Thing 22: Social Networking with Facebook and MySpace

Online communities have existed almost as long as the web itself, however the concept of social networking software is unique to Web 2.0 and has quickly risen to be one of the most powerful forces on the Internet today.

In the past, the majority of such communities centered around discussion boards based on shared interests, but the past few years has seen tremendous growth for two of the most popular sites, MySpace and Facebook, which are focused around "real-world" personal connections and on the individual user's profile. These profiles become an online representation of their identity and include pictures, interests, message boards, and other facts about themselves.

Members of these websites make connections with others by adding "friends" who are then listed on their profile with a link to the friend's profile. This becomes a public online display of the person's social network. However, these friends must first request to join this network and cannot be added without prior consent. So it is impossible for a stranger to be added unless given permission by the profile owner. Members of MySpace have the option to make their profiles private, meaning that they are only viewable by their chosen friends, while all profiles in Facebook are private to non-Facebook members.

It is this sense of individuality that has made these so popular for younger people, who often visit the sites multiple times a day to see what their friends have posted on their message board or who has changed the status of their profile. Of some concern, however, is the sheer amount of personal information that younger people are making freely available, enabling anyone to get a glimpse into their lives, such as college admissions directors or potential employers. The article "Think Before You Share" examines some of the consequences of sharing information and the need for guiding students on the importance of protecting their privacy.

While MySpace and Facebook can certainly boast of having the most users, they certainly are not the only social networking sites out there in cyberspace. In fact, some that have recently popped onto the scene strive to attract niche groups such as business professionals, specific age groups, and hobbyists.

• LinkedIn (for business networking)
• Eons (for the over 50 crowd)
• Academici (for those in the academic world)
  
• Ning (where anyone can start their own social network group)
  
• Ficlets (for writers and storytellers)
• ComicSpace (for comic artists, writers and fans)
• RetroLand (for those who love "retro" culture)
• Wikipedia shares a list of social networking sites, along with the subject focus and number of registered users.
  

Using Social Sites for Marketing and Community Building

Hundreds of articles have been written about the marketing potential of MySpace and Facebook. With a captive audience of individuals (especially the coveted market of those in their teens and twenties), these sites are being targeted by businesses as a place to promote their products, which explains the fortuitous move by News Corp. in its landmark purchase of MySpace in 2005.

Realizing that such a large portion of students are spending time on these spaces, more colleges and universities have begun to create their own presence as a possible means for reaching out and building an online community of their current and potential students. Although the use of these sites by schools is still a bit controversial, with the need to walk a fine line between being present in social networking and being intrusive into the lives of students, many schools seem to have found a balance between the two. One example of a local university who has created a MySpace profile is Loyola Marymount University.

The two most common ways schools appear to be using their online profiles are promoting services and gathering feedback from students. However, alternative uses have recently popped up, including distributing emergency information to the student community of Union University in Tennessee during the recent tornado crisis and creating online tributes for the victims of the Northern Illinois University shooting.

Although there is a lack of full consensus on the benefits of social networking by academic organizations, the potential for these online tools are increasingly being considered by colleges and universities, particularly due to the rise in numbers of the student population that are using them on a regular basis.

Discovery Activity:

1. Explore some of the social networking sites mentioned (Facebook allows only a limited amount of access to non-members).

2. Post your thoughts about social networking sites on your blog.

Bonus: Create your own online identity through a social networking site and begin looking for "friends" that you already know or for those with similar interests to yours.