Social Networking
From ml2sig
Contents |
About Social Networking
“Social Networking” is a broad term for online resources that allow users to make connections to other users through similar interests, groups, and communities. The library community has just begun to embrace these websites as a way to not only network with colleagues, but as a mechanism for outreach to students.
Popular social networking sites
- MySpace (widely popular, general purpose of making friends)
- facebook (widely popular, general purpose of making friends & joining groups, independent parties can create applications for use within Facebook)
- ning (allows users to create "networks" for shared interests. Participation revolves around networks more than other sites)
- linkedin (has more of a professional networking slant]
- friendster (widely popular, general purpose of making friends)
Book related social networking
- librarything (Lets you keep track of your book collection and share reviews and ratings with others)
- Good reads (Lets you keep track of your book collection, make friends, get book recommendations, and create groups)
- shelfari (Lets you keep track of your book collection and share reviews and ratings with others)
Social Networking Lists
- Wikipedia's List of social networking websites
Examples
Library related social networking groups
- MLibrary2 facebook group - University of Michigan's Library2.0 interest group
- Library2.0 Ning group
Libraries Using Social Networking Sites
- www.myspace.com/brooklyncollegelibrary
Brooklyn College seems to be everyone’s favorite example of advertising library services through MySpace. Their site has been up for over a year, so they’ve developed a decent idea of what works in this particular medium.
Additional Resources & Articles
- SirsiDynix: How Can MySpace Inform Library Portal Development?
“How can MySpace inform library portal development?” Written by a VP at SirsiDynix, this essay takes a step back from the direct uses of social networking sites to ask what we can learn from their popularity. - 7 Things You Should Know About Facebook (pdf)
Produced by the Educause Learning Initiative, this is a great capsule introduction to Facebook, identifying both positive and negative aspects of the service and touching briefly on its uses in education.
