Social Networking for Libraries

I found this topic to be the most interesting so far. Social networking is intriguing and fun, and we see elements of it in so many websites these days, from Flickr to Amazon to Shelfari to My Space and Facebook. I have had a Facebook account for several months now, and enjoy talking to people from all over the world there.

Besides the obvious opportunity to network with teens, I think Facebook also offers us opportunities to create groups of people interested in book discussion, homeschooling, investment, parenting, or writing. As well as many others, I'm sure.

I enjoyed looking at Denver Public Library's Teen My Space page, especially the "kitty" video. That appears to be a page that teens would enjoy coming to, where they can make friends, search the catalog, and post their thoughts about books, movies, and music.

I wish we had a way that people could post their thoughts in iBistro about library books and keep a list of what they've read, but I don't see that happening. A MySpace or Facebook library account could be a good alternative. Or maybe even a library Shelfari account. Something where you can create a profile of what you like to read, create tags, and then find other people who like to read the same things. You could then read their comments about what they have read and then place a hold on that item from a link to the library's catalog, all right there in one place. I think people would really love it!

Meebo Schmeebo

I would have gotten more out of this activity if it had just focused on instant messaging. I really need to get more familiar with im'ing in one place, like Yahoo, before I advance on to Meebo.

I do think the widget might be useful for people who like to blog, and who want a fast way to talk to each other without coming out of the blog and into their IM program. Like maybe a family group, or an organization, or people who like to share political views, or something.

As far as how it could be used by the library, maybe a group like YAAB or a book discussion group, or even a group of staff members, would find it useful to im on a topic rather than getting together physically. Doing it on a blog, through the widget, might seem unnecessary when you could go through Google or Yahoo (or Meebo), but it does offer a reminder that this is a library program, since you are in a library blog.

I think this exercise will remind me to try more im'ing, but I don't see myself getting too deep into Meebo or the widget. I'm glad to know about it though.