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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.
• 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
[email protected] 154B
twitter.com/rhonabwy
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