Tech, networking & back-to-school

You'd think MySpace and Facebook were enough. But many college-bound students can add another social network to their social networking: their own school's. Many universities are developing their own networking sites, at least for incoming freshmen, USATODAY reports. They vary in functionality - some trying to replace Facebook, others just adding stuff specific to the particular school - but the goals seem to be the same: promote the school's programs and ease the transition into campus life. More and more schools are setting up their own social networks, and increasing numbers of students are using them along with MySpace, Facebook, Xanga, and other "generic" ones, since they have to keep in touch with friends back home too, of course. Another USATODAY article looks at how colleges are "preparing for the onslaught of [gadget-wielding] students who don't know what life was like before chips, bytes and dot-coms." And for students of all levels (and their parents), there's the perennial coverage of gadgets and wearable technology "invading a school hallway near you," as the Washington Post put it, and the New York Times's article includes grade-school-level tech too.