"Jolinko has more freedom in letting the user decide what they want other students to see," Herron said.
Though the Web site is slowly being introduced to other colleges with access to The Daily Jolt, developers are still receiving feedback on what people like and want.
"I like the fact that you can import a live journal and incorporate everything onto one site," Tom Harrington (senior-meteorology) said.
Colleen Knarr (senior-elementary education) said Jolinko appears to have a lot of people using it already, and people appear to be making friends.
"I think it will stay around because it's a new way of getting to know people," Knarr said.
Information sciences and technology professor Mary Beth Rosson said sites like Jolinko are becoming popular because of the prevalence of AOL Instant Messenger and other computer mediated channels.
"They're increasing, and I don't think it's a trend," Rosson said. "They will probably go through a revolution in terms of how they organize and present themselves, but I think they are filling a need."
She added that this type of communication could be around for quite some time.
"I think if it catches on, then they can be a reliable place to go and be part of the culture," Rosson said.
