I’ll admit I’m a little obsessed with Facebook. I check it when I get up. I check it when I’m doing homework. I check it 8212; sneakily 8212; in class. The only time I feel bad about having a window open to the site is when I’m in the library when the campus tours are walking through, and I get judged by 30 high school seniors and their parents for not appearing studious.

Maybe it’s because of my addiction to social networking that I am excited about Facebook’s recent partnership with “American Idol.” The popular show began accepting electronic votes for fans’ favorite singers on Tuesday, according to a Feb. 24 article in The New York Times. Facebook users will log into their account to vote and are eligible to cast their ballot up to 50 times. This new alliance between Facebook and “American Idol” will provide TCU students with a new platform from which to support for Horned Frog alumnus Tim Halperin, who is currently in the top 24.

The online voting process has the potential to significantly increase the amount of viewer participation for “American Idol.” Even the most anti-social media, anti-technology dissidents among us probably check Facebook at least every other day, if only to write condescending comments or join groups about trees. How easy would it be to just take a second out of all the time we spend online to vote for Tim Halperin? Honestly, “American Idol” couldn’t have made the voting process any easier if they told fans to release balloons marked with the name of our favorite singer into the sky and then handed us balloons.

This is a great opportunity, not just for Tim Halperin fans, but also for TCU students who have never even watched the show. The massive popularity of Facebook will undoubtedly boost the number of votes received and interest generated higher than ever before. In turn, the show’s increased viewership will help propel TCU into the national spotlight. It is up to us to take advantage of this new system, by voting as compulsively as we check Facebook every day.

In the past, I have gotten irritated by the constant notifications and supplications from my friends, who send me Farmville, Pet Store and Mafia Wars requests with an eerie regularity. It seems that every time I open up my computer, I am overwhelmed with people asking me for a board or a basket or telling me about this sad cow they found. But the new “American Idol” system is different. Instead of baiting me with bogus e-livestock, my friends and acquaintances will instead serve to remind me that I have a rare opportunity to promote our school, our city and our talented alumni. Students should take advantage of how well this new voting procedure meshes with our college lives, and use it to cast a vote 8212; or fifty 8212; for our very own singing Horned Frog.