Social networks are all about people connecting with their peers, whether it is for finding friends, finding a job or finding a partner via the web. Of course I have heard about social network web sites such as MySpace and Facebook but I was completely unaware of the thousands of others that are out there. I was completely flabberghasted by the number of people who are signed up for these sites, 110,000,000 on MySpace and catching up fast is Facebook with 97,800,000, but there are lots of other sites who have millions of users egFlixster-a network about movies has 36,000,000 and Reunion.com-a network for tracing friends and family and for keeping in touch has 28,000,000 and even an Anime and games network Gaia Online has 9,300,000 and there are just so many others...I just couldn't believe it.
My son's band has had a MySpace profile for many years and this has been a good way for them to promote their gigs, music and merchandise. It has been an effective way for them to showcase the band and to keep up with their fans all over the world as well as the bands that play the same type of music.
Most of the profiles I looked at seemed to be younger people but I did read that 41% of MySpace profilers were aged between 35-54, so it's not just young people who are using this network. I noticed that some authors have profiles on here as well.
I was interested to see how some libraries set up profiles and thought that the Hennepin County Library profile was okay but lacked the 'bling' to attract younger readers. The Coshocton Public Library's Animanga Club page was okay but it was limited to club news-ok I know that's why it was set up.
Looking at the American Library Association's page I could see how the library could maybe reach a wider audience by promoting functions and events as well as raising the Library's profile within the community. I wonder just how many friends we would have???
Last year I was asked via email to join a friend in the UK's Facebook- I thought I would have to have a photo of myself put onto the web so I declined- now I know better- maybe I'll see if I can join now!!! From my reading, Facebook will soon overtake MySpace as the largest social network. I looked at the British Library on Facebook and liked the photos and videos that were on there-not too many fans yet.
I was interested to read the article on 'East Renfrewshire uses Facebook...' and thought the comments by Andrew Thomson were applicable to what could be achieved i.e. "The page can become a virtual meeting point to publicise local events and gauge popular opinion on issues through online discussion...encouraging community spirit and making the organisation that bit more approachable."
Thought I might have a quick look at Ning- I really liked the look of it- it seemed easy to set up and when I went looking further found a network for dogs and one for cats , Dogster and Catster-so cute. As well as one for foodies-yum! I'll need another month to look through all the gadgets mentioned at the ALIA symposium.
What can I say I loved all the bling and the bright look of Rotorua Public Library on Bebo-but that's just me...
Using one of these social networks and linking to our existing web site could be a good idea to showcase what is going on in the library service particularly in the children's and young adult services.
