no.8 Facebook friend’s networks

Malachi takes me for a walk at the Stonehenge replica in Maryhill, Wa.

I’m relatively new to Facebook,

but now that I’ve been here for a few weeks I’m finding it much more rewarding than MySpace. Facebook, seems to be the place to find more librarians to share things with, for instance I had a conversation with a librarian in Maryland about floating collections. This was just the type of thing that never happened with MySpace for me.

I have a MySpace account, and I used to visit it fairly frequently, but it sits out there all alone now. I wonder how long it will be till it withers and the page gets pulled, or if it ever will.

With MySpace, I’d find myself trying to manipulate the html to make a decent looking page. Since I don’t have a clue about html, I ended wasting a lot of time and never being satisfied with anything. Also, since libraries are on MySpace, but there weren’t a lot of librarians, or at least any that I knew, there was no friends for me to talk with on this “friend network”.

Facebook allows me to connect with librarians and library staff from all over. I can see how facebook and MySpace should be a part of an overall marketing strategy for libraries. When I became a librarian it was a big deal to write a press release for the local newspaper to advertise programs. Sites like these and Yelp, and Insider Pages should be just as integral part of the library’s strategy for connecting with their communities as newspapers and traditional outlets.

That said, libraries shouldn’t be jumping on the bandwagon and joing these sites indiscriminately it’s far more important to come in with a strategy, and goals so that the site is maintained and has enough content that brings people back. For Facebook that means putting up library events and making sure they are current, and using tools like meebo or similar virtual reference tools to connect patrons who find us on facebook.