Web 2.0 Tool Review: Facebook March 24, 2008

This past February, CollegeDegree.com rated Facebook, a popular social media site frequented by students, as #2 in their 25 Useful Social Networking Tools for Librarians list. Thus, this is one web 2.0 tool that should be given more attention in libraries because of its social networking opportunities, its promotional and sharing capabilities, and its overall popularity.

What is Facebook? (brief background & information)

On February 4th, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched The Facebook exclusively for Harvard students, but within four months, 30 more college networks were added due to its extreme popularity. The site branched out to work networks, and finally in 2006, Facebook opened to anyone with an email address. Facebook’s growth in the fall of 2007 was staggering; over 1 million new users signed up every week, totaling over 50 million active users. It is the 6th most trafficked site in the US, a top photo sharing site, and the 5th most valuable US Internet company.

Anyone can join the network and create a profile, make friends, and enjoy the plethora of applications offered. However, libraries (or any other group) are able to join, create pages—with blogs, pictures, and videos–, and have users become members or “fans” of their organizations.

Why is Facebook a Good Web 2.0 Tool?

Some of the reasons Facebook has been rated so highly for librarians is because of its popularity and its group lists for librarian-centric patrons like FacebookAppsForLibraries, Library 2.0 Interest Group, Librarians and Facebook, NextGen Librarians, Digital Reference in Facebook, American Library Association Members, and Libraries and Librarians. These groups all have over 2000 members who share web 2.0 tools and technologies, link to news stories and information, and discuss different tools and resources for schools and libraries. Thus, librarians can network and collaborate with other professionals in order to get new ideas and to discuss tools.

Additionally, as Susan Jacobs stated, “with so many students, teachers, and librarians on Facebook these days, the social media site has become somewhat of a platform, offering developers a way to create and share application for education.” And Facebook provides all sorts of great tools designed to make learning easier for students, including the following: Flashcards, Wikiseek Search, JSTOR Seartch, Notely, Study Groups, Get Homework Help, Notecentric, Class Notes, Calendar, To-Do List, etc. Facebook also offers teachers and librarians several useful education applications that they can implement in the curriculum: SlideShare (create and send presentations to students), Webinaria Screencast Recorder (record and share videos with students), and BookTag (share and loans out books to students, plus create helpful quizzes for studying).

Moreover, according to TechCrunch, Facebook has just launched an instant messaging tool as well as additional privacy controls, including the ability to create various friends groups with different permissions for each. While the chat will only be one-to-one for a while, there is no limit to the number of chat sessions that can be open at any one time. Users won’t have to install chat as an additional application; it will automatically show up the bottom of the screen.

How can libraries use Facebook?

Any library can make a Facebook page that informs patrons of upcoming events, links them to library and online resources, starts discussions of current topics/books/etc., and allows patrons to make suggestions. However, school districts and academic library systems may benefit from a Facebook page the most because (1) it’s so popular with users of these generations and (2) it could be a fun way to connect students, staff, and librarians across the district/campus. With the new privacy features, one might feel more comfortable joining such a group and sharing information with others. A Facebook page would allow patrons to become more familiar with the staff and the services of the library in a non-confrontational or intimidating way.

While there are other social networking sites (like MySpace or Ning) out there, Facebook may be the best for libraries due to its innovative applications, new privacy and chat features, and overall popularity with patrons of all ages.