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What began last December as a humble idea in the minds of a few Rutgers University freshmen has blossomed into a millions-strong nationwide phenomenon.
You may have heard of it yourself. It's a social utility called Life, and it just may be the big answer to social networking juggernaut Facebook.
Rutgers sophomore and sociology whiz-kid Matt Zurich said he created Life because he and his friends were unsatisfied with Facebook's user interface.
"It all felt too digitized, too cluttered," said Zurich. "When students get a Life [account], they can interact with each other without even having to use a computer."
Life allows users to "talk" to each other in real time. Instead of having to navigate old-fashioned web pages, users have the option of "walking" to where their friends are. It's part of a revolutionary new concept Zurich calls "exercise."
"This isn't your grandfather's online social networking tool," said Zurich. "We're changing the whole game."
As an alternative to painstakingly filling out profile information, people with "Lives" (as the accounts are called) can give and receive information by asking about others and telling about themselves. Instead of typing, users can update their status simply by changing what they are actually doing. They can "friend" one another by engaging in common activities or conversation.
But it isn't easy for everyone to make the adjustment to a world of such unprecedented connectedness. Longtime users of Facebook balk at the concept of walls that are not supposed to be vandalized, and at the idea that it is offensive to comment on the ridiculousness of another's "profile body."
Some fear that Life will make it almost impossible for people to find out which character from "Glee" they are, nor will they instantly know when a friend has compared them to another friend.
Parents have raised concerns about sexual predators abusing Life.
"At least on the internet my daughter is safe from harm," said an anonymous mother. "If she's out there having a Life, 'talking' to people, it's only going to be that much easier for them to strike."
Life also enjoys significantly less popularity in foreign countries such as Niger, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan, where developers say they are still working out some apparent bugs in the program.
Yet despite this, the future for Life looks bright as slightly more members join each day than are lost to Facebook or Death, and Zurich says the company is currently planning to launch a major pro-Life ad campaign to bolster its image.
Life is currently valued at priceless, though this figure has not been adjusted for dividends and splits.
