Social Community Websites

I remember when Facebook came about and only college students were a part of this social community. There were other options for those who were not in college or were older, such as MySpace. Now, Facebook has become a popular website for college students, high school students, parents, etc. Anyone can join Facebook, as long as they have an email address. In fact, most people have a Facebook account and are fairly active on the website. Lately, I've seen Facebook become more and more popular in the classroom, as instructors have noticed the popularity and thought bringing it into the classroom may be a good way to bring interest in the class to a level the students could appreciate. I'm undecided about using a network site like Facebook in my classroom and would be interested to see how faculty have made this work.

I'm thinking about potential issues with using this website in my classroom and how it may cause more problems than it is worth. For instance, some students may not have Facebook, particularly if there are older students in the class. Additionally, students may not wish to join a group that would make their profile visible to all individuals in the class, or have to deal with the settings in order to create a privacy level with which they are comfortable.

In this case, I think using a website like Google Groups would be better, because it would not infringe upon student's life, and the most they will have to do is create a Google account if they do not already have one. But, a Google account may be more limiting or less enticing for students and thus we may lose the effect altogether. I'm curious what others have done when they wanted to create a social community for their classroom. Did you simply set something up with ELC/Webct, or did you use Google Groups, make your own website, or try out Facebook?