LionLink (Facebook)
LionLink (not to be confused with the website of the same name, launched much later as a hub for Columbia Student Organizations and Clubs) was Columbia's incredibly mediocre 'private' undergraduate facebook and directory. It only had CC/SEAS students. It used your CUID picture. You could opt to hide all your info, search by name, UNI, major, dorm, and floor. It was Launched in 2005, created by CCIT. It looked a bit like it was designed for an elementary school. The closed-off nature of the platform naturally pissed off Barnard and GS.
The system eventually came down a few years later, with CCIT citing age of the system and Facebook as the prime reasons. However, as Facebook as slowly morphed to a privacy-hating content-generation focused model, the need for a comprehensive private directory of undergraduates might once again exist.
Coalesce
Coalesce was the name given to an undergraduate e-community for CC/SEAS undergraduates planned by the Division of Student Affairs along with CCSC and ESC. First it got scooped by CUCommunity, and then Facebook.
"The undergraduate e-community will provide several features including an on-line directory listing all the information that is currently on the main Columbia Directory. In addition, the e-community will offer: a Facebook, a buddy list / personal network, and the opportunity for limited access to friends who have recently graduated."
The above quote is from a November 2003 email inviting students to choose whether or not they would like their photo to be displayed when the site launched the following semester. It never launched. LionLink is likely what became of Coalesce.
