Tracking Along with Social Networking

While MySpace and Facebook are great for those who have the time, I find I don't want to spend 24/7 online. Bad enough that I only read my home emails at best, once a week and sometimes forget to check my answering machine - always getting into strife for the latter. I think the picture is coming through loud and clear. I enjoy a pretty good ‘information network’ which has been operating very effectively for years. I don’t know whether I’d want that online for everybody to see. I'm sure I wouldn't get the ‘quality’ input I receive now!
All that aside, I can certainly see the potential for libraries to use this medium - Opera House My Space is friendly and newsy but a bit home spun on the production side. Bebo MySpace at Rotorua Public Library was a great example of how libraries can reach out and involve their clients. An excellent way to navigate through the library and for our clients to interact with us and each other off site. The potential is there for clients in regional areas in particular to connect with us and other public libraries - so many opportunities to reach out. A possible down side could be freeing up staff to keep it current and if facebook and myspace prove to be popular that will have a big impact.