MySpace was Teenie
Searching out libraries that have their presence on MySpace, I did a quick Google search with “libraries on MySpace” to see what would result. The result brought about a page of MySpace library listings. This Space was meant for both academic and public libraries as an “aid to you and your library’s presence on MySpace.” Libraries on MySpace have 392 members and was founded on May 24, 2006. Keeping in mind that this was a “groups” listing page, Libraries on MySpace had many links and helpful informative resources to consult. After skimming this somewhat of a 1.0 looking page, I decided to visit a page with a little more pizzazz.
Hennepin County Library provided me with the evidence and support that MySpace fosters a social networking atmosphere across many levels. The Hennepin County Library MySpace stats are as follows: 87 yr old / female / Hopkins, Minnesota / 1041 friends. Hennepin was really where I started my analysis of how I would expect MySpace could enhance a library’s presence as a social networking experience. After looking over blog posts and other factoids listed, I looked at Hennepin County Library’s Friend Space as well as Hennepin County Library’s Friends Comments in order to get a feel for their friendship. After all, birds of a feather… I was glad to see that there were comments from a variety of libraries as well as authors sending their regards. Certain comments prompted me to look at other library’s MySpace pages, such as St. Louis Park Library, one of many branches of the Hennepin County Library system.
The St. Louis Park Library MySpace stats are: 17 year old / female / Minnesota / 318 friends. This library had a very animeted look that allowed me to connect deeper with my own interests in anime theme songs. There was a music player that linked me to Project Playlist where anyone could create their own playlist to post on their MySpace page. I was able to look at other people’s playlists, blogs, and mp3’s. Needless to say, music always draws me in. St. Louis Park, as with most of the libraries that I visited on MySpace, seemed very much geared towards the teen sector. I wanted to see how libraries on MySpace could also appeal to adults and found the presence of Second Life Library 2.0 on MySpace.
The Second Life Library 2.0 MySpace stats are: 41 yr old/ Female/ Info Island Illinois / 365 friends. The many YouTube segments gave me an informative tour of Info Island. This was an encompassing mix of Library 2.0 that could break all barriers of who we are vs. who we wanted to be. The MySpace blog was located on Info Island and there were posts about the newest developments on Info Island. Unfortunately, there did not seem to be many blog comments. The visit to Info Island left me with the question of whether SL is too far ahead of MySpace in terms of reality. Could there be degrees within 2.0 that measured intellect or maturity? This is one of the questions I am pondering while gathering conclusions about in the nearer future.
