Week 10: Online Social Networks

Learning Objectives

By the end of this week, students will:

• have explored various online social networks
• be familiar with the concerns and issues related to online social networks and privacy/security
• have explored some of the ways libraries/educators are becoming involved in online social networks
• develop their own idea about the role libraries can play in online social networks

Readings

• Social Networking in Plain English, The Common Craft Show (audio + video)
  
• Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace, Danah Boyd
• Myspace and Facebook: What higher-ed can learn from social computing, Matthew Williams
• The Moral Panic over Social-Networking Sites, Wade Roush
• Social Networking: A New Tech Tool and a New Security Concern for Teens and Schools, Joanne Barrett
  
• MySpace and Deleting Online Predators Act: Discussion with Henry Jenkins and Danah Boyd
• Crossing Boundaries: Identity Management and Student/Faculty Relationships on the Facebook, Anne Hewitt and Andrea Forte
• Libraries in Social Networking Software, Meredith Farkas
• Talking with Talis: Library 2.0 Gang discusses DOPA (podcast)

Case Studies

Things to do this week

• Read the articles and explore the case studies for this week and post your thoughts & comments to your blog. The case studies for the week provide a number of examples of libraries reaching out to users through online social networks. Once you’ve explored these examples, think about some other possible ways social networking tools can be used by libraries and post your ideas to your blog. Don't forget our weekly deadline for blogging is 9 am, Friday. Also, remember to check out your classmates' posts too and respond (where appropriate) in the comments.
• I'm assuming you're all on Facebook...? If not, go ahead and set up an account (you'll need it to check out the Facebook case studies. Plus, resistance is futile).
• Continue tagging pertinent content in del.icio.us using the "lis9763" tag.