Illustration by Maren Slobody

Wall posts and instant messaging have shoved face-to-face communication aside in the digital age.

UCMeTalk, a recently launched social networking site, does not conform to this trend. Instead, it is a forum for face-to-face communication.

Designed for University of California students, professors and alumni, the site is a space where like-minded people from different universities can connect through video chat. After months of preparation, the site was made available to UC students on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

“Video-based communication creates extraordinary opportunities for the development of both personal and professional long-lasting relationships,” said Nazir Katbi, UCMeTalk’s project manager and one of its creators. “UCMeTalk looks to nurture that potential.”

UCMeTalk differs from other social networking sites in that it is aimed exclusively at college students, alumni and professors.

“Structuring UCMeTalk around the college atmosphere maximizes its benefit,” Katbi said. “You’re not talking to random strangers around the world who don’t understand you and can’t empathize with you. You’re meeting your peers, those closest to you in experience and mind.”

However some students on campus, like third-year earth sciences major from Crown College Natalie Zimdahl, are skeptical about UCMeTalk’s effective potential.

“I don’t think it’s going to be particularly effective, mainly because Facebook pretty much trumps everything that comes out,” Zimdahl said.

Facebook presents major competition for any social networking website. However, Katbi said UCMeTalk does not aim to compete with Facebook.

“Facebook is a place you visit to keep up with your old friends, share what you’ve been up to and compromise your privacy,” Katbi said. “UCMeTalk is an environment where you can meet new friends on campus, network with students in your major across different campuses, and explore the broad selection of interests that college campuses truly offer through a webcam. Simply put, our aim is to bring campuses together, and get students jobs. Period.”

Having graduated from Purdue University just this year, the struggles of college students and recent graduates strongly resonate with Katbi. Katbi said he and his co-founder, Anthony Liu created UCMeTalk because of the challenges presented to students and graduates.

“Connections are everything out of college. I wish I had known about [UCMeTalk],” said Annie Ahn, a recent UCSC graduate.

“We’re losing certain guarantees that we may have taken for granted, such as the guarantee of a job after graduation and a chance at exploring different fields before picking a future career,” Katbi said. “We struggle for years under an enormous amount of pressure and should be rewarded for our vigilance. That’s something the UCMeTalk team really believes.”

To learn more about UCMeTalk, or to register an account, visit ucmetalk.com.

Illustrations by Matt Boblet

It’s lustful, it’s sinful, it’s absolutely and atrociously … American. Bacon, cheese, chocolate, butter and doughnuts have seemingly been featured in more Internet photos than supermodel Gisele Bündchen at her finest. Food blogging has reached a new height in the past few years, thanks to the sharp rise in social networking, and has captured gluttonous appetites across the nation.

A quarter of all photos shared on social media sites are food-related, according to the research of digital agency 360i, but people are almost never in the pictures. Only 10 percent of hundreds of photos observed in a 360i focus group included human beings. In combination with the Internet photography frenzy, “foodtography” has made a mark on blogs to a point where numerous blogs dedicated purely to showcasing food have been created and have gained enormous popularity.

We proudly present: a guide to the food website movement that will either leave you ravenous or nauseous.

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Foodspotting.com
A guide to foods in your area

Similar to Yelp.com, this website allows people to search for yummy foods by location. On top of allowing you to look at delicious food photos, the website provides the location and restaurant, including the name of the dish. Flagging tools such as “nom it” and “want it” allow people to rate the dishes. This website is not only appealing to look at, but also efficient, as it allows a much more in-depth review of a restaurant by specifically rating individual dishes. The usual snarky pretentiousness found in restaurant reviews is thankfully nonexistent in this site, because the bloggers who upload their yummy findings aren’t doing it to show off their gastronomic intelligence or their fine taste buds. These folks simply love food and just want to share it with the world. Perfect for anyone with a specific craving, this website is a foolproof tool that allows people to go to a restaurant knowing exactly what they want before even looking at the menu.

ThisIsWhyYoureFat.tumblr.com
An array of the most gluttonous foods imaginable

This blog was created by two people who decided to post photos of the most gluttonous, fattening, heart-stopping food creations imaginable. The blog has gained extreme popularity in the past few years ­— countless people have contributed to the site and posted their own grotesque cholesterol masterpieces for people of the world to feast their eyes on. The blog consists of such culinary monsters as a KFC pie, a pulled pork and mashed potato parfait, a Twinkie casserole encased in strawberry Jell-O, a bacon bouquet, a bourbon bacon pecan pie, a bacon mug brimming with cheddar cheese, fried cookie dough and literal butter-beer. The blog displays enough oil-dripping bacon dishes to make even Paula Deen shake her head in disapproval.

Photograzing.com
A gallery featuring artistic shots of delicious foods

This website is for serious, hardcore “foodies.” Anyone who uses this website is simply doing it to look at food. There are no instructions as to how to obtain these dishes, as most of the photos are snapshots of homemade foods. There are no recipes, no rating system, and certainly no directions on how to gain access to these heavenly bites. While it is frustrating to the hungry person who can do nothing but simply stare at these foods, there is a down-to-earth warmth about the collection of photos as it reminds you of flipping through your old photos of past birthdays, featuring half-eaten slices of your mom’s lavender honey Earl Grey tea cake with buttercream frosting. There is a connection that you feel when looking at these homemade dishes — you imagine a busy mom taking all day to create her daughter’s favorite German chocolate cake for her 10th birthday, or a proud husband spending all day slaving away to make his wife’s favorite soup for an anniversary. The pride and admiration of each dish jumps off the page and inspires the viewer to take the next big step of experimenting in the kitchen to create something just as unique.