by As I think I mentioned, I recently gave a presentation on Learning in Facebook and Second Life (I’ll post the links as soon as they’re up). I thought I’d ramble a little on Facebook, but not on the academic/library side of things.
One of the things I really like about Second Life is the ability to collaborate and network with people you’d never dream of working with, either because of distance or time constraints or any other number of reasons. Recently though, I’ve found Facebook acting in a similar manner. I knew this was possible, but I hadn’t intended to use Facebook that way, just to hook up with people I presently know and look into applications for libraries. Well, I have had friends who I haven’t seen since grade 7 contact me, I’ve made new connections with librarians through groups I’ve joined. It’s been quite amazing really and I’m starting to see a whole new realm of potential for Facebook. It’s amazing the people I’m finding, or who are finding me, in Facebook. It isn’t an addiction … yet.
With our learning 2.0 initiative, I’m sure we will all be creating accounts soon. Many of us already have one, and in a strange yet distant way, I feel closer to them – I can see what they’re up to, if they’ve had a good or bad day, start conversations – either online or when I see them. This is one of those odd things about social software though – in some instances, the only contact is through an online medium, when in fact, they are in a nearby, if not the same building. This closeness with distance is a bit of a strange phenomenon and one I might look into more at some point.
I share your experience of getting to know people via Facebook. I find I am communicating well and actually more through this medium than I would if I tried to see people I work with physically. Sharing thoughts and knowing how their day has been are sentiments that bring us closer to them mentally and emotionally. This is something that might be of interest to someone who says they like to meet people in person only.