When people meet together, they communicate, interact, share ideas and information on various issues, and would probably collaborate on problem solving. There is a sense of community as relationship is built up. While they relate to one another, there are rules at play, issues like ettiquette, privacy, etc. Each individual connects to others in different aspects, resulting in an intricate mesh of relationship as vibrant as the one illustrated in figure 1. The interplay is social networking.
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Fig. 1 Networking
Diagram Courtesy: Shea, C. (2011). The Catalyst: Timi Vann '91 makes government responsive to Westerners' environmental need. Evergreen Magazine, Fall 2011. Retrieved from http://www.evergreen.edu/magazine/2011fall/catalyst.htm/
Humans
have long been networking. Now that Internet access have
become commonplace, and with an ever increasing proportion of the general
public possessing smart phones, handhelds with Internet access are being used for more than just
talking: to search the Internet, send emails, instant messaging, e-banking & investing, online shopping, and more and more to
interact, collaborate, create content by writing blogs, building web
pages, sharing photos, videos, publishing writings and music; in short,
to
form networked communities. (De
Rosa, Cantrell, Havens, Hawk, & Jenkins, 2007)
This trend is reflected,
amusingly, by a warning notice displayed on the billboard at the gate entrance in one of our busy Mass Transit Railway
stations in Hong Kong. (Figs.2 & 2a)
Nowadays, folks look at their phones far more than holding them near their
face to talk to an extent that it could pose a danger to themselves and others in crowded
places!
As
the 2007 OCLC report discovered, people are now shifting their focus from
Internet searching to online collaboration and content production. They are becoming
Internet developers rather than mere visitors, exploiting Internet publishing
services to construct their own networked communities. (De Rosa, et al.,
2007)
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| Fig.2 Warning notice at gate entrance in an Mass Transit Railway station in Hong Kong. |
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| Fig. 2a Warning notice on billboard enlarged. Personally I use emails, voice and text messaging, occasionally teleconferencing on smartphone, as well as Skype, for connecting with my family, friends, colleagues, and people from other institutions we do business with. Often I Visit YouTube to view/listen to my sister sing in her choir, to access lectures by local and US professors, to listen to violinist and orchestra, for instruction on how to's, and refer to wikis for quick information on topics that are new to me. I've got very little experience in social networking software like Facebook, twitter, blogger. I've only read my niece's school blog and accessed my friend's Facebook upon their request. Now that i've taken INF506, I 've created accounts in Facebook, Twitter and blogger and begin to learn to use them. Still finding my way round ...
Upon
completion of INF506, I expect I will be able to use social networking
technologies to liaise with librarians in the same field for exchanging
information and ideas, sharing experience in library services, as well as
exploit social networking technologies to supply better library services like
online reference service, teaching database searching online, etc.
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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.
