I have been neglecting this blog. There's no excuse, really. I have about a dozen things to write about. I guess you've learned another thing about me...I procrastinate.
Think back to May 3rd. Yes, I know, a long time ago. Back to the MLA Conference...I was sitting in a session called Social Networking: MySpace and Beyond. Linda Braun, pictured above, was the speaker. The session was supposed to talk a bit about the legal ramifications of social networking sites. I honestly don't remember talking about that since I was so interested in the sites she took us to. I could probably blame one or more of these sites for my procrastination...it was research for this blog, of course!
The first site she talked about for almost five seconds was http://www.justin.tv/justin go ahead, click on it...she called her "newest addiction" and I can kind of see why. It's a man that walks around with a video camera on his head all day and just lives life. Okay, so I'm not as interested as some people might be, but I get it. People are interested in other people's lives. How is this social networking? Well, if you look under the live streaming video you will see a chat board. People talking about Justin, or not, but either way it is definitely social! Yes, that introduction intrigued me.
She then defined Social Networking as "connecting with other people with the same interests" and mentioned http://del.icio.us/ (yes, I'm expecting you to click on that one too) I couldn't believe there was another social network I hadn't heard of. del.icio.us is a place where you can bookmark websites that you like. How is that social? It keeps track of how many people also have that link saved and gives you a list of those people. Here's an example:
I have this link saved http://www.virtualshoemuseum.com/vsm/o.php?id=583&col=shoe_type&sub=extreme next to that link it says that there are 8 other people who also have that link saved. When I click on the link for those people it actually lists them. I click on one of them and I can see all of the other links they have saved. I can also view her network of people or add her to my network of people. See? Social.
Linda also spoke about MySpace. Finally, something I could relate to. I have a MySpace page which I go on frequently to check my messages. It is definitely a Social Network! You sign up and create an account. Then you can search for friends. My friends are either movies I like, restaurants or store I frequent or people I actually know in real life. http://www.myspace.com/libdee is my URL. When you click on it all you'll see is a picture of me and a box that says things like SEND MESSAGE, ADD TO FRIENDS, etc. (Feel free to add me to your friends if you have a MySpace, but make sure you also send me a message so I know who you are.) The reason you are only seeing that is because my profile is private. That's one of the things I like about MySpace. I can choose what I want people to see. I have 323 friend which I added by searching for people by first and last name or they found me by searching mine. I can post bulletins which only my friends can see. (i.e. if I am having a cookout and I want all 323 people to know about it I'd post a bulletin) I can also send event invites. This is kind of like evites but only to your MySpace friends. It makes it so I can pick and choose who I want to invite to my cookouts and they can RSVP on there as well. My friends post comments about me that the whole world can see, which I have set to private so I can read it and accept or deny if it's posted. If used wisely, MySpace is a very safe online social networking site.
What does this have to do with libraries? Well, there are so many different way it pertains to libraries. There are actually libraries that have MySpace accounts.
This is a great way to get information out to users. Hennepin County Library actually has a search engine for their catalog right on their MySpace page. What a great way to get teens...and possibly 30-somethings...to be interested in the library. If your patrons are your friends on MySpace you can post a bulletin about anything and, more than likely, they'll see it and maybe even read it!
Del.icio.us can be used by libraries too! Let the patron know where to find you on del.icio.us and put links to whatever you think they need links too. You could have links to your events page or your catalog or your MySpace page...the possibilities are truly endless.
Social Networking is here. It's now. It's what our patron's are doing and what we all need to do to get through to them. Great session, Linda, thanks!
...and, of course, my quote for the day "Procrastinate now, don't put it off."
