Thing #18

Barbara Walters doesn't understand why people want to be on "myface"...



My initial contact with Facebook was last semester thanks to my Virtual Reference Environments class. At the time, I had no interest in Facebook because I was like Barbara. I didn't understand why people wanted to share so much information or keep track of others who felt inclined to share so much information. It was really odd how I "friended" four people from my young adult days within the first 20 minutes of being on the site. It seemed TOO immediate and in my face, but it grew on me. I now keep my FB page open while I am at the computer, which due to my studies and personal interests, is most hours of the day.

I have a lot of fun with it while also sharing information that I believe is interesting and/or educational. My non-library friends have actually thanked me for the "professional" info I share about libraries, social networking, productivity, and information in general. I have friended "rockstars" in the field of information so I can remain in tune with the trends impacting libraries. I have also become a fan of more than 100 libraries. Keeping abreast of their events and updates is another way of staying on top of what is happening in libraries. It is a useful tool and one that I recommend for library professionals who want to stay informed of what is happening in the field.

MySpace, on the other hand, still holds no interest to me HOWEVER, I see its value in reaching a segment of the population that IS interested, i.e. teens. The first library I noticed using MySpace was JPL (Jacksonville Public Library) because I was an employee. I was thrilled to see them using this social networking tool and that the public was responding to the page. This type of interaction is important because it IS a connection.