Week 3 - Social Networking Tools

MLA class make-up work continues! This week's assignment is to add some applications and an event to Facebook, build a social network on LinkedIn, and then blog about it.

I already had a Facebook account, so I added the Facebook applications for this week's class: Worldcat, PubMed search, and UAB Catalog Search.

I am very much looking forward to attending the MLA 2008 conference in Chicago this week. I've visited the conference site many times over the past few days, eagerly planning my schedule using the online program planner.

My blogging assignment for this week:

• How can social networking be used by MLA to connect members? I am a new fan of the MLA new members group on Facebook. We could plan a simple event or two pre-conference or grab a budy to go out to visit the Bean while in Chicago. I'm fortunate to know a handful of people who will be at the conference, but it will be welcoming to pre-meet and make plans to fill in the time between organized events.
  
• Should your library have a Facebook or MySpace page? My library doesn't have a Facebook site, BioQuest, my organizations' science education arm, does have quite a Facebook presence. It just works with the generation of the target audience: high schoolers. Facebook is less cluttered and seems infinitely more manageable than myspace. Myspace is great for bands; Facebook is great for people.
  
• Are there privacy concerns for individuals when using social networking sites. Yes, although anyone can be as "off the grid" as they like with regard to social networking sites.
  
• What did you like or not like about your experience with Facebook or MySpace. It was scary-easy to locate friends in Facebook suing the smart networking tools and by mining existing user profiles. I still prefer the shades of privacy for Facebook: show some features to some people. Myspace still seems to be "all or nothing" with regard to privacy options.

I'm on LinkedIn, too.