#18 - Social Networking

This exercise was right up my alley, in my opinion. I've built several profiles on several different social networking sites over the years, and I have to say that they are a wonderful way to keep in touch with friends, and to meet new people, but they really aren't all that accurate as a way of finding information.

Ever play "post office"? Relaying information has a fairly similar outcome when done via a social networking platform. People add conjecture, opinion, and straight up fiction, and rarely are you left with the original information contained in a message.

I don't feel that social networking platforms should be banned from use on public computers, even though I don't see much use for them in a library setting. They are a staple of communication amongst not only teens, but people of all ages and walks of life. I found the rather negative spin portrayed by the reading today to accentuate the idea that libraries really have no use for this platform. From today's reading, I get the impression that if you can't use it for a reference material, it is out of place in a library. The articles seemed to treat social networking as a nuisance, and little more.

I feel that social networking helps to make the world just a little bit smaller, and brings people from all cultures together in a barrier-free environment. However, since the content posted online is entirely up to the user, caution must be paid as to not broadcast personal information or distasteful content. Since this responsibility lays soley in the hands of said user, I don't feel that the sites themselves can be held accountable for misuse, abuse or any other negative impact from using their service. Sure, some moderation is necessary and can help to prevent teens from posting risque photos or whatnot, but as far as cyber bullying, online predators and the like, I feel that such responsibility should lie on the user's shoulders, or if the user is a minor, their parents should be monitoring their child's online activity.

As I said in the opening of this post, I'm active on many social networking sites.

Below is a short list of links to a few of my profiles:

MySpace

ColourLovers

Facebook