Current Trends in Social Networking and Social Media

Shari LasterGovernment Documents Librarian, Bierce Library10 February 2010

What are we talking about?

• How do current students use social networking?

• How can classrooms incorporate social media to improve student success?

• How can these tools address issues in the workplace?

• What's next?

Some hazy definitions

• Social Networks: networks connecting people for social activities

• Social Media: media with social functions

• Social Applications: web programs with social functions

• Web 2.0: encapsulating technology

Who are we talking about?

• People who graduated from high school in 2009 were in middle school when MySpace was launched.

• They were high school freshmen when Facebook opened its networks to high school students.

• Two-thirds of their peers in high school had mobile phones.

So how do people use social networking?

• Storefront for friends, acquaintances, strangers. 

• Venue for expressing identity. • Social awareness.• Tool for sharing and connecting to

information.• Entertainment.

Why is this interesting?

• Technology is a critical element of relationships and interactions.

• Expectations lean toward openness and sharing.

• Adaptations to juggling multiple channels of information.

Key findings from ECAR 2009 survey, part 1

• Students are more likely to own new technology, particularly laptops.

• Social networking sites and text messaging are used by 9 in 10 students (IM has dropped to 75%).

• More use of software tools takes place outside the classroom.

Moving to the classroom... why social applications?

• Interactive and participatory.• Stretch technological capabilities.• Pervasive learning moments.• "Without educators, technology in the

classroom is useless." - danah boyd

Blogs and PBwiki

• Public collaboration and exploration of topics.

• Share activities and outcomes. • Multimedia opportunities.• Part of public portfolio.

Flickr and SlideShare

• Easy to get started and use. • Participate in public conversation.• Impact of project goes beyond a single

course.

YouTube and podcasting

• Learn valuable technical and communications skills.

• Opportunities for multidisciplinary projects with tangible outcomes.

Moving to the workplace...why social applications?

• Synchronous and asynchronous collaboration.

• Solutions to common knowledge management needs.

• Contact with professionals and experts within fields.

Twitter

• Participate in conversations and share knowledge.

• Follow conferences and conventions.• Track the realtime pulse of topics.

LinkedIn [and Facebook]

• Virtual business cards.• Maintain professional contacts. • Look for employment and

opportunities. • Pool of expertise can share

information.

Delicious and Google Apps

• Share and manage resources for working groups and projects.

• Build legacy resources for future projects.

• Remote and asynchronous collaboration.

What's next?

• Mobile messaging (texting/SMS) growth expected to continue.

• Mobile IM particularly popular with youth segment. 

• Smartphones are increasingly popular in the U.S. 

Smartphones

Key findings from ECAR 2009 survey, part 2

• Nine out of ten students use text messaging.

• Half of the students surveyed owned an Internet-capable device, although a third do not use that feature.

• Popular uses include checking for information, email, and social networking. 

Some tidbits

• Four future trends: access the web anywhere, access without computers, media-driven access, social media-driven access. - Mashable

• "Don't feed the trolls, unless you're feeding them tranquilizers." - Collecta co-founder Brian Zisk

Recent studies

• The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2009. Available at: http://bit.ly/2w8FKl

• Social Media and Young Adults. Pew Internet Project, 2010. Available at: http://bit.ly/cQdgi3

Other resources• boyd, danah. "some thoughts on technophilia." Posted 20 August

2009 on www.zephoria.org. Available at: http://bit.ly/3owWg• "Forty-One Percent of Consumers Will Make Smartphones Their

Next Mobile Device." Posted 10 June 2009 on www.fiercewireless.com. Available at: http://bit.ly/119LRZ

• Parr, Ben. "What the Web of Tomorrow Will Look Like: 4 Big Trends to Watch." Posted  24 January 2010 on www.mashable.com. Available at: http://bit.ly/92eFrI

• O'Dell, Jolie. "Open Thread: Dealing with Real-Time Negativity." Posted 1 February 2010 on www.readwriteweb.com. Available at: http://bit.ly/93jaUi

• "SMS Continues to Confound Expectations as Worldwide Messaging Revenues Set to Exceed USD 233 Billion by 2013." Posted 1 February 2010 on www.fiercewireless.com. Available at: http://bit.ly/9rEFEp 

This presentation is available at:

http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dfgsb6fg_128cf43b3c5

or

http://bit.ly/UASocMed

(case-sensitive)

Shari Laster 

Government Documents LibrarianAssistant Professor of Bibliography

Reference University Libraries

The University of Akron  

laster@uakron.edu330.972.7494Bierce 154B

twitter.com/rhonabwy