Social Software

So, who decided that the Hennepin County Library was an 87 year old woman?

I do think that social software such as MySpace can be an effective way to reach a certain audience. Although, you never really know for certain who you're actually reaching. As with many internet applications, this type of software causes concerns about safety and privacy. It would be important to educate users about keeping certain types of information private. I realize that MySpace does offer certain privacy protections...allowing only approved users to view one's site, etc...

Realistically, I believe this is an excellent way to reach the young adult community. Just looking at the friends of Hennepin, this is what young adults and teenagers are doing with large parts of their time. Social software could be a great way to reach this hard to reach audience/population. Although, by the time that a lot of organizations start to catch on and utilize social networking sites to reach teens, it is likely that the 'scene' will have evolved and MySpace may well be uncool. I did notice that some libraries have set up sites geared toward teen audiences (PLCM-"library loft").