Analysing the hype...Social networking

Social networking has really taken off in recent years..Years back, I joined in the fad by joining the 'hi5' social network (and no..it has nothing to do with the children's entertainment group!)..this led to MySpace (which was the big thing at the time..and I still think it is popular for bands and music).
When Facebook came out..I just thought 'it's just another MySpace...except you can't change your background design and customise it as much'..but it has really picked up and I recently heard there are over 500 million Facebook users around the world.

I've been using Facebook for several years now; just to connect with friends and family who I haven't been in touch with since I was younger. It's a great tool for organising events too, you can keep all the RSVPs together and you can save on paper invites (I still send my closer friends nice paper invites, but it saves a lot of work if I had to send them out to everyone!). I find its a great way to share photos from holidays with others as well. You can just upload them into a photo album for your friends to view instead of lugging along a photo album or having a slide night. I like being able to just keep track of how everyone is with Facebook.

I'd heard about Twitter in one of my Internet Studies units during University, someone analysed it in a presentation. It is a fast and easy way to share information quickly, but I've never created one just because I don't think I have all that much to say (and really..some people do post the most random things on Twitter! Not sure if i'd want everyone to know what I'm having for every meal!). Facebook has a status update function which I use every few weeks and that's probably enough for me. I'm personally more interested in following others than being followed :P However, for the purpose of training..I will try it out and see how I go.
My Twitter
There are a number of celebrities and other public names who would be interesting to follow on Twitter.


I think both of these could be used in a library context.
Twitter could be used to send out important announcements which are short and to the point. There have been cases in the past where news of big events have spread via Twitter before it has made the news, so it seems like a great tool that could be used to announce library closures, promotions and new items.
Facebook has a status update option which could be used in a similar way. A profile for the library could be created for people to 'Like' and follow just to keep updated on library news and details.