An attempt by two former Cambridge students to take their spoof song to the top of the charts this week is proving something of a success. “On the Facebook” recently entered the iTunes album chart and has so far peaked at no. 30, overtaking artists such as George Michael, Arctic Monkeys and Justin Timberlake.

The track, composed by Tommy Hewitt Jones and Pete Foggitt, was intended as a satirical take on the popular social networking site. But as Hewitt-Jones told Varsity, “it has ironically become the song about Facebook”. “We were very amused when we realised it was becoming a cult hit”, he added.

Inspired by the success of Peter Kay’s 2005 Comic Relief cover of Tony Christie’s 1971 hit “Amarillo”, the song has racked up an estimated one million downloads and attracted media coverage from various quarters. Earlier this month, ITV Anglia covered the students’ endeavour to reach number one.

The video accompanying the track is set in Cambridge, and features well known sights, with dancing atop King’s College. It parodies the influence of Facebook on the lives of students which are increasingly defined by the cyber confines of the website’s wall-messaging and poking features.

Talking to Varsity, Hewitt Jones claimed that although the song and video were produced as a “protest against Facebook” both were always “intended as a joke between friends, and never something to be taken seriously”.

Since its launch in February 2004, Facebook – originally designed for university students – has allowed users to share photos and keep in contact. But the immense popularity of the site has led to its expansion, and in September 2006 it was opened to anyone with a valid email, with an increasing number of members in “networks” based around employers and locations.
In recent months, the site has undergone criticism, with complaints about the level of privacy and security provided and accusations that it allows for unwarranted “stalking”. Concerns that the nature of the site endangers professional relationships have also been expressed.

Last September, Varsity featured the senior tutors at Emmanuel and New Hall admitting that they use Facebook to assess the suitability of potential employees. Yet the site still remains for the most part a phenomenon confined to young people.
In Varsity’s interview, Hewitt Jones asserted that not only did he believe that Facebook’s “impact on student lives and relationships” mean that it is “clearly now an integral part of being at university”, but that “personally, deep down I think Facebook is a really bad thing and it stops people properly getting to know each other”.

Yet despite these reservations, Varsity can reveal that the song’s lyrics may be more revealing than satirical. Hewitt Jones cheerfully confessed that he himself has “stalked” people on Facebook, because “that’s what it’s for”.

Datshiane Navanayagam