(Guide time: 1 to 2.5 hours depending upon the Activity chosen.)

What is social networking?

In this section we are talking about social networking. Watch this commoncraft video....Social Networking in Plain English




A social network is an online community where people share information about themselves on their profile page. It aims to connect people to each other through their social links in the real (and virtual) world e.g. friends, family, colleagues or people who share common interests or activities.

Users interact with each other via the inbuilt communication facilities which include e-mail, chat and messaging (or posting) through an online forum. Increasingly social networks are being used by organisations as a way of keeping in touch with their customers.

Examples

As of September 2011 the most popular social networking sites are:

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
   
3. Linkedin
4. Myspace
   
5. Ning
   
6. Google Plus

There are also special interest sites available. Many other networks as seen in the Wikipedia list of social networking websites focus on categories ranging from books (LibraryThing, CompletelyNovel.com, etc) and music (Last.fm etc), to non-profit businesses and motherhood as ways to provide both services and community to individuals with shared interests.

Why use this?

"We know from a citizen panel survey 95% of 18-24 year olds use Facebook in our Borough." - Louise Kidney, Blackburn with Darwen, August 2011

Social networking has created powerful new ways to communicate and share information. Websites such as Facebook are being used by millions of people everyday, and are becoming part of daily life.

Social networks are becoming the way to socialize and exchange ideas, especially for young adults (68% of teenagers use social networking sites), students but increasingly more children, adults and seniors are using these services as well. Most social networking sites have a minimum age (usually 13 years) but surveys show that many users are under the age limit.

Social networking is unbelievably popular and growing rapidly. In November 2010 Facebook users had risen to 550,000,000, surpassing the use of land line telephones and even email for a growing percentage of people. Facebook and Twitter probably get more mainstream press than any other tool on this course, besides blogging. Not all the press coverage, however, is positive.

The benefits of social networking are obvious in terms of facilitating communication and finding old friends, but other advantages have also emerged in recent years:

• Establishing business contacts and promoting goods and services to customers, getting feedback from them quickly
  
• Educational, especially the development of technological skills
  
• Developing personal skills in young people such as collaboration and managing risk
  
• Community engagement and involvement
  
• Fostering creativity and digital citizenship
  

How libraries use this

Some of our users may come to the library specifically to check Facebook and/or MySpace. These users are our customers, and we should not only know that they’re using these networks, but understand how they work. In this way we can respond to their needs whilst allowing us to network and outreach to a wider population.

So, what does it all mean to libraries? Whether or not you become a convert to social networks, it's important to understand how they work. If our users are communicating through these networks, we need to be there too.

Recently libraries around the world have discovered the benefits of having a Facebook profile as a means of:

• Advertising events in order to showcase their library
  
• Sending out event invitations
  
• Reporting news
  
• Highlighting their services and resources
  
• Keeping in touch with their customers
  
• Reaching new customers, performing outreach
  
• Speaking the language of their customers
  
• Educating users
  
• Promoting and assessing library functions, through surveys and focus groups
  
• Repackaging information
  

However, some authorities prohibit libraries from having their own Facebook page. Others are considering having a page and are evaluating the security, access to the site and staff time required to maintain it (this applies to most other forms of social networking).

Take a look at some examples of libraries and library staff who are on Facebook:

• Devon Libraries
  
• Manchester Libraries
  
• Library 2.0 Interest Group
  
• Librarians and Facebook (Group)
  

Social networking and the Law

When using any social networking site, individuals and organisations need to be aware of some important considerations.

1. Facebook is often under fire for not sufficiently protecting the privacy of their users. In addition anything posted on Facebook, subsequently belongs to them and they can re-use it any way they wish.
   
2. Be careful what you post, any libellous comments could cost you a considerable sum, plus your reputation.
   
3. Child protection is a serious concern. 25% of underage children have accounts but social networking sites fail to protect their information online. Childnet International is a non-profit organisation working with others to "help make the internet a great and safe place for children".
   
4. Cyber-bullying and harassment via social networking sites is very difficult to control. The Internet Watch Foundation is a UK Hotline for reporting criminal online content.
   

Google +

Google entered the social networking arena in June 2011 with Google+. It was designed to be similar to Facebook but is designed to make it easier to manage your different circles of friends. It'll be a while - a long, long while - before it takes over from Facebook, beta testing appears to have finished but it does not seem to be taking off to the extent that Google had hoped. For a little bit more, read this article: What's the fuss about Google Plus?

