Social Networking SItes

Social Networking Sites

• How can social networking be used by MLA to connect members
• Should your library have a Facebook or MySpace page?
• Are there privacy concerns for individuals when using social networking sites.
• What did you like or not like about your experience with Facebook or MySpace.

A social network created by MLA could have enormous value for the library community. Imagine the ease of communicating, finding co-authors, getting answers, etc. all practically instantly and at your fingertips. Every MLA member could be there and unlike a listserv or email they wouldn't have to worry about getting a bunch of junk. They can choose to use the site when they need it, offer help when they want and solicit opinions. Members could choose to only communicate with others members they know or they could open themselves up to a whole new group of people. Isn't this part of the reason we join these kinds of organizations?

I'm still undecided on the Facebook and MySpace presence for the library. I can see it's value for me to keep up with friends from college who have moved far away (or who have stayed when I moved far away.) However, I don't see a lot of value for our library to be on either of these social networks. I know the students are and I can see the advantage of having individual librarians on to act as another contact point for the students and faculty. I don't think it would hurt to have a presence, I just have doubts as to how much that presence would be utilized.

Social Networking challenges the way that we look at privacy. The internet has constantly been making us look at privacy and how we define it. I think younger generations do not have the same sense of privacy that older generations do. I include myself in this area even though my sense of privacy is still greater than people in college or below. Google and Facebook are not only ways to communicate, but ways to gain information on people. We used to have no way to find out about what people did or what kind of people they were until we got to know them. Now we can jump on the internet and google them, then look up their MySpace or Facebook page. We can gain a lot of information, most that they have made available themselves or is publically available. I think that many people do not understand, really understand that when they leave their profile open that anyone (anyone!) can view it. They only think of this as a way to communicate and it doesn't occur to them that someone they don't know might be interested in what they have placed there. I think these pages make us both safer(from people we meet and google) and less safe(from strangers tracking us.)

I personally love Facebook and Hate MySpace. Facebook allows more privacy and I can limit my profile so that only people I know can see me. Those are the people I communicate with ane reach out too. I do an occassional search on friends and when I find them I can ask to add them in, then it's their choice. People have created a million fun add ons that you can choose to or not to participate in. Facebook can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it. I dislike MySpace because even at it's basic level it's busy. I know you can do a lot more and people love it for that, but I felt like it's something you have to put time into to get the way you want and I just want a way to keep up with my friends.