This week our LIBR 246 class’ activities focused on social networking and online communities. The class was able to sample different types of online communities, from those that cater to the public to one that is exclusive to a particular group. Facebook and Flickr falls under the category of online communities and social networks that does not limit membership to a particular group, and SLISLife and the LIBR 246 group created by Prof. Faires on Ning are the exclusive online communities. Exclusivity here refers to being part of a particular community, like in the case of SLISLife, membership in the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University in any capacity (i.e. professors, students, or alumnae); and in the case of the LIBR 246 group, students of said class under Prof. Faires this spring 2009. So for the past three days, I have been creating profiles, writing on walls, posting comments on discussions, tagging photos, trying out applications, and, of course, the pièce de résistance, finding and adding friends. For the next several entries, I will be writing about my experiences in using these social networking sites. I will share my experience of using Facebook and how that experience compares with the more exclusive, SLISLife. I will also explore the benefits and disadvantages of having an exclusive social networking tool as library student and as a professional.
Facebook which started about five years ago, actually started as catering to a very exclusive group, Harvard students, and then to other universities, high school until it morphed into its present incarnation of a free-for-all online community.
Sign up: Sign up was a breeze. All you really need is an email account and you are good to go. One thing I immediately noticed though, is that, when I created an account on Facebook, one of the steps to complete sign up, requires you to log on to your email address. Facebook will then access the contacts or email addresses on that email; and if you are not careful (like when you are clicking really fast), it will send invites to all your contacts, inviting them to add you as a friend if they are already a member of Facebook, or inviting them to become a member of Facebook. Although one can select which ones can be emailed, I think this feature can easily be overlooked and the user can inadvertently invite everyone in their contact list. It did not happen to me though, since I saw it early on and unchecked most of my contacts. I see this as a concern since not everyone in a user’s contact’s list can be considered a friend or at a level of familiarity as to proffer a friend’s request.
Layout: The layout of Facebook is clean and easy on the eyes. It has white background with blue headings and tabbed pages. Anyone adept in a virtual environment would not have a hard time finding their way. It did not take me long to work my way to creating a brief profile and adding a picture and joining a network.
Adding friends: I decided to look for former co-workers at the San Jose Public Library, who I have not seen or spoken to for more than a year. In less than an hour, two former co-workers already confirmed my friend’s request, and from these two Facebook suggested mutual friends who were also former co-workers, who I added and reciprocated. I think the past three days have been the most active time in my virtual social life as I reconnected and added former co-workers and friends from SJPL, added LIBR 246 classmates, added some current co-workers at PACL, added SJSU professors, and a friend or two. I am amazed at how the Facebook system of social networking works and works fast, as from the two co-workers who became my bridge or connector to my other co-workers for me to find them and also for them to find me. I can see why Facebook and other social networking sites like MySpace or Friendster have gained popularity and are subscribed to by millions of user as it is quite fun to be reconnecting with people who, you won’t be able to touch base with in real-time because of distance, a busy schedule, or level of intimacy.
Adding stuff: You can add 3rd party applications, videos, photos and post links to Facebook. I added mostly library-related applications at this point like Goodreads that stream the books I have read that I have indicated on my Goodreads account. I also added CiteMe, WorlCat, and California Library Jobs, all of them library-related. I tried My Flickr, but I can’t seem to get it to work. Other applications allow the user to streams mp3; some provides users a way to express their emotions through the use of icons or images, or provide a way of calling the attention of friends to what is known as a poke. The ability to add application is one of Facebook’s useful features. It increases the value of Facebook to a user since it provides variety in terms of how they interact with each other and how they use the site.
Writing on the wall: The wall to wall feature of Facebook is another addicting and fun way to interact with your friends. You can write almost anything that does not violate the term of use agreement of Facebook. You can talk about what you are doing, dreaming about, anything you are having difficulties with, something silly, your boring routine, or even your mood. At the same time, you can comment on what your friends write on their wall and what you write on yours. All of these appear as a newsfeed on your page. Interesting how if you probably follow all these wall writing from your friends you might be able to see a different side of them that you are not aware of, or reinforce what you already know.
Indeed, Facebook is time-consuming, addicting, and just plain fun. But how does it compare to another social networking site that caters to a particular group. In my next post I will compare Facebook with SLISLife.