Sunday, July 8, 2007

#4 Social Networking 101

Listen to this podcast:

If you are hearing-impaired or do not have access to audio on your computer, a transcript of this podcast is available.

Social networking is about connecting with people. In the Learning 2.0 context, it is about reaching out to people through various online communities. Millions of people are creating an extended network of "friends" in sites like MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, Xanga, and Flickr, among others. There are lots of other social networking sites; there is a good list of them on Wikipedia.

Check out this YouTube video, "Social Networking in Plain English."

While there are lots of social networking sites out there, probably two of the more popular ones are MySpace and Facebook. We will explore Facebook in a later exercise, but we can take a closer look at MySpace in today's lesson. The two online environments are very similar, but MySpace tends to draw a younger audience. You will also notice it is quite ad-heavy compared to Facebook. Many libraries are using MySpace to reach out to their younger users. Libraries who have created a profile on MySpace have heard positive feedback and seem to be having an impact on their young adult users.

Discovery Activity #4
You have a choice of activities this week. (You only have to do one!)
a. Record your reaction to the social networking video above.
b. View the examples of libraries using MySpace. Respond to what you have seen and read in your blog.

Libraries Using MySpace

These are only a few examples of library MySpace pages. For more, visit the YALSA list of libraries using MySpace or the Libsuccess wiki index of library MySpace profiles.

For further reading on social networking... (not part of the Discovery Activity)

Librarians speaking about MySpace
1. Stephen Abrams' recent post on MySpace and other social networking environments
2. Sarah Houghton-Jan's (aka LibrarianInBlack) post and comments

I thought this cartoon was a cute way to close our learning on social networking this week.
(Scroll to read the entire cartoon.)

SHELF CHECK

10 comments:

Rhonda said...

All of this is just amazing. Its hard to believe that so many people can communicate with each other in such a short time. I like the way that it was shown in the video. Very plain and simple.

Becky said...

I love how the video uses storyboarding technique to show how socializing networks operate. Pretty cool.

Ning Zou said...

I second Becky's comment. It is a neat idea to explain a web2.0 tool using paper prototype. At ALA I got bookmarks with tips on social networking for parents, teens, and kids. I think it is a great idea to provide some tips for social networking users.

Andrea said...

I had always thought of Facebook and MySpace as a kind of "look at me, look at me" thing. The video lead me to realize that those sites are valuable tools for workplace networking. Very educational.

Margaret said...

I agree with Becky and Ning -- the video was short, sweet, and illustrated social networking perfectly through the storyboard technique. There are some good uses with social networking. Wonder how it will continue to play out in the future?

Pat said...

I'm with Margaret in wondering how this is all going to play out. As Bubba Buffett says, "everybody's ... so connected and all alone."

Robert E. Thornsberry said...

Interesting. So Facebook et al. is more than a way for kids to waste time.

Martins said...

Wow! I really enjoyed looking at all the library web sites and seeing how they use MySpace. They have such student friendly sites or shall I say "student style" sites. I can see why students would be attracted to a library who has sites such as a couple of those posted. I am particularly fond of the humor that is integrated into some of the sites. Libraries do not always have to be serious places - a message that is critical for students to get!

Kate Montgomery said...

I like the storyboard technique also. It helps people like me who are more hands on in their learning.

Unknown said...

Great Job! You can add wallpost.com also in top social networking website list, this website completely different from other social networking website and completely developed with tight security.