Activities

Now is your chance to explore Facebook for yourselves! Here you have a choice:

• Activity 1: for those of you who already have a Facebook account
• Activity 2: for those of you who do not want to sign-up with Facebook
• Activity 3: for those of you who want to create a personal Facebook account

Scroll down to the activity of your choice.

Stop press! December 2010: Facebook changed the look of profile pages. Therefore some of the stuff mentioned below may be a little out of date, but the changes are subtle and with some exploration you should be able to work around this.

Activity 1

For those of you who already have Facebook accounts, this activity should be easy!

1. Make sure your information is secure, do some background reading on privacy settings.
   
2. 'Like' a library on Facebook - if your own service has a Facebook page like that as well. Blog about which you joined and why.
   
3. Blog about some of the positive reasons for having a Facebook page for your own library. What are the potential positive outcomes and what are the possible problems? Why might an authority be reluctant to allow it?
   

Now scroll down to the Recommended follow-ups section.

Activity 2

So you don't want to sign up for Facebook? No problem! We have set up a dummy account for you to explore and play with. Please contact your course supervisor for log-in details.

NOTE: If you are working through the course independently, you will need to set up your own Facebook account - but you can always use a pseudonym. Scroll down to Activity 3.

If you have any problems with the activity Facebook 101 will provide you with step-by-step instructions. Don't worry if some of the videos take a while to load - be patient! Facebook changed it's appearance recently so some of these videos will look a bit different, but don't panic, the basic principles are the same.

1. Watch this video How to use Facebook.
2. Navigate to Facebook and log in using the details from your supervisor.
3. You will see that you have logged into the profile page of 'Helen Garrett'. She's the fictitious administrator of the page.
4. Take some time to explore.
5. What's on your mind? Write on the wall, introducing yourself (your name and the library you work in). If you're feeling brave post a link or video that you think would be of interest to others doing this course. Don't forget you can also comment on other people's posts.
6. Using the search box, find and join at least one group or 'like' a page.
   
7. Using the Facebook search box, find someone you know. Don't worry about actually adding any friends as they won't know who Helen is!
   
8. Blog your thoughts about Facebook. Which groups did you join and why? Reflect on how Facebook can be used to promote your own library service. What are the potential positive outcomes and what are the possible problems? Why might an authority be reluctant to allow it? Or do you think Facebook is over hyped?
   

Now scroll down to the Recommended follow-ups section.

Activity 3

If you don't already have a Facebook account, now is the time to set one up!

If you have any problems with the activity Facebook 101 will provide you with step-by-step instructions. Don't worry if some of the videos take a while to load - be patient! Facebook changed it's appearance recently so some of these videos will look a bit different, but don't panic, the basic principles are the same.

1. Watch this video How to use Facebook.
2. Navigate to Facebook and register.
3. Create a Facebook profile. Facebook profiles are for individuals. Facebook pages are for organizations. As you create your profile, Facebook will ask you if you want to find friends by using your email account. Facebook will ask you to provide your email account password. It is strongly advised you do not give this. There are other ways to add friends later. As a matter of fact, you can skip all of the steps in the profile setup if you want, as long as you enter your name and secret question. You can always go back and edit your profile information later.
   
4. What's on your mind? Write on the wall.
5. Using the search box, find and join at least one group or 'like' a page. Here are some possible Facebook Groups to join: Library2 Interest group, Libraries and Facebook. Or choose any of the groups from this list Hottest Facebook Groups for Librarians.
   
6. Facebook is really not much fun without friends, so find some of your friends by typing their name into the search box. You may find that their profiles are private so in order to see their page properly you will need to add them as a friend. Once they have confirmed you as such you will be able to read each others news feeds and message each other.
7. Double check your privacy settings. Watch this video on Facebook privacy settings and make any necessary adjustments to your own account.
   
8. Blog your thoughts about Facebook. Which groups did you join and why? Reflect on how Facebook can be used to promote your own library service. What are the potential positive outcomes and what are the possible problems? Why might an authority be reluctant to allow it? Or do you think Facebook is over hyped?
   

Recommended followups

Social networking isn't just about Facebook...take a look at some of these other social networking sites:

• CompletelyNovel is a site designed to put together writers, publishers and agents as well as readers. Take a look at their tour
  
• Last.fm is a music-focused site,
  
• Geni.com for family history enthusiasts
  
• VampireFreaks.com is, well, rather different!
  

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