Thing #19 - Social Networking

I've had a MySpace account for a while though there's been little time spent on it. There have been complaints about the lack of color (really nothing at all creative has been attempted). I don't really like MySpace. The format seems so chaotic which translates to annoying for me. I hate that the frequently busy background stays put while everything else scrolls over it. Facebook offers a format more conducive to my personality- neat and organized. I signed up for a Facebook account and have added several friends including David O'Flaherty. My nephew may have already considered me a cool (probably the wrong word) aunt, but I think telling him I had a Facebook account may have increased my coolness. He is one of my friends as well.

I thought the River Rouge Public Library did a great job with their MySpace account. I especially liked the music they choose- Librarian from the CD, Public Library by Jonathan Rundman. The Austin Public Library (Texas) had a fairly simple format which appeals to me, but the Birmingham Public Library used a busy brightly colored background. I didn't find that attractive, but then again they probably are not trying to interest a person in my age bracket.They each had useful tools on the site like: Ask a Librarian, search the catalog, and Search WorldCat . I'm sure that sites like these can be useful in making the library more appealing to teens and young adults. Attempting it would probably require having someone in one of those age categories managing it (or collaborating on it) in order to keep the look and content relevant to those age groups. It's easy to see how popular MySpace is just by walking past any group of internet users in the library. Sometimes that's the only site being browsed.

I looked at the site TeeBeeDee just because it is suppose to be for people my age, but I didn't find it all that appealing. Maybe another look when I have more time will change my mind.