Social Networking and the Library
2010; American Library Association; Volume: 46; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1945-4538
Autores Tópico(s)Web and Library Services
ResumoAbstract Much has been written in the last few years about the rise of online social networks and the assumption that this rise results in a decline in privacy. At the same time, libraries and librarians have deeply held beliefs about patron privacy, and they attempt to forestall access to the information habits of their patrons. These two conflicting stances--assisting in access to networks that potentially damage privacy while desiring to protect information about their patrons--will be the focus of this chapter of Privacy and Freedom of Information in 21st-Century Libraries. ********** Much has been written in the last few years about the rise of online social networks and the assumption that this rise results in a decline in privacy. Nearly every new Web property in the last three years has had some form of social connectivity in it, and even established Web brands like Google have tried (and sometimes failed) to take advantage of the newly social Net. Libraries have navigated this new terrain by creating identities for themselves, interacting with patrons within the various sites, and providing access and sometimes even training on how best to use sites like Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, and more. At the same time, libraries and librarians have deeply held beliefs about patron privacy, and allowing access to the information habits of their patrons is something that libraries attempt to forestall. These two conflicting stances, that of assisting in access to networks that potentially damage privacy and that of desiring to protect information about their patrons, will be the focus of this chapter. What we consider an online social network site dates back to the early days of the Internet, with the advent of a website called SixDegrees.com in 1997. (1) The history of social networks online is, however, one of rise and fall, with one site rising in popularity only to be overtaken by another when the whims of the online audience find a reason to move. This cycle started with Friendster in 2002, moving to MySpace in 2003, and then on to the current market leader, Facebook, in 2005. As I'm writing this, it's mid-June 2010, and Facebook is expected this week to announce that it has crossed the 500 million user mark, something that no other website has ever accomplished. (2) I'm not sure that anything in history has had 500 million active participants; that's a full one-twelfth of the entire population of the planet. If Facebook were a country and its users citizens, it would be the third most populous country in the world, behind only China and India. What makes something a social network site? Danah M. Boyd and Nicole B. Ellison in their seminal 2007 article Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship define a social network site as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. (3) There are sites for which the entire point is the socialization and limitation or control of your information, such as MySpace and Facebook, and then there are sites that have some other central purpose like Flickr (sharing photos) and YouTube (sharing videos). There are also interest-specific or topical sites with extensive social networking features, such as LibraryThing (discussing books), Babycenter (motherhood and parenting), Ravelry (knitting and crocheting), and Disaboom (living with a disability or functional limitation). For any given hobby, at this point on the Web, there is probably a social network site that caters to it. Social networks have grown in popularity in the last five years, with the Pew Internet reporting that 82 percent of teens 14-17 have used a social networking site. (4) The same report shows that young adults age 18-29 are also huge social network users, with 72 percent of them reporting regular use. …
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