Playboy - naked women, Hugh Hefner and, now, social networking.
Playboy U, the new Web site backed by the storied men's magazine of the same name, launched to the public last month, promising parties, fun and - surprisingly - no nudity.
The site, which is only open to college students, is much like Facebook, with student profiles that include user-generated photos, videos and blogs.
Company officials say, however, that Playboy U has a more socialite-centric atmosphere, including student representatives at over 250 schools who serve to "instigate parties."
"We wanted to create a different type of experience that plays into the social side of college life," said Playboy U director Chip Ross. "People look at us as the ultimate party brand."
The site has a ways to go to reach Facebook's popularity, however.
As of press time, it had 4,389 members, including 19 Penn students. That number is dwarfed by the 20 million registered users on Facebook, and even those associated with the site don't think it will take off immediately.
And those expecting users not to be fully clothed will be sorely disappointed: Ross said any nude photos will be taken down immediately.
"Playboy U is Facebook trying to be sexy, but I don't know they are doing a very good job at it," said College senior Brewster Stanislaw, Playboy magazine's representative at Penn.
"A huge portion of all their sales are college-age kids, and this is a way to get their name out there, but [the plan seems] redundant."
The launch of the site is part of a larger initiative from Playboy Enterprises, Inc., as it tries to increase brand recognition past its trademark magazine.
"One thing that Playboy might be doing is attempting to broaden the appeal and generalize their brand," said Robert Meyer, chairman of the Marketing department. "My guess is that it will be a slow change because changing brand identity is so hard."
Another roadblock Playboy will have to face is attracting females to the site.
"I can see a lot of women reluctant to be the first on the block to get involved," Meyer said.
Of the 19 Penn students registered on the site, only one, Engineering sophomore Corissa Briglia, is female.
Being on the site "doesn't really bother me, but I could see how many people would be bothered by it," said Briglia, who said she joined the site out of curiosity after one of her roommates told her about it.
While Ross recognizes that there are definitely more male than female users on the site, he says that he will continue to make the site more appealing to females by adding features such as a style and fashion columns.
Students are also currently allowed to contact site "faculty" and ask them advice on problems that they might face in college.
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