MySpace and Facebook: Students are Obsessed … But Why?

1. MySpace and Facebook: Students are Obsessed … But Why? Anne Pemberton • Instructional Services Coordinator • Randall Library

2. Workshop Outline • Social Networking and Web 2.0 • Appeal of Facebook and MySpace • A look at both

3. Social Networking & Web 2.0 • Social Networking • “ … focuses on the building … of online … communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others, and which necessitates the use of software. Most social network services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, and so on.”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking_sites)

4. Social Networking & Web 2.0 • Web 2.0 • “The phrase Web 2.0 refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites, wikis and folksonomies — which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. The term became popular following the first O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004, and has since become widely adopted.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2)

5. Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us http://www.youtube.com

6. “Who are these people? Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I'm going to mash up 50 Cent's vocals with Queen's instrumentals? I'm going to blog about my state of mind or the state of the nation … Who has that time and that energy and that passion? • … And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME's Person of the Year for 2006 is you.” • http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html

8. Social Networking • Not just for your average Joe • http://www.myspace.com/barackobama • Famous Peeps

9. Keeping Up • http://radar.oreilly.com/ • http://www.newmediamusings.com/social_media/index.html • http://www.socialnetworking-weblog.com/ • http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/section/social-networking/ • http://blogs.profitimo.com/2007/04/03/web20-all-about-social-networking/

10. The Appeal • I moved here from NY and myspace is one of the only ways I can keep in touch with everyone I went to high school with. • I like sharing pictures with my friends. • You can find ANYONE on Myspace, I love it. • People leave stupid/funny comments that are fun! • It is addictive, like crack!

11. The Appeal • Its an easy way to keep in touch with students not only from UNCW but other colleges as well • Everyone uses it and most everyone gets on everyday so its a quick way to see what people are doing • Basically its just one big gossip page- i mean you can see everything about someone- from what music they like, who they hang out with, who their dating, everything

12. The Appeal • I think the biggest reason that I use facebook is to look up and keep in touch with people that I don't talk to on a regular basis, its an easy and informal way to communicate. I also like to use it because I like to find people that I haven't seen since I was a little kid or family members I have lost touch with it. It is really cool to find people you haven't talked to in 10 years and see what they are up. And lastly, I like it because I like to see what people are up to and what they are doing with things such as pictures, etc. Basically you can find out pretty much anything about people with their facebook, which unfortuantely is a downfall at the same time.

13. The Appeal • The main reason I use Facebook/Myspace is to keep in touch with my friends from different cities. After high school everyone went different ways and through the websites you can still keep in touch with your friends. Also, I like that you can see about events happening on and off campus. Lastly, you can keep your friends up to date on what you doing and see what your friends are doing. Not to mention it really is addicting, once you open an account its hard to get away from it.

14. The Appeal • Students love Myspace and Facebook because:- It's an easy way to contact with friends and family.- We like to see what's going on in people's lifes and be nosy.- Myspace/Facebook is a good way to keep track of people and what they're doing.- We love the attention that we get from the comments and messages that are left on our page.

15. The Appeal • I'm not your traditional student by any means but I was recently introduced to MySpace by my wife. The 3 reasons I use MySpace are : • To connect with my friends from way back in High School. • To try and stay current with trends of meeting people online. • To see who my wife adds as friends • I'm not a big fan of MySpace since it was an instrument of bad decisions in our relationship but it can be a nice tool to connect or reconnect with people.

16. The Appeal • I love Facebook because.....1. it's a social network of friends from your same college, other colleges, high schools, and basically anyone now. It's a way to keep in touch with people.2. there are a lot of applications on Facebook now including pictures, free gifts, graffiti, music, etc. which makes it even more fun than it already was.3. It occupies my time when I am bored.

17. The Appeal • I am addicted to facebook. This is why:1-you can keep in touch with friends you have met throughout your life (high school, trips, other colleges, etc)2- There are fun things on facebook such as horoscopes, gifts you can give to your friends if they have a bad day, pictures you can tag, and graffiti you can draw :)3- You can stalk people you don't like or don't keep in touch with so you can see what they are doing now a days.4- It's fun to do when your bored.

18. Facebook Facts • “Founded in February 2004,Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers. The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people's real-world social connections. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a part of millions of people’s lives and half of the users return daily. Facebook is a privately-held company and is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.” (http://www.facebook.com/press.php)

19. Facebook Facts • Not just for College students anymore • Anyone with a valid e-mail address can join (will be in a “network”) • 40 million active users (users who have returned to the site in the last 30 days) • Company has 300+ employees

20. Facebook Facts • More than 200,000 new registrations per day since January 2007 • Over 47,000 regional, work-related, collegiate, and high school networks • More than half of Facebook users are outside of college • The fastest growing demographic is those 25 years old and older

21. Facebook Facts • Sixth-most trafficked site in the United States (comScore) • More than 47 billion page views per month in May 2007 • More than half of active users return daily • People spend an average of 20 minutes on the site daily (comScore) • http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

22. Let’s Look … Facebook http://www.facebook.com/

23. MySpace Facts • Founded in August 2003 • As of September 7, 2007, there are over 200 million accounts • Company employs 300+ • Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, where it shares an office building with its immediate owner, Fox Interactive Media; in turn, the owner of Fox Interactive and therefore MySpace, News Corporation, is headquartered in New York City • MySpace is currently the world's 6th most popular English-language website and the 6th most popular website in any language, and the third most popular website in the US

24. MySpace Facts • “MySpace is an online community that lets you meet your friends' friends.Create a private community on MySpace and you can share photos, journals and interests with your growing network of mutual friends!See who knows who, or how you are connected. Find out if you really are six people away from Kevin Bacon.” • http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.aboutus

25. MySpace Facts • “Eligibility. Use of and Membership in the MySpace Services is void where prohibited. By using the MySpace Services, you represent and warrant that (a) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of such information; (c) you are 14 years of age or older; and (d) your use of the MySpace Services does not violate any applicable law or regulation. Your profile may be deleted and your Membership may be terminated without warning, if we believe that you are under 14 years of age. “ • http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.terms

26. Let’s Look … MySpace http://www.myspace.com/

27. Differences BTW the 2 • http://www.danah.org/papers/essays/ClassDivisions.html • AP’s perceptions: • Facebook seems more “controlled” • MySpace seems more “chaotic” • Navigation in Facebook easy • More privacy in Facebook

28. What Can YOU Do? • Use it as a communication tool • Students and faculty can post messages to each other • Students and faculty can update status • Students and faculty can update each other on projects using the "wall“ • Use as an image sharing repository • Several add-on applications make it possible to use a Flickr account to show and share pictures • Facebook has its own small photo uploading and sharing application which can be made public or private  • As a community-building activity • Faculty with Facebook profiles can let students know a bit more about themselves, their research and/or their personal interests • Faculty can learn more about students via their profiles, including more about their extended interests • http://cit.duke.edu/tools/web20/facebook.html

29. Education Apps in Facebook

30. Keep in Mind • Students don’t necessarily want “us” using “their” tools • If you are there, they will find youand your personal info • If you do not plan on checking these tools every day to communicate, stick with e-mail

31. Questions? Discussion?