MySpace, Facebook,& Social Networking

I've had a Facebook account since a much younger friend asked me to be her Facebook friend. I didn't realize when I replied affirmatively that I would have to create an account. It is bare bones with few friends (no comments, anyone), and I am not active on it unless I get a message from my younger friends who live on the site. For this assignment, I did invite a couple friends and updated some stuff.

The layout is not attractive, and I may be missing something, but I don't see how to change it.

I don't get the things like sheep, cupcakes, etc. that people can "give" to each other. A friend has tried to send me stuff like that, but since these items are not created by Facebook, you have to agree to all kinds of stuff before you can "receive it." I have not complied.

I like that there are settings for who can access your account. Still, I would not put myself out there in the way young people do. Who cares what my favorite anything is? When I write, I consider the audience, and I will tell some people things that I would not tell other people. So to have a generic site where you spill your guts is not for me. I guess my mom's saying, "Fools' names & fools' faces are often found in public places" rings in my ears!

I can see libraries using the site as a way to introduce themselves to the Facebook/MySpace set. (But do they really search for libraries?) A social network presence could be a good way to promote teen activities, especially.

In theory, I like the idea of social networking as explained in the Common Craft video. Social networking sites connect us to people we know and people they know, making larger and larger networks. In reality, I'm not going to ask strangers (friends of friends) to be my friends because they aren't, well...friends. The young people I know have scads of friends on their accounts, but I am not going to invite a bunch of 20-somethings to be my friend. (Though I do have friends who are 20-somethings.)

I do enjoy a different kind of social networking site, Shelfari, where you can post the books you've read, invite friends and follow their lists, and discuss books. I get good reading recommendations this way, and it helps me keep track of what I've read. Still, I'd rather read or write than update Shelfari.

Another site people have recommended to me is Jacketflap, but I haven't taken time to look into it much. It is another bookish social networking site.

Social networking is a phenomenon that's here to stay. How will it change as time goes by?