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Social networks are virtual spaces where people of all ages can make contacts, share information and ideas, and build a sense of community. Like all technologies, they are built with tools that can serve many purposes.

Well-constructed social environments provide an excellent opportunity to model high tech learning in a safe online environment. In other words, experienced learners can share their experience with new learners.

checkdo itRead Want To Be My “Friend”? What You Need To Know About Social Technologies (PDF) by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson in Teacher Librarian (June 2006).

Characteristics of Social Technologies

Since the advent of Web 2.0, many tools are available to provide a dynamic environment for those seeking social interaction. Generally social technologies have the following characteristics:

checkRead Social software and learning from Futurelab.

Although you may associate social networks with dating or leisure activities, they are increasingly used by researchers and businesses as a tool for idea generation and problem-solving. For instance, they're used as part of a movement toward "crowd-sourcing." According to Jeff Howe (June 2006) in Wired Magazine, "Remember outsourcing? Sending jobs to India and China is so 2003. The new pool of cheap labor: everyday people using their spare cycles to create content, solve problems, even do corporate R & D." Companies like Fluevog Shoes and Zazzle are using this approach to gather ideas and help sell ideas. Howe has identified five rules for this new labor pool:

  1. The crowd is dispersed
  2. The crowd has a short attention span
  3. The crowd is full of specialists
  4. The crowd produces mostly crap
  5. The crowd finds the best stuff

Features of Virtual Communities

As you explore virtual communities, you'll notice that although many use the same basic social technologies, they are applied differently to meet particular needs. These online communities are often focused around three elements:

Audience. Most social networks are geared to a particular audience. For example, Second Life has entirely different websites for teen and adult users. Some communities are focused on professions such as librarianship, education, or law.

Theme. Look for the goal of the social interaction. Some networks are designed for dating, while others are intended for sharing or adventure. Although some virtual communities are designed to meet general needs, many are focused on a particular theme such as music or books.

Structure. Although rooted in social technologies, the user interface may vary. For example, social network are generally text-driven providing search tools, invitations to join, and standard navigation and communication tools. On the other hand, 3D worlds provide visual tools for exploration and navigation. Rather than typing or choosing from options, users walk, fly, and physically move objects.

Examples

Let's explore three examples of different types of social networks.

"Let's Be Friends" - MySpace

By far the most popular social network for the general public is MySpace. Keep in mind that although they provide safety tips and a mechanism to report inappropriate content, anyone can "be" anyone and post anything they wish. Also, the advertising can be very distracting. MySpace is most popular with those who was to interact with friends.

Most social networks have group spaces. Here are a few library-oriented examples at MySpace:

Some libraries have created areas in MySpace. Here are a couple examples:

Learning in Social Networks. Some students use MySpace as an area for making learning connections. For example, it's a place learners can get together and study or hold a discussion. It's also a place for making professional contacts. Unfortunately the clutter and distractions don't always make it the best environment to focus on learning. As a result, an increasing number of MySpace users are seeking other virtual spaces geared to more specific needs such as study or discussion.

A few social networks are being designed specifically for educational purposes. For instance StudyCurve combines social networking and learning for middle school through adult education. Users can find experts to answer questions. Users can then rate the quality of the responses.

Other Social Networks. Although MySpace is best known, there are dozens of other popular "friendship-type" social networks.

Build Your Own. There are a number of tools to help you create your own social network.

"Let's Read" - LibraryThing

LibraryThing is a great example of a focused, social community. Like MySpace, it's based on a user profile. However instead of being geared to the general public, the focus is on people who want to share their personal libraries. Members catalog their books and/or media, share reviews, hold discussions, and connect with others holding similar interests. The website has the atmosphere of community where members share resources and reviews, seek out others who share their interests, discuss their ideas.

Like other social networks, LibraryThing provides a way for users to establish and participate in groups and discussions. If you're reading this page as part of a graduate course, you'll be using the SLIS-Indy group.

Learning in LibraryThing. Want to learn more about a particular genre? Want to find others who share a passion for books about food? Want to read reviews of new children's books? LibraryThing is the place to go. You can spend hours looking at the book collections of others and finding books you'll want to read.

do itJoin LibraryThing. It's great fun and you can enter a couple hundred books for free. Check out the SLIS-INDY group area.

Other Focused Social Communities. There are many other focused social communities particularly in the area of libraries and education.

"Let's Go On An Adventure" - Second Life

Everyone has dreams of flying. When you were growing up, you may have invented a fantasy world, played international spy, or pretended you were on an African safari. Today's social technology provides a place for people to create virtual worlds where they can interact with others who share their interests.

Second Life (SL) (free for basic, but subscription for premium service) is an online community with many of the characteristics of online gaming and simulations. Participants design an avatar including a body and clothing. Then, avatars interact with others as they navigate through a virtual world. Communication takes place through chat, instant messaging, email, exchanges, postcards, rating systems, forums, and groups. However the cool part of a virtual world is the ability to walk, run, and fly. Participants also create objects and build worlds.

Without a membership you have limited access, but you might check out the Interactive Map and Showcase. It's easy to join if you want to try a free membership. You'll need to download some software for your computer, but it's easy to install. Also, check out Teen Second Life (Ages 13-17) to learn about the free lifetime basic account for young people. They provide online safety tips for teens.

checkRead Alliance Library System - Taking Library Service to a New High Point.

If you want to visit a friend, my Second Life name is Annette Olmstead after Frederick Law Olmsted, founder of landscape architecture. You have to choose a last name from a list and that's as close as I could get.

checkRead Is Virtual Life Better Than Reality from CBS News. Then, explore the worlds. You may also wish to check out related studies such as A Home Run Derby In the Virtual World.

Read Library Gets Second Life by Lauren Barak in School Library Journal (June 1, 2006).

Explore Touring the Second Life International Spaceflight Museum and EdTechTalk#45 A Tour of Second Life. Listen to the podcast and watch the videos.

Learning in Second Life. Learners can explore ancient civilizations, gothic castles, or fantasy worlds. These places can be springboards to fiction writing, sociology studies, and historical re-enactments. However keep in mind that these worlds are only as good as the builders. Just because a group creates a virtual pyramid doesn't mean that it's authentic. Just like an other information sources, it's important to consider the authority and compare the experience with other environments. Librarians are increasingly involved with Second Life and are working to build libraries and incorporate primary source documents.

do itJoin Second Life. You just need the free, no credit card version to do a little exploring. Simply follow the directions on the screen, download the software, and give it a try. Just follow the path and you'll learn the basic skills needed to explore the world. Your goal is to make it to the white building and teleport off the island.

Other 3D Worlds. Second Life is very popular because it's cross platform. However there are other virtual worlds to explore. Read reviews about 3D worlds at Virtual Worlds Review and explore Virtual Worlds List by Category.

Read Shakespeare Coming to a Virtual World.

Learn More

 

Social Networking Issues

There are many issues associated with social networks:

Child Safety

Recently, social networks have come under fire because of concerns regarding child predators.

checkRead YALSA's document titled Teens and Social Networking in the School and Public Library (PDF version). This article explains the concerns and what schools and librarians need to do to guide young people in responsible use of social networks.

arrowGo to the Issues section of this course for more information about this issue.

Open Source

Social networks come and go depending on funding and advertising. People are increasingly looking for open source solutions such as the Croquet Consortium for solutions.

 

Learn More

Stephens, Michael (2006). Web 2.0 and Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software.

Links to the materials in this section can be found in the navigation bar on the left side of this page. Continue to the arrow means an internal linkLearning Spaces: Course Management Systems page.

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