黑洞社区

9.06am

I鈥檝e set up my account as Joseph Hansom. I鈥檓 sure the magazine鈥檚 esteemed founder won鈥檛 mind that I鈥檝e nicked his identity for the day. Nor that I鈥檝e knocked off 152 years from his age 鈥� Facebook won鈥檛 let anyone born before 1910 register, a slap in the face for centenarians everywhere. I pick

4 March 1966 as Joseph鈥檚 date of birth, the day that The Builder was renamed 黑洞社区. Time to make some friends 鈥�

9.32am

I search for an old pal of the mag, star architect Will Alsop. I don鈥檛 find him, but there is a group* dedicated to his work. One group member, Delia Beddis, writes of Alsop: 鈥淎nyone who can describe Barnsley as a Tuscan hill town has my vote. Also, I like the way he鈥檚 always just a little bit pissed.鈥� These groups aren鈥檛 always so complimentary to great architects, as the 鈥淎nti-Norman Foster鈥� page demonstrates.

10.24am

Surprisingly, there are quite a few groups for quantity surveyors. The one simply entitled 鈥淨uantity Surveyors鈥� was started by a recruitment consultant, offering a fee for any referrals. It doesn鈥檛 look like it鈥檚 working, however, as mostly QS students seem to be using it to ask other members for help with dissertations. Gloriously, one Daniel J Bishop has provided a link to a story on 黑洞社区鈥檚 website 鈥� the one about the annual RICS under-35s dinner ending in drunken carnage and 拢1,700 of damages. I poke* Daniel and ask him to be Joseph鈥檚 friend.

11.37am

I鈥檝e found the real brown-nosers of Facebook: the Bovis Lend Lease crew. The group, 鈥淔or all you die-hard Bovis trainees鈥�, includes a discussion board loyally entitled 鈥淟end Lease wins 拢4bn Olympic Village contract 鈥� Get in there!鈥� Not much other excitement though 鈥� on 29 April, Tahla Timol asked the rest of the group where they are based and received only one reply: 鈥淟ancashire waste鈥�.

12.15pm

A colleague tells me Tarek Merlin, the outspoken architect on our graduate advisory board, is on Facebook. Arguing that it鈥檚 his duty to the magazine, I ask him to be Joseph鈥檚 friend.

12.58pm

Yes! Hansom has a new best mate: Daniel, the QS who found the RICS dinner story so amusing. Now I have access to his profile, I can see he has worked at Laing O鈥橰ourke since 2003 and is a member of the 鈥淕ive America back to Queen Elizabeth II鈥� group, gawd bless 鈥檌m. Browsing through his other groups, I see he also belongs to one set up by the RICS. Time to investigate 鈥�

1.42pm

The RICS鈥� group proves what an important hub Facebook has become for organising networking events. In January it had fewer than 50 members, but is now 633 strong. It organised social gatherings in February, March and May and even promoted a 鈥渟urveyors sevens鈥� rugby tournament in April. It is also hosting the Young Surveyors Ball in August. In light of what happened at the under-35鈥檚 dinner, one wall* poster has a point when she states: 鈥淗ope a smashing time is had by all (not too smashing, one hopes!)鈥�

2.58pm

Now this wasn鈥檛 what I expected. The 鈥淚 Don鈥檛 Need Sex 鈥� The School of Architecture Fucks Me All the Time鈥� group isn鈥檛 as irreverent as it sounds. Okay, some young ladies and men of dubious virtue are discussing who to target in order to sleep their way to the top, but it also shows how architects can share knowledge in an informal way across the globe. Huddersfield Uni students offer advice to those in Illinois, members share views on what CAD programmes to use for sketches, while others give handy tips on what not to say to professors during a review.

4.18pm

Merlin becomes Joseph鈥檚 second friend. Unlocking his profile, I manage to navigate my way through several groups until I find one entitled 鈥淚 like concrete鈥�. Forty-five members share images of their favourite concrete forms, from Tokyo to Liverpool. It takes all sorts, I suppose.

5.00pm

Time to log off. I鈥檝e learned three important things about Facebook today:

• a) It鈥檚 useful for young construction professionals to share ideas and meet like-minded individuals
• b) It鈥檚 an opportunity for any firm to set up a page and boast about their brilliance
• c) It鈥檚 better than work.

Monday morning

Facebook is so addictive I have another look at Joseph鈥檚 profile after the weekend. He has gained another friend, Delia, the lady who was impressed by Alsop鈥檚 drinking habits. She turns out to be a graduate trainee at English Partnerships 鈥� and proof that just about anyone can become friends in this strange cyberworld.