Post 18 - 3 things left!

This week, we have a guest poster. Aimee has done a write up on Facebook.
I'll admit that, though I have tried, I can't seem to figure out what to DO with Facebook. I see the utility of the site for the Library, and occasionally check in to see what it is doing, but I just don't have the urge to connect with individuals in this way -
What am I missing?

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Facebook is a social networking site that was originally designed as a place for college students to network among each other. I know that many of the library staff have already created a Facebook account either to become involved in the phenomena that is Facebook or to try and figure out what all the fuss is about. So here's a little bit of background information mixed in with some personal experience.

Facebook is the brain-child of Harvard drop-out Mark Zuckerberg. While a student at Harvard Zuckerberg created Facebook for his Harvard classmates as a sort of get-to-know-your-fellow-classmates website. The idea, launched in February 2004, stemmed from a paper version of a facebook that was passed around his high school for the same purpose. Due to popular demand, within four months it had grown to include 30 colleges and universities. As of September 2006 Facebook opened itself up to to anyone with an email address and is no longer considered a place just for those associated with colleges and universities.

Now, here are some interesting Facebook facts. Facebook has remained a private company despite some extremely generous offers and is now estimated to be worth over $15 billion (yes, I said billion). In the Fall of 2007 Facebook was signing-up an average of more than 1 million new users every week, which works out to over 200,000 new users every day! Users spend an average of 19 minutes everyday on Facebook (based on my experience that number is probably much higher here at NCC!). You can find more interesting information able Facebook at CrunchBase or through our Lexis-Nexis Company Dossier.

Now if you're trying to figure out a reason for all of this hoopla, I'm afraid to tell you I have still yet to figure one out. When comes down to it Facebook is really just a "place" to keep up with people you may not have time to call or email regularly. Another fairly new feature is the ability to group your friends into categories that have different levels of access to see information in your profile, which is a great way to control who gets to see your personal information and maintain some level of privacy in this voyeuristic culture we have become! So if you're leery about Facebook feel free to create a profile and keep it private until you've had some time to explore and determine if it's something you're interested in becoming involved with.

Another interesting aspect of Facebook are the fan pages. Anyone can create a fan page, but creators are most often attempting to market something. "Fans" of something on Facebook can find out information about and discuss that something within the realm of the fan page. Fan pages can also send regular updates to all of their fans regarding new information. For example, I am a fan of ACRL on Facebook. So just recently I received an update through Facebook about the recent ACRL election results. I can also go on to the ACRL fan page and discuss ACRL or issues in the library world with other fans of ACRL (who would most likely be librarians).

The library developed a fan page back in the Spring '08 to launch with the website. Unfortunately that page had been fairly neglected for some time. With Jane's help, I am currently working to restore activity to the Oesterle Library Facebook page. Feel free to check it out! You might even see yourself on there! :-)