Boyd Readings

After reading Boyd's articles, I believe that libraries should realize that there are hundreds of social networking sights (SNS) that support a wide range of interests and practices. One size does NOT fit all. In the article Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship, she speaks of the shift in the organization of online communities. "While websites dedicated to communities of interest still exist and prosper, SNSs are primarily organized around people, not interests." Facebook and MySpace are the two popular ones, but other SNS were created to support niche demographics. This information will help them to decide which SNS to market themselves on if they are interested in doing so.

Another factor could be how socio-economic class differentiates which SNS a student uses. In the article Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace, Boyd discusses this. She states that "MySpace is still home for Latino/Hispanic teens, immigrant teens, "burnouts," "alternative kids," "art fags," punks, emos, goths, gangstas, queer kids, and other kids who didn't play into the dominant high school popularity paradigm." But, Facebook seems to be dominated by the primarily white "good kids whose families seem to emphasize the importance of education and going to college."

Becoming part of a social network is a way that libraries can integrate themselves into their patrons' everyday lives by promoting their library services on the patrons' social networks.
They can also learn from seeing what sites their patrons are visiting online and gain insight into their interests, needs, and wants. Another invaluable tool of these sites, according to Meredith Farkas in her book Social Software in Libraries is that these sites often "let you search for members by geographic area or by institution, making it easy to find local people." This also helps the libraries because they are then building a presence where there patrons are.

In addition marketing themselves on such sites, libraries can use this topic as a springboard to educating their patrons, both parents and children, about online safety on these SNS. They can include such things as potential privacy concerns and the safety of younger users. This can open discussions between parents and children about SNS usage "rules" and the concept of online predators.