Facebook Group of the week: When I was Your Age, Pluto was a Planet

Think back to the days of playing tag on the playground and comparing flavors of Capri Sun at lunch. Remember those elementary school lessons on the solar system and creating off-scale mobiles and models of the planets, where Pluto was often only half the size of Earth?

That project became slightly easier on Aug. 24, 2006, when the International Astronomical Union declared Pluto a dwarf planet and shrunk the number of planets in our solar system down to eight.

That same day, Steven Klimczak, a Texas high school senior, created "When I Was Your Age, Pluto Was a Planet." He had been looking for an idea that would spawn a popular group but couldn't think of a good enough idea.

"One day in class someone told me that Pluto was no longer a planet," Klimczak said. "I have always been interested in space and the planets and I thought that this would be good idea for a group."

However, it was more than a good idea. The group rapidly grew to become the second-largest group in Facebook history. Within three weeks, 50,000 people had joined. Two weeks later, there were 500,000 members. Currently, more than 752,000 people are in the group.

Klimczak's group now fluctuates between the third and fourth largest Facebook group; it competes with "good cause" groups, such as those supporting breast cancer research. He was surprised at the rapid growth of the group but understands how it happened.

"When I first made it and saw that people thought it was cute or funny, I asked them to invite their friends," he said. "When you do the math and each one of those people is adding 200 friends, it adds up quickly."

UW senior Colin Thomas joined the group the same week that the Pluto announcement was made. He noticed in the news feed that several of his friends had joined.

"I remembered being taught my whole life that there were nine planets in the solar system," said Thomas, who is pleased at the number of Pluto supporters. "The way the whole Pluto issue was handled just didn't feel right considering other astronomical issues of the day, such as the possible addition of Sedna to the list of planets."

Klimczak found that as the group grew larger, it began to pop up under the related group category on other group pages, which created free advertising.

"Normally this type of advertising costs people thousands of dollars," Klimczak said. "The chance is that my group was advertised in that space 20 million times."

The group has drawn attention even outside of the Facebook world. Klimczak has been interviewed by NASA, which sought his opinion on the Pluto situation, as well as being a contributor to two Facebook articles by the New York Times. Also, the group has been referenced in hundreds of Internet articles.

He seized the opportunity to turn the popularity of the group into a business venture and began selling T-shirts in December through a friend's Web page. He is happy with its progress and hopes to introduce new designs soon.

Although the group has grown beyond the imaginable, it was all started by a simple, nostalgic idea to recognize a generation that grew up with nine planets.

Klimczak summarized: "Any kid that learned that Pluto was a planet can look at a sibling or elementary school child and tell them that, 'when I was your age, Pluto was a planet.'"

Reach reporter Abby Walker at features@thedaily.washington.edu.