If you’ve strolled through a library or computer lab recently, you’ve probably noticed Facebook on a lot of active computer screens. Well, if you’ve found yourself wondering why tools like Facebook (or MySpace, Bebo, LinkedIn, or whichever social networking space is “hot” this week!) are so popular, you’ll be happy to know that this week is devoted to exploring these tools — what they are, how they work, and why campus services should care!

Defining Online Social Networks
This video is a great place to start and provides an overview of social networking in the 2.0 world:

As with a lot of 2.0 tools, pinning down a definition of a “social network” is difficult — it’s one of those “you’ll know it when you see it” tools! But how do you know what to look for? Here are a few characteristics of social networks:

• profile pages: when you sign up for an account on a social networking site, your “profile page” becomes your home base. Most social networks allow you to add as much or as little information about yourself as you’d like. Common fields include your name, contact information, interests, and a photograph of yourself. Some social networks allow you to customize your profile page by changing the design, colour, or look of the page (MySpace is an example), whereas other social networking sites use the same look & feel for all profile pages (Facebook is an example).
• “friending”: this is probably the most important characteristic of a social network because finding friends (existing or new) on a social networking site is pretty much the point of being there in the first place! So, most social networks allow you to add another person/profile as a “friend” or a “contact” and your collection of friends becomes your own personal social network (not dissimilar to the way social networks form offline too!). The “friending” aspect of an online social network often accounts for why some social networking sites are popular with specific groups. For example, Facebook began as a social network for college and university students; it has since opened up to allow anyone to join the network, but it still remains most popular with students. Why? Because people go where their friends are!
• groups: with real life social networks, groups tend to form around common interests, therefore most online social networks allow users to start a group or join a group based on their interests or common goals. Depending on the social networking site, you will probably find a group that represents your interests, regardless of what that interest might be!

While many 2.0 tools use some of these elements (e.g. “contacts” on Flickr, “friends” on Digg, profile pages on YouTube), most sites that are considered to be online “social networks” have all these elements in common.

Popular Online Social Networks

• Facebook – most popular with college and university students, Facebook defines itself as “a social utility that connects you with the people around you.”
• MySpace – what began as a place for independent bands to promote their concerts and music has turned into the most popular online social network in the English-speaking world!
• LinkedIn – if Facebook caters to the student crowd, LinkedIn is where you go when you graduate! LinkedIn is “an online network of more than 9 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 130 industries.”
• Bebo – Bebo describes itself as “the next generation social networking site where members can stay in touch with their College friends, connect with friends, share photos, discover new interests and just hang out.”

Facebook @ Mac

This is a screenshot of the McMaster Network page on Facebook. Click the image to see a larger version.

Facebook is very popular at McMaster – this is not news! As of today, there are 24,063 members of the McMaster “network”. Anyone can choose to join the McMaster network, but it’s probably safe to assume that it’s mostly current students, alumni, staff and faculty that make up that number. While the size of the network might seem large, it’s important to remember that McMaster is not in a particularly unique position regarding the popularity of Facebook on campus. Campus services in universities across North America have already embraced the site and have begun using it to reach out to students. Here are some examples (note: you need to login to Facebook to view these links):

• Champlain College Career Services (Facebook “page”)
• Undergraduate Library @ the University of Illinois (Facebook “group”)
• Student Affairs Professionals (Facebook “group” for student affairs professionals in all universities)
• FVSU Campus Life & First Year Experience (Facebook “page”)
• The Campus Bookstore at Queen’s University (Facebook “page”)
• Hendriz College Admission & Financial Aid
• SUNY Student/Alumni Center for Professional Development

Activities

Just two activities this week!

1. Sign up for an account on Facebook and explore some of the profiles, groups and pages in the “McMaster Network”. Do you see a place for Career Services on Facebook? what sorts of information/services would you build into a Career Services presence on Facebook? Once you’ve spent some time exploring the site and thinking about these questions, write a blog post about your thoughts and impressions.
2. Check out some of the other online social spaces, like MySpace and LinkedIn. Set up a profile (or simply explore other profiles), check out the features and blog your thoughts!

See you on Facebook!