Social Networking

The Process of My Learning

Let's take a look at how social networking has entered into the timeline of my life...

1977: I was born
1989: The internet was invented
1992-1995: The internet became widespread
2007: I signed up for Facebook
2009: I signed up for Twitter and Ning

As you can see, it has only been a part of my life for the past two years. The recent success of social networking sites (SNS) have led to an evolution of social interaction among people. More and more of these interactions are taking place online.

The Social Media Revolution video puts things into perspective. It is amazing that Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months!

Are you connected? - The Latecomers' guide to Social Networking - discusses the basics of Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Twitter and Second Life. I had never heard of Second Life before reading this article. Turns out it is a site for adults where your avatar (for which you "can choose everything from the size of your nose to the colour of your nails" by the way) is interacting with other avatars. In this world there are malls, clubs, theatres, universities and more. I went to the main page where I was invited to shop, play, learn, explore, dance, or love. Wow, there really is a whole virtual world out there.

Still not sure what social networking is exactly? Do not fret. An in-depth definition of social networking can be found at What is Social Networking. Also check out Getting Started with Social Media – A Guide and Resource List. Wikipedia's List of Social Networking Websites has descriptions of each site, the number of registered users, and registration type (open, invite-only, age restrictions).
According to Social Media Optimization's Top Twenty Five Social Networking Sites (Feb 2009), the top 3 sites are Facebook, My Space and Twitter.

I found a couple of social network related videos that are good for a chuckle. In this Social Networking Blues video, Mike stays up all night singing about the dozens of social networking sites he surfed.
My favourite though is the very humorous Facebook Song video:


Love that tune. It's even more funny the second time you watch it.



Personal Social Networking

I am currently a member of the Facebook and Twitter social networks. I also have a social bookmarking account with Delicious as well as a Shelfari account.

My Facebook account has always been set so that only my friends can see my wall, pictures, etc. Because I have 215 "friends," I am careful what I post. The only personal information I have on there is my name and birthday. Don't see a need for people to have addresses and phone numbers, especially considering that they are giving Facebook the rights to this information. I have used Facebook regularly for the past two years. It has allowed me to keep in touch with family and friends from around the world. Most of my friends are from high school and university and I like being able to see what is happening with them. It is an easy way to send a message or show and share pictures. I have also recently started using the live chat option to catch up with people. Yes, I have been captivated by Facebook fever.

Facebook Manners and You outlines 5 Facebook Relationship Rules in a funny clip. I have a few more rules to add:

1) Don't allow inappropriate or embarrassing pictures of you to get into the Facebook world...you never know who is a friend of a friend.

2) Don't post any information of a personal nature on other people's walls.

3) Don't leave your privacy settings to default. Change them so that only friends can see your profile, personal information, status updates, and photos that you are tagged in. Allow anyone to be able to locate you in a search though.

4) Have an appropriate profile picture as this will be what everyone can see.

As for Twitter, I will be delving into that world in my next blog...stay tuned!


Professional Social Networking

TeacherLibrarianNing is an online community build for teacher-librarians and educators by Joyce Valenza. I am now a member of the Ning network.

In the blog Social Networking: The Ning’s the Thing, there is a discussion around how teachers can use a Ning to connect with students in a private social network. Some of these ways include:

• Discussion forums with literature circles or peer writing groups
• Set up student book clubs
• Create digital book reports
• Writing of journals and reading logs
• Sharing information with students and parents

Also check out the Reasons You Must Use Ning. And if that doesn't sell you, talk to David Deubelbeiss.

Facebook can also be used for professional reasons. I am a 'fan' of our District Resource Centre's Facebook page, DRC 68. Their goal is "to serve educators in SD68 by finding the resources, support and information they need to make success for each child a reality." I use it to see what new teaching resources we have available and to find out about professional learning opportunities.

Librarian's will want to consider how they may implement this tool in their library. Here are some ways: Ten Social Networking Tips for Libraries.

In a study by Christine Greenhow, she finds that social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have more educational potential than you might think. The kind of skills students are developing on social networking sites, says Greenhow, "are the very same 21st century skills that educators have identified as important for the next generation of knowledge workers — empathy, appreciation for diversity of viewpoints, and an ability to multitask and collaborate with peers on complex projects."
In the article Old Communication, New Literacies: Social Network Sites as Social Learning Resources by Christine Greenhow and Beth Robelia, they further discuss these benefits: “SNSs facilitated emotional support, helped maintain relationships, and provided a platform for self-presentation. Second, students used their online social network to fulfill essential social learning functions. Third, within their SNS, students engaged in a complex array of communicative and creative endeavors. In several instances, students' use of social network sites demonstrated the new literacy practices currently being discussed within education reform efforts.”
Will Richardson also agrees that social networks have a positive influence on learning.


PROS: Why use social network sites?

- An easy way of communicating with your friends, family, or colleagues.

- Instead of planning to meet in a certain place contacts can meet online.

- Builds community among people connected together by common interests and purposes.

- Can share links to websites of interest

- Allows users to become more involved in the Web 2.0 world.
As Stephen Abram wrote in Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and Librarian 2.0: Preparing for a 2.0 World, "Web 2.0 is about the more human aspects of interactivity. It’s about conversations, interpersonal networking, personalization, and individualism."


CONS: Why not?

- Privacy issues i.e. identity theft and fraud - be weary of how much personal information you are putting out there. Set your profiles to private.

- The video Privacy on Social Networks from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada discusses the risk of social network sites trading our personal information for monetary value. Read the regulations of the SNS site so you are aware what personal info you are giving them the right to.

- Some people believe the sites are unsafe and are to blame for problems such as bullying. Some even go as far to say that they promote sexual solicitation and harassment. However, I would strongly disagree.
There have been many studies done, including
How Risky Are Social Networking Sites? A Comparison of Places Online Where Youth Sexual Solicitation and Harassment Occurs. The conclusions of these studies usually find that SNS's are not to blame: "Broad claims of victimization risk, at least defined as unwanted sexual solicitation or harassment, associated with social networking sites do not seem justified. Prevention efforts may have a greater impact if they focus on the psychosocial problems of youth instead of a specific Internet application, including funding for online youth outreach programs, school antibullying programs, and online mental health services."

I do have a 12-year old who is not yet allowed to have his own Facebook account because we believe he is too young. Facebook does have an age restriction of 13 and up, although many children just don't type in the year they were born. For children who are too young to use Facebook, there are alternatives. Will Richardson's blog Social Networking for Kids…Young Kids led me to a USA Today article called Safer Cyber-Playrooms which discusses kid-friendly social networking sites such as Neopets, Club Penguin, Webkinz World, Disney and Nickelodeon.

Also there have been issues with other students in our son's school being bullied on Facebook. However, I am not blaming the site for the bullying. The bully needs to take responsibility for that. That child should be the one who is not allowed on there as he or she is obviously not mature enough for this type of social interaction.
We need to be educating our children and students how to use the sites safely and respectfully before they begin using them. We need to improve their awareness and help them establish acceptable vs. unacceptable behaviour.

























comic courtesy of the
University of Calgary wiki - click the link for Facebook history, statistics, information, and comparison to MySpace.



Doesn't it make more sense to educate rather than confiscate?



“Social media is here to stay. Now we just have to evolve with it.” - Danah Boyd