Thing 15 Get the 411 on Social Networking

I learned some interesting things about My Space from the articles that I read. Online social networks have replaced the traditional places for people to hangout and meet like restaurants and malls. They are cyberspace hangouts. There are over 95 million registered users and if social networks were a country it would be the 12th largest country in the world. My Space recently surpassed Google in terms of number of hits and pages viewed.

Social networks have the same pitfalls as traditional meeting spaces. Since teenagers tend to post too much personal and accurate information, online predators are a given. Also, teachers are dealing with mean messages, degrading photos being posted, and cyberbullying. Social networks can be fun with the right amount of parental involvement.

I think that VBPL shouldn't be offering My Space and other social networks just to offer them. There should be a meaninful reason that we do so not just because it's out there. We should be engaging our patrons and improving our services when offering online social networks. I also feel that My Space is just a fad like other online social networks that have lost their popularity. Evidentally, Facebook is becoming the new social network of choice for many teenagers.