Anyone using Facebook for rush?
 

Just seeing if anyone out there is having success using Facebook for rush? I've got some ideas in my head that I want my chapter to try and I'm wondering about other successes (and failures) out there.

Anyone got something to share?

Do you mean using facebook to look up PNMs and find out how they present themselves on the internet? Or using facebook to actually rush the PNMs?

I mean using Facebook both to get contacts and get them invited to events.

I'm thinking of my members finding people to invite into a group - people starting on campus from their high schools, friends of theirs, randon people they have some contact with, etc. That group can be used for announcements and event postings, etc.

It would probably work very well for a large structured sorority rush, but it would really have to be built well. Build a "PanHell RUSH" group, and girls can 1) request to join or 2) be invited to join. Then the group Admin can send out group messages for events, etc. It's like building an email list only it's managed by facebook and has the added benefit of discussion boards, pictures, "The Wall", etc.

For us, our rush is 100% open. No fixed timeline. We can rush 24/7/365 with zero structure. I'm thinking this would be a great way to get information out.

I'm pretty sure my chapter uses both myspace and facebook. They're good ways to see what you're getting in a new member. You can tell a lot about a person from their myspace profile, and probably even more from their friends.

i have heard that on several large campuses , panhellenic has set up a facebook rushgroup. i know that u of florida has one, and girls who have enrolled in recruitment can join, if they want. panhellenic information is shared on the site(and i am sure that the chapters are busy checking out the pnms!!)

i would be careful of your chapters members setting up groups such as "former students of ___ h.s." or "former beta club members"-you don't want them to be set up for recruitment violations if your campus has sorority members practice silence before recruitment. don't know if the benefits would outweigh the potential infractions.

oops-my bad. i did not notice that you were a fraternity, tom. as with the majority of fraternity recruitments, for the most part it is carte blanche. go for it!!

Yes, as FSUZeta posted, the Univ of Florida Panhellenic has created an official Facebook group called "Panhellenic Recruitment 2006" as a way of getting information out quickly to all PNMs.

As for UF's IFC....I haven't seen anything similar. But there HAVE been a few fraternities who promote their parties through the Facebook Flyer system.

Also of note, the PC at UF has required ALL sorority women to set their personal accounts to "friends only" to minimize contact between chapter women and PNMs.
A rumor, albeit a very good idea, is that the suggestion is being made for PNM's to do the same. It eliminates some potential for "dirty rushing" and for using a fun, social tool like facebook as a way to "stalk" PNMs.

Sounds effective as an announcement tool... people get on facebook all the time, particularly freshmen.

I know that my organization uses Facebook and MySpace in order to "see" the person they might be recruiting, in case they forget. Since it's only a week long, not all the members of an org can meet every single person, so it helps in that regard. We made quota last year using this process, and plan to do this again this year, so I guess your org could do the same!!! :)