Thing 20 - Libraries and social networks

I already have both a MySpace and Facebook