aahhhh social networking

The social networking scene............

While I had some understanding of what this is all about seeing the different sites and watching the video clip gave me a better grasp on this whole thing and I must say that I am not that impressed. I mean in Second Life it does seem like a game, you even have virtual sex??!!! How sad is that. To me the whole Second Life thing seems just like an electronic version of the Game of Life board game with a lot more twists.

Social networking i beleive is a sad sign of the times. People are loosing their skills to mix face to face and deal with life and its issues. While I do see it as a way for some to seek help for problems they are having withouth having to use their real identity the basic concept of talking to others and living your life through a computer is very sad.

As far as libraries go I dont see how people would benefit with a social networking library. I mean what has happened to customer service and face to face contact. Good honest face to face is the only way to really asertain if someone is being honest with you. In the computer world you can be anyone you want to be and use it as pure escapism if you want to. Social networking that way would be more like a hobby but I sadly believe that for many it is a way of life.

The idea of using the Second Life 3D for a virtual tour etc of the library is about the only plus I can see. While some libraries are using the social networking sites to promote things withinn their library I believe that with all the things we have looked at in this course we could adequately set up a web site with podcast or mashups included to promote the library in much the same way.

Though I may sound negative I cant apologise for my opinion. The social networking I dont really see as a professional tool at all. For the most part I see other ways that the same goals can be achieved and I really think that living your life through a computer is a very very sad existence indeed.

Now that I have finished this whole course I feel quite excited about the things I have achieved and learnt. It seemed quite daunting at the start but I am feeling far more computer literate now that i have done the whole thing. There are some aspects that I will definitely use in my own personal life and keeping a blog has been a lot of fun. As a team I am sure our library staff will meet together and discuss ways we can utilise what we have learnt when the entire staff has finished the course. It will be interesting to see where our knowledge will take us in regard to promoting and improving our library's assets and generally seeing if we can make our library more user friendly and up to date for those who live in the computer world. Thank you to all who made this journey possible. It has been a wonderful opportunity.