Facebook

I've been on Facebook for over two years now and probably need to join Facebook Anonymous as I'm on every day - chatting, playing games and just keeping in touch. So finding a colleague and sending a friend request was easy as I do it frequently. Visiting the Manukau Libraries website was also straightforward but I couldn't find where to become a fan - so just clicked Like - I wonder if that's what is meant. Obviously it was, as since then I have had lots of posts on my wall from Manukau Libraries. I also posted to the discussions on what I'm reading right now and my favourite book. I've just checked my friends list and Manukau Libraries is listed there - as a local business. I much prefer this way of receiving updates than on Twitter and as Facebook is so popular with all age groups, this seems like a great way to keep in touch with our customers - and staff! My attempts to sign up to another library were difficult - the Auckland City page I found had only five fans and no posts. North Shore city obviously have a busy site, but with limited content available to the public. You have to request to join and be approved before you can see their wall posts. Seems a little odd for a public library. I then succeeded with the British Library - lots of posts and comments. They have posts with links to events, poetry podcasts and interviews on British theatre history. I think Facebook is great and will certainly suggest it to customers as a way to keep up-to-date with our happenings. However, Facebook is primarily about social networking and for people who just want updates Twitter is probably better. I love having the library updates on a site I visit every day. And I've already suggested GoodReads and Shelfari to customers who I thought might be interested.

Week 7 - Social Networking

I'll talk about Facebook first because I have been a member for some time and love it. I have linked up with family and friends all over the world, and have made new friends through Facebook. I regularly chat to a lady in Port Elizabeth who has the same birthday as me - pretty random, but we get on well. I play Scrabble, Sudoku, Word Twist and other games with friends and strangers. I have friends in China, Malaysia, Canada, the USA, Cayman Islands, UK, Australia, Spain, Serbia and South Africa. I'm always happy to add new friends, so I tried a few library names and found one of the community library managers, and have now asked her to be a friend.
Now I'll have a look at Myspace and Bebo and see how they rate compared to Facebook.
I've had a look at Myspace and decided not to join - it looks like a network for younger people, and I think I'm happier on Facebook, but I'm sure it's just as much fun as FB. Bebo looks pretty similar to FB in the way Auckland Libraries have set up their site. I use FB for fun, but my daughter, who works for a large company, uses it for work networking. It's a requirement that employees set up a FB account. So these social networking sites are obviously something we need to know about. If, as librarians, we want to see what the youngsters are doing and to get their attention, then we need to be on social networking sites. The Hennepin County Library site on FaceBook is fantastic and I think it would be a good idea for Manukau Libraries to use social networking sites to communicate with customers and potential customers.