Comments on: Libraries in Social Networking Software

By: Raj Anand

Raj Anand — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:06:17 +0000

Very interesting post. We had a very similar debate at a Chinwag ‘Dark side of social media’ in London, which we at Kwiqq and many others developing social media attended. Although there was no concrete outcome but generally people agreed that today’s teenagers, commonly referred to as digital natives, are very web savy and strangely enough understand the implications of revealing their identity online.

By: George Fray

George Fray — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 16:57:32 +0000

It really comes down to what we are trying to accomplish. The cool-factor of being able to say our library is on this or that social site is good, but so what? It’s really just a tool to facilitate reaching more people & provide them with information services, any time/ any place. While reaching out to people online is a good thing, social networks have their limitations. We talk about them as if they’re the silver bullet that’s going to fix all our problems…. sometimes 5 minutes of traditional face-to-face conversation is equivalent to an hour of online chatting.

On one hand, I admit that I do have an account on just about every social site and e-mail with just about every free e-mail provider, but for a purpose – I need to keep in touch with this or that family member or friend. On the other hand, I would much rather see them in person. And on another hand (how many do I have??), I love social sites & Instant Messaging because I’m able to keep in touch with people who I normally would have lost touch with over the years – and I can talk to them online while doing other things (like writing this post). I could be anywhere in the world and communicate with friends – or the library – which I have done & found it extremely useful.

It’s important to keep things in perspective & know why we’re doing what we do.

By: Loutisha

Loutisha — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:04:56 +0000

personally i think myspace is great. and if you think it is bad! just think ok you can make it so no one sees you profile but your friends you have to approve n-e who wants to be your friendand only the kids who weren’t raised right are stupid enough to talk to people the don’t know!! my cousins have a myspace so they can check on their daughters amd son! that sounds like a good idea and some peoples familys are in iraq and thats the only way they can get in tousk with them. and not every one has a computer to check their myspace every single day. so what do you think that is my opion. noone cares for my opion here so why should you but it’s still here!!

By: Librarian

Librarian — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 13:36:56 +0000

I think there has to be verticle social networking based on special interest , http://www.librairansworld.com is one such site for Librarian community . Afterall the ambiance is something which will determine what you would discuss. If it is a around the corner pub , it will be all shouting & bad words but if it is a nice french restaurant – no one wants to shout …..

By: Denise

Denise — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 04:09:07 +0000

Fortunately our children are more savvy than we are about the pitfalls of these social networks. There are blocks in place to help protect our shildren.
Unfortunately my children are safer on myspace than on the streets, unlike when I was a child and could walk the streets alone without fear of danger.
I think MySpace grew so fast that they didn’t expect the problems that they are facing (lawsuits). I honestly believe that they are trying to rectify any problems.

By: mandee[[:

mandee[[: — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:55:15 +0000

i agree with everything you saying becaus emost people look at myspace as a place where old 30 year-old guys come to flirt with teenage girls & sure there may be some out there but still most of us [meaning me & my friends] are not stoopid enough to let an old guy trick us into thinking they are 15 were smarter & maybe if parents had a talk to their child about mypace more teens would know better about myspace & know what to do & what not to do while being on the computer!

By: heather714

heather714 — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 23:47:49 +0000

Is limiting access to social networks in public libraries fair? Websites such as Facebook and MYSpace are under fire in the government and the quiet spaces we call libraries. What are your thoughts?…

…

By: Jambhala

Jambhala — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 22:13:14 +0000

Interesting blog article. You definitely made me think of some things that I hadn’t really thought about before like the privacy issues of social networking communities.

I noticed actually that when I googled myself, I found all kinds of posts come up from sites and blogs I’d posted comments on. I realize that this is certainly going to be a way that people are using, and more will clue into, on finding out information about a person.

It strikes me now, that if I’m going to hire someone or work with someone, that it would only be right to google them and find out a bit about them, and maybe even take a look into their personal life in social networking sites before I hire them or work with them.

Peace

By: Jane Hyde

Jane Hyde — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 23:20:47 +0000

Meredith — Just found ytour ite and I’m really enjoying reading your thoughtful essay on mypace and the like. I’m a school librarian (boys’ boarding school in a fairly conservative region) and am fascinated with these issues and how people at my school react to them. This year we’ll have a new technology director and so maybe a chance to loosen thing up a bit. I’m always considering the social and educational uses of school technology and trying to fight against the “gee whiz! we have new technology! aren’t we great?!” attitude and get people to think about how we use it, how kids use it, and how best to serve our students. You’ve touched on a lot of these issues, and I need to come back to your site. Thanks, and keep blogging — Jane L. Hyde

By: Hal Schiffman

Hal Schiffman — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 13:29:33 +0000

I have no use for Facebook or whatever, but what bugs me is when I’m in the library and need to look up a call number, and I need to use a computer to look up a reference, I find the computers being used by people for these trivial purposes, or for reading their email. I stand in line, waiting patiently, to no avail. I’ve complained to the library people, but they say they’re powerless to stop it. I think it should be easy to control this–set the perameters of the computers to only look up library resources, for example.