LIBR 246-12: Web 2.0 and Social Networking Tools (Fall 2008)

Reflections on social media networking and marketing

Prahbu, M. (2008). Schools grapple with teachers' Facebook use. eSchool News.

I'd like to share Ning.com with you. I came across it through an article by Esther Rosenfield called Expanding Your Professional Network with Nings in the February 2008 edition of Teacher Librarian Vol. 35, 3. Ning is a social networking site , and according to the article, has "great potential value as an educational tool, especially for professional development and building professional connections." (Rosenfield 2008)

The two blogs I'm recommending this week both look at social networking software from an academic perspective.

Unit Structures is the blog of Fred Stutzman, a PhD student in the LIS program at UNC Chapel Hill. He has done some interesting research on how populations use social networking software, and his blog frequently includes information about his own research or links to other research related to social networking software.

How Cisco Tried to Make Routers Sexy Using Social Media
(there title not mine)

I find this interesting for two reasons. This server was designed specifically for social software functions. That means that social software has such a foothold that it has made the number one company for internet technology design a hardware product specifically for it.

I came across this site a couple of days ago.  It's called Live Mocha, and is a resource for anyone that wants to learn another language.  Usually I'm very skeptical of language classes that don't include an in-class element because I feel that this is necessary to practice speaking and writing skills in that language.  I was thrilled to come across this site and find that they are utilizing social networking tools while teaching/learning a new language.

I found this article on SitePoint very interesting.

http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/09/04/social-networking-not-quite-mainstream/

"A study by research firm Synovate that surveyed 13,000 consumers in Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US, found that 58% do not even know what social networking is. Further, only 26% are actually members of social networks."

    I just wanted to say Hi and I'm looking forward to immersing myself in Web 2.0.  Right now I feel as if it is a foreign language I'm sure this will be a challenging class, but this should be a very fun experience!