Web 2.0

This blog is an exploration of web 2.0 technologies, and how they can be used in a library setting.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Social Networking

Social networking has become a huge phenomena, over 42 000 000 people in the US use facebook alone (istrategylab). Many websites and blogs have been created based on social networking sites. One of these websites is lamebook. This site allows people to "bust" their friends who have posted things on facebook that are lame. Sites like this highlight that facebook and other social networking sites are open to the public and people need to remember that when they post to their accounts.

I have been using social networking sites for quite a while. I have been a member of facebook since 2006, and before that I used hi5, myspace and nexopia. I quit hi5 because very few of my friends were on the site. Nexopia I quit because I was starting to feel really old being on there, and it was beginning to feel more like a dating service. I never really gave myspace a try, so I thought for the purposes of this blog I would go back and explore my myspace page. I have not used the service in about four years, and had completely forgot my password. Luckily, it was easy for them to e-mail my password to me. One thing that I noticed as I was logging in is the main page has a feature to help find people with certain characteristics in a certain area. I don't really like this because it makes it feel like a dating service. Once I logged on the one thing I noticed first is that they now allow you to customize your myspace homepage. I really like that aspect of it and I wish that was something that facebook would adopt. I don't find myspace's format to be as intuitive as facebooks. I find it really hard to find stuff on their site, and the advertising on the side is distracting. This could just be because I am used to facebooks format, but I don't find myspace very easy to use. Myspace has most of the same features as facebook such as messaging, chatting, video/photo uploads, status updates and much more. The only thing that really distinguishes the two is the format in which they present these features. For me, facebook is more user friendly. The thing that I like most about facebook is their privacy settings, I like that I can regulate who gets to see my profile.

I use facebook mainly as a way to stay connected to friends and family, and as a way to store and share my photos. Facebook is making it increasingly easier to stay in touch with friends and family. The website started out as a site for college students, but it has grown a lot from there. The fastest growing demographic for the site is now 35-54 year olds, with a growth rate of 276%. The next fastest growing demographic is people aged 55+, with a growth rate of 194%. While these demographics have the highest growth rates, the largest demographic is still college students, who make up 41% of the users on facebook (istrategylabs). These changing demographics mean that I am able to connect with more people that I know, but libraries can also reach a wider audience as well.

Edmonton Public Library has a facebook page. On it they post events, contests, new books, photos and videos. The facebook page is another way for the library to reach out to people where they are, and update followers. Social networking can also be used to connect people and allow them to discuss books or assignments. This can be done through the creation of a group on facebook or through facebook chat (Stewart, Paulette).


It may be a good idea for librarians to have a facebook page as well that they mention to students so if they have a reference question they can ask this way as well. The problem is that you don't want to appear pushy, allow the students to come and befriend you (Connell, Ruth Sara). Social networking sites and their encouragement by public libraries also offer the library an opportunity to teach teens about safe online use and interactions (Denise Agosto, June Abbas).


Schools can take advantage of the facebook aplication shelfari to encourage reading. Unlike a lot of facebook applications, the shelfari application links its users to the shelfari website and the users of that website. So even if someone does not have a facebook account, they can still benefit and communicate through the shelfari website. This application is great because it allows users to share books that they have read and rate and review them (Paulette Stewart). Students are already using social networking sites, the ability to bring learning to them in an environment they enjoy could be very beneficial. Though the use of social networking sites in schools could be a great addition there are several problems with its use. I have already discussed that there is a false sense of privacy when people use a social networking site, but there are also problems with schools allowing social networking sites because they use a lot of bandwidth, not to mention that hackers may use social networking sites as a means of infecting computers with viruses. Many schools use internet filters, so using social networking sites may not even be an option if they cannot be accessed. Children are now starting to build relationships online, and the meaning of friend is begininng to change. The problem is that it is hard to build meaningful relationships online (Doug Fodeman, Marje Monroe).

Though social networking sites hold a lot of potential for educators they have many problems too. I think that before they are used in a school/library setting people should be educated about problems that can arise when the sites are used improperly.


FACEBOOK AND VIRTUAL LITERATURE CIRCLE PARTNERSHIP IN BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF READERS.Full Text Available By: Stewart, Paulette. Knowledge Quest, Mar/Apr2009, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p28-33, 6p.


Academic Libraries, Facebook and MySpace, and Student Outreach: A Survey of Student Opinion.Citation Only Available By: Connell, Ruth Sara. portal: Libraries & the Academy, Jan2009, Vol. 9 Issue 1, p25-36, 12p.


TEENS AND Social NETWORKING: HOW PUBLIC LIBRARIES ARE RESPONDING TO THE LATEST ONLINE TREND.Full Text Available By: Agosto, Denise E.; Abbas, June. Public Libraries, May/Jun2009, Vol. 48 Issue 3, p32-37, 6p.

Facebook: A School Librarian's Tool for Building a Community of Readers
Paulette Stewart. International Association of School Librarianship. Selected Papers from the ... Annual Conference. Brantford: 2008. p. 1 (17 pages).

the impact of Facebook on our students
Doug Fodeman, Marje Monroe. Teacher Librarian. Seattle: Jun 2009. Vol. 36, Iss. 5; p. 36 (5 pages).

4 comments:

  1. I forgot facebook had a chat function. You're right, that would be quite useful between the library and a patron. However that means the library would have to friend the patron, and I'm not sure the patron would allow that. It's an interesting concept though. I wonder if EPL uses facebook chat for anything?

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  2. Friending people is a problem. I think it's better for the library to show what it can do for a patron if they're friends and let the patron add them as a friend instead of vice versa.

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  3. I had no idea what lamebook was...I feel totally out of the loop. But I really like the idea of it serving as a reminder that you shouldn't post certain things online.

    In searching for information on how libraries could use Twitter, I came across Phil Bradley's blog and he says that libraries SHOULD "follow" their patrons on Twitter - and I think the same applies to social networking:

    "I see a lot of libraries who are posting to Twitter but who are not following anyone. That's akin to standing in a room talking without
    listening. Twitter is a resource to encourage discourse, to share ideas back and forth. If you do not follow anyone I am absolutely not going to follow you, because you're not engaged."

    Bradley, Phil. "Using Twitter in Libraries." Phil Bradley's Weblog. 29 Jan 2009. 2 Aug 2009 http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2009/01/using-twitter-in-libraries.html

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  4. I like the idea of students (patrons) adding the library as a friend. They could receive status updates (announcements) and comment. The library could respond to their comments.
    Very cool that Edmonton Public Library has a Facebook account. It looks like what I envision such a site being. Thanks for their link!

    I'd like to try following groups of students on Twitter. I'm sure that engaging programs and assignments could be developed from the things that students are tweeting about.

    So many new things to try!

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