#9 - MySpace and social networks
Way back when we were looking at Flickr (okay, that was only two weeks ago), we talked some about social networking sites. This week we'll expand the conversation and you'll get to see them in action.
Today we focus on the basics.
Social networking sites are websites that offer connections between users based on shared interests, backgrounds, and other associations. In most cases you have to create a profile to fully participate - these note basic details about yourself (screen name, etc.) and offer an opportunity to get more detailed (more about you - your favorite music, your background, photos of yourself, etc). It's truly a mix - some users keep it simple whilst others go all out, detailing their interests, their hopes and their dreams. And are some users less than honest than others in their self-assessments? Absolutely...
Friends, Connections
What really makes these sites tick is the connection between users. This is very similar to the connecting concept behind Flickr tags - you can find people based on shared interests and traits. But there's more - you also get to approach other users and invite them to declare an association with you. Some sites call your associations 'friends,' others call them 'contacts.' We'll talk more about this on Wednesday...
Popular Social Networking Sites
The first was Friendster, way back in 2003. Friendster developed a small following (and its still in use) but never caught on widely. The big problem was their restrictive participation policy - it was limited to individuals.
Next came MySpace which, for all intents and purposes, copied the best parts of Friendster and then upped the ante - they opened participation to non-individuals. Bands, clubs, community groups and, yes, even libraries were encouraged to create profiles that would improve the richness of the MySpace online community. And that was key - with the inclusion of these group entities, MySpace became a real life community where users logged in to do more than just connect with their friends. To this day MySpace remains the most popular social networking site out there.
But, of course, there's an increasingly popular competitor out there - Facebook. Facebook started as a college-oriented network but has since opened its doors to everyone else. And it's catching on - I've heard many stories from teens who have left MySpace because it's gotten "too popular" and have moved to FaceBook.
And then there's Second Life. Second Life is a very different type of online community - users download software to their computers, create avatars (online versions of themselves), and interact with whomever they meet.
But why should libraries care?
It's all about relevance. Libraries need to be where our patrons are. If a library has a presence on MySpace or Facebook they have a better chance of finding patrons who don't often come into their buildings or go to their websites (especially teens) and promoting their fabulous services. And KCLS is getting there - our first MySpace page launched in late 2006 and we expect to see branch/cluster level MySpace pages as well as a Facebook profile up in the coming year.
And it's not just KCLS - look at this list of libraries on MySpace from YALSA.
But even with these examples, are you really buying this? Let's try convincing you with some real life happenings - in this week's podcast David talks to Dawn Rutherford and Rick Orsillo about their experiences using MySpace to connect with their teen patrons.
Click the Play button above
to hear this week's Podcast (3:06)
And now to today's low-stress Discovery Exercise.
- Read some of the articles linked below (we're being vague here on purpose - try to read at least one from each category - most of these are fairly short blog postings).
- What do you think about libraries taking part in social networking sites? Create a blog posting with your thoughts.
- Libraryman w/ a great answer to 'why?'
- David Lee King writes about libraries on Myspace
- Librarian In Black polls librarians - read the comments...
- Stephen Abram writes about the library context (this one is longer)
- It's really popular: Facebook's Astounding Stats
Second Life
- An interesting take from the Infoblog
- Stephen Abram on businesses in second life
That's lots to think about, so we'll stop there for today.
Next up: Create your own MySpace page...
2 comments:
This program is very timely:we all need it!
Thanks for doing it!
PODCAST #5 – MY SPACE
David: Hello everyone and welcome to week #5 of the KCLS Learning 2.0 program. This week we’ll be looking at social network sites, with a particular emphasis on the most popular one out there: MySpace. And what do I mean by “social network sites” … these are on-line services (typically without charge) that encourage the creation of user profiles. Profiles typically include basic information (and yes, sometimes a whole lot more than that) of the user as well as photos and links to other users. When you link to another user, you designate them as “your friend”. In most social networking services, both users need to confirm that they’re “friends” before the link becomes public. So in essence, you both agree and everyone can know it. For example, if I were to link Rick Orsillo (who by the way is here with me today) Hi Rick.
Rick: Hi David.
David: Rick would have to approve my “friend request” before we are listed on one another’s profiles. And it’s not just individuals… companies, restaurants, bands, and yes … even libraries, are setting up social network profiles. These institutions are creating profiles on popular social network sites for one very good reason: they want to be where their customers are or where their patrons are. That’s why KCLS launched its MySpace page a few months ago.
This week’s Learning 2.0 exercises will focus on a range of related topics and activities. And since I don’t want to spoil anything, I’m not going to say a whole lot about MySpace controversies or about the radically changing social interaction trends amongst today’s teenagers. (and I didn’t make that up). Instead, I’m going to ask two early KCLS adopters to talk about their experiences using MySpace to reach out to their teenage patrons. So today, I’m very fortune to be joined by Dawn Rutherford from Lake Hills – Hello Dawn.
Dawn: Hello
David: and Rick Orsillo, from Shorline. Hello again Rick.
Rick: Hi again.
David: Thanks to you both for being here. So who wants to go first.
Dawn: I’ll go first … I decided to experiment with MySpace when I found out that a lot of teens in my community were not longer responding to the emails I was sending out. And instead, a lot of them felt email was old fashioned and MySpace was the place they were now communicating with each other.
David: How’s it worked out so far …
Dawn: So far we’re off to a strong start. A lot of the people who’ve been “friending” us haven’t been the teens in the community like I was expecting, but a lot of the authors and other teen groups, which is really interesting because you get to look at their spaces and how they are communicating – so you get a lot of good feedback from them too.
David: Well that sounds great, Dawn – thanks! And Rick, what about you … what have you guys done?
Rick: I didn’t actually start my MySpace account. One of my teens said I needed it, so she started it and hence that’s why my name on there is “Rick O’Baggins”. I’ve used it to connect with teens on a different level than I was with the blog we had and with email. I’m able to communicate with them through the MySpace groups and I’m also able to post my calendar up there so they can see what’s going on in our teen advisory board that month.
David: And so you are finding that MySpace is a good way to communicate with your teenage patrons who are ignoring your emails and may not otherwise find out what’s going on in the library.
Rick: Precisely. I also think that it’s great for them because they are able to communicate and connect with authors that they may not be aware of, because we have over 40 different authors that have “friended” our site.
David: That sounds great! Thanks very much, Rick! Thanks very much, Dawn! Next week’s podcast will be released one week from today. Thanks everyone.
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