INF506 Introduction

How do the concepts and findings in these sections of the OCLC report reflect your view of the socially networked world in 2012?

A lot of what I read about in this ebook was not new to me but how I thought about it was new.  Like the fact that social networking is not a new concept.  People have always built relationships based on common interests in social communities.  It is only the medium, or how this is done that has changed. Technology has given us a new medium. 

Important Points

Introduction

• Libraries need to reach out to users on the internet.
• Research challenges us to think about research beyond the search.
• People have changed from information consumer to information producer.  How does this affect library services?
• Social websites have built a new social web, connecting communities.  What will these communities mean for the possibilities they hold for library services?

Section 1 - Our Digital Lives

• Behaviours/attitudes of digital immigrants and digital natives - beginning to converge.
• Usage of internet activities as grown substantially.
• Use of library websites has dropped.
• Tipping point on digital evolution timeline - from exploration to creation and mass contribution.
• Composition of online activities is changing.

Section 2 - Our Social Spaces

• The digital medium makes contact/sharing more accessible.
• Social networks are web sites "designed to allow multiple users to publish content themselves."
• Social network service - building and verifying of online social networks for communities.  Services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact.
• Different social sites have different emphases.
• Social networking is often not the central focus of the site, but a side effect of bringing people together with shared interests.
• While interaction occurs on social media sites, primary purpose is to publish and share content.
• Essence of social sites - social.
• Central value - platform.
• Function - social.
• Much of what takes place on social sites is motivated by a desire to connect.
• Information users are willing to share online varies by site.

Reference:

De Rosa, C., Cantrell, J., Havens, A., Hawk, J. & Jenkins, L. (2007). Sharing privacy and trust in our networked world: A report to the OCLC membership. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC. [ebook] Available http://www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/sharing.pdf