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Week 10
Well I'm back from my holiday, and am ready to rock social software. I was pleased to see the topic for my first week back was social networks. This is an area where I have particularly strong feelings. In this case my feeling are overwhelmingly negative believe it or not. I think there is a marked difference between this kind of software and other social softwares we have seen in the course. Primarily my issue extends from the fact that social networking sites are privately owned for profit enterprises in general, and more specifically they seem to violate privacy issues with gusto. This separates them from some of the software we have been looking at. The other aspect I worry about is just how pervasive these sites are. I can't help but notice people in Library school checking facebook accounts on a regular basis, and I shudder. This is a site that readily admits that it is intrusive in terms of privacy, and yet according to the Roush article my space alone has 95 million registered users... and facebook isn't far behind.
I recognize that this means that social networks are a terribly powerful tool, at the same time I would be hesitant to adopt them in a library, if I didn't have a good reason. Granted I agree with the Farkas article that it could be a very good idea...although like all social software if you're just putting it up to be "cool" rather than to address a need you're going to run into problems. Furthermore if you do not implement this type of software effectively and in a hip way you're also going to run into trouble.
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I agree with you for the most part Grant and I think that being hesitant is a safe bet considering the blatant privacy misuse issues here.
But I guess I wonder how you think libraries should proceed with social software. Obviously these sites aren't going away anytime soon and as we know, libraries need to justify their existance and need to find ways to remain relevant (especially public libraries). Don't they need to jump on the bandwagon? As much as you resist these programs, how do you think librarians can reconcile their personal judgement with the wants of the masses?
Facebook and MySpace need only be a revealing tool for private companies to exploit if you CHOOSE to put too much of yourself out there. If you remain guarded, I don't think there is a problem with them. Social networking is certainly not more harmful than a personal website or a blog because you can use those tools to the exact same effect if you choose to. It's a balancing act between personal discretion and the desire to share yourself with the world. Certainly in the short term, I have not noticed any adverse effects from being a part of Facebook. Will that change in the future? Perhaps so, perhaps not. But for all the talk of people using your Facebook/MySpace information as reasons for not hiring you or other related negative outcomes, there have been very few reported cases of this happening, and the numbers would be a very small percentage of users (though, yes, there have been problems with Facebook, there's no denying that).
We'll have to see what the future holds, but I don't think there can be any serious harm from riding this pop culture (because that's what this is and should be recognized as such) phenomenon.
I definitely agree Kristen. The privacy issue for me is largely overblown, because not only is it written in the terms of service of these sites (so users SHOULD be aware of it if they are taking their legal rights seriously) but also because users should be aware that anything on the Web is in the public sphere and should, therefore, be treated the same as if you were having a discussion in a public space.
To me, library science students should be the most aware of the public nature of the internet and the responsibility that comes with that, so we can help users to be more information literate.
"Everything I say is a lie...
... in fact, I'm lying to you right now..."
Hi Grant,
I think we can all agree that the potential definitely exists for sites like Facebook and Myspace to be abusers of personal privacy, though I also agree with many of the other commentors that a large amount of privacy can be retained given that the user is able to control security settings and, ultimately, how much (and how detailed) of information they post.
However, the thing that really irks me (as you remarked on) is that though these sites are free to sign up, they are privately owned and take every possible chance to capitalize on you, the user. Not only are we bombarded with advertising, but it's personalized advertising. For example, I included in my Myspace profile that one of my favourite authors is Kurt Vonnegut and every time I sign in to Myspace I'm offered Vonnegut t-shirts and coffee mugs and all manner of useless junk I don't need or want. Aside from the advertising, there is undoubtedly information being collected and sold with regard to what names, music, entertainment, etc. you search for when using these sites - but any seasoned user of Google is no stranger to this phenomenon.
I think, in the end, we may have to regisn ourselves to accepting a certain amount of invasion if we wish to use such sites (the amount we cannot avoid) and try to maximize the control we are able to grasp in order to lessen the invasiveness as much as possible.
Thanks for the post!