Sunday, November 29, 2009

Method 8, November 29, 2009

I love social networking! I have had a Facebook page since March or April of this year and am enjoying it more each day. I initially joined FB in order to view some family photos that were only on FB. But as I explored more and added more friends, it became more interesting. And now that I've discovered their virtual games (especially Farmville and YoVille), it is addicting.

Through this course, I was able to compare FB and MySpace by looking at the Texas Tech University Library site on both. I can see the attraction to MySpace because it has the colorful layouts that can be edited, whereas FB does not.

As I read and viewed the lesson videos, I also realized that my Shelfari page and even my Amazon book reviews are social networking as well. All of this has fueled a desire for me to utilize the capabilities in my elementary school library. The bad thing is that my school does not have a website and my school district has a filter on FB and MySpace. The good thing is that I can still use FB, Shelfari, and electronic newsletters to pique student interest because many have home computers with internet access. I'll promote these new ventures with staff and students, and no doubt the word will get around to parents as well. I'll just have to set up a 2nd page on each site---professional, therefore separate from my personal pages.


I do have privacy concerns, as I'm sure most librarians have. But I plan to utilize the knowledge I've gleaned from the articles on privacy and my experiences on FB and Shelfari to bring my school's library into 21st century applications of social networking. This is going to be so exciting!




My FB Notes page (which I think I correctly changed the privacy setting to allow anyone to view):
http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?ref=sb#/notes.php?id=729469928

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