Week 10: Online Social Networks

Although this was by no means the most important reading of the week, I found that I had a strong response to Matthew Williams' Myspace and Facebook: What higher-ed can learn from social computing. Somewhere in there Matthew was making a good point about student-centred learning, but I think he went overboard in contrasting traditional education with online social networks. Hierarchies have their place too, and to a point I think it is the job of a students to bring themselves to the teaching and experience of the instructor.

Having said that, I've definitely experienced classes where the instructor has done next-to-nothing to draw the students in, and in light of those experiences I can appreciate Matthew's point. Online social networks allow for greater collaborative interaction, but they don't supplant all other forms of interaction. I think it was the old fogey Henry James who said, "Everything important happens at parties". What was true at the turn of the 19th century is probably true now - if students, and library patrons, are spending lots of time on online social networks, it is important to try to meet them there. But this does not mean that all the old service models are out the window. Hewit and Forte point out that not all the people at the party are happy to find their professors in attendance.

The case studies this week demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of online social communities. The Ann Arbour District Library Myspace page is fine, but anyone who has dealt with myspace before knows, most of the friend requests come from music and book promoters. There is nothing wrong with getting more eyes on your profile, but it is frustrating to see how many users do not have any real interest in your library. The Hennepin facebook site is great, and I especially like the use of Plugoo for chat reference. I also really like the RSS feeds on the Charlotte Facebook page.