“I was skeptical when Playboy launched its exclusive social network for college students in August called PlayboyU, mostly because Hef’s adult entertainment empire had chosen merely to brand a standard Ningwebsite. While it’s questionable to me whether a corporate brand can ever sustain a large and active social network, it just didn’t seem like the company was trying very hard to leverage its assets and create a uniquely Playboy social networking experience. In apparent response to disappointing engagement levels (PlayboyU had about 5,000 members in early November and, as of writing, only 12 “site activity” items in the last 12 hours), Playboy is pushing a fairly lengthy survey on its “charter members” through email and on-site ads. It asks questions about social network usage, Playboy brand perceptions and, most importantly, the appeal of integrating magazine content into the social network (although with little emphasis on nudity, suggesting that Playboy is still wary of turning PlayboyU into an outlet for soft pornography).”