In spite of all your posts on the subject, I really don’t understand what’s “passive” about having a “library” presence on Facebook or MySpace as opposed to an individual librarian’s presence? To me, what matters is what you do with the account and at a library like mine, it makes no sense to have one person be the “face of Facebook” because we want them to see all of the librarians as helpful. I don’t need them just to think that I’m cool and seek me out over all the other librarians. So for them to see the library as a whole as cool and helpful and responsive to their needs is better than them just thinking one librarian is cool.

Does it occur to you that a one-size fits all approach doesn’t necessarily work? Are your students at Georgia Tech just like the students at Bennington? Not at all. Would they find your approach intrusive? Maybe, maybe not. But assuming that you know better about how every library should be implementing things is ludicrous and extremely judgmental. This has worked very well at Bennington and the students are really excited about the fact that the library is being so responsive to their needs and requests and is even looking to see what they like on their profiles.

And I don’t think it’s about MySpace or Facebook policies, but policies that govern all online interactions with students. What if a student had felt that you violated their privacy by “bothering them on their blog” and went to administration about it? What if the library or a librarian adds a friend and that friend starts posting all sorts of inappropriate things on your profile? It’s important to have policies regarding stuff like that so that you don’t just arbitrarily make decisions depending on each situation. That’s the best way to get into trouble. If anything, having policies that govern things like this legitimizes this method of online interaction with students.

I understand the desire to not violate student privacy by reading the posts on their wall or looking at their photos, but I think it is high time that everyone acknowledge that Facebook postings are NOT private. I almost feel like the library could do students a favor by posting frequently to friends’ walls as a subtle reminder that non-students are looking at this stuff too.

I left a note of congratulations on a student’s Flickr photos ofour graduation yesterday. I felt a little odd doing it, as I didn’t want her to think the library was stalking her (I found her pictures because I subscribe to the RSS feed for photos tagged “coloradocollege”). But I see today that she has left a comment on one of our photos now. But I acknowledge that Flickr is significantly less charged than Facebook.

The ubiquitous model is about helping students when they need it and providing a meaningful experience. It’s about understanding the big picture of their lives and not about soliciting feedback or what books to add to the collection. Improvements come through interaction.

For me, social networks are about building relationships, not just the latest marketing trend. Businesses and organizations are saying “all the kids are into this—how can we get a piece of the action” and that’s the quickest buzz kill. When librarians start talking about facebook or myspace policies then you know the shark has been jumped.

It’s cool if it’s working for you, I don’t mean to be disrespectful—but it’s just not ubiquitous.