Thing 15 - Get the 411 on Social networking.

Listen to a podcast on online social networking.

For many, online social networks (OSN) are about establishing and maintaining personal connections and finding friends with shared interests. As noted in the 2007 Horizon Report by the New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE, “Researchers note that online spaces like MySpace and Facebook give students a safe place to gather, in much the same way that young people of previous generations hung out at the burger joint, the roller rink, or the mall…” (pg. 12)

There are OSNs for almost every conceivable topic and hobby; these sites range from photo sharing to music to book clubs to social activism. According to a January 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project, in the past five years, social networking sites have moved from a niche activity into a phenomenon that engages tens of millions of Internet users of all ages. “Almost sixty percent of teens, aged 12 to 18, use online social networks”.

The Internet is now woven into everyday life. It is transforming communication into a seamless process. People move between telephone, computer and in person encounters actually increasing daily social interaction. OSNs play an interesting role in the lives of many people today. Find out more through the discovery resources and exercises.



Discovery Resources


Creating & Connecting//Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking - National School Boards Associations, July 2007

Get out of my space - National Institute on Media and the Family

The Horizon Report - New Media Consortium & EDUCAUSE, January 2007

Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace by Danah Boyd in American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2/19/2006

Libraries in Social networking by Meredith Farkas, Information Wants to be Free, 5/10/2006

Library Marketing in Online Communities by Jill Stove, Library Marketing, 5/01/2006

The Moral Panic over Social-Networking Sites by Wade Roush, Technology Review, 8/7/2006

The MySpace Generation - Business Week, 12/12/2005

Parents Guide to MySpace - YouTube Video - How Stuff Works Productions.

Social Networking Services - Wikipedia

Social Networking: A New Tech Tool and a New Security Concern for Teens and Schools by Joanne Barret, Multimedia and Internet in Schools, 5/01/2006

Social Networking Sites and Teens - Pew Internet & American Life Project

Social Networking Technologies: A Poke for Campus Services by Joanne Berg, EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 42, no. (March/April 2007): 32–44

Study: Many students talk about homework on social networking sites by Debra Lau Whalen in School Library Journal, 8/15/2007

Thoughts on Facebook, Cornell University

Your Space or MySpace by Beth Evans in Library Journal, 10/15/2006


Discovery Exercises

1. Read at least 2 of the Discovery Resources. Your goal is to gain an understanding of what social networking sites are and how they are different from traditional online communities.

2. Read at least 2 more of the Discovery Resources. Your goal is to gain an understanding of the controversies surrounding social networking sites and actions some schools and libraries have taken against social networking sites.

3. Create a blog post about one of the following: Should VBPL use a social networking site to connect with teens? or Social networking sites are really about ...?



In the next post, you'll learn more about MySpace and create your own MySpace profile (optional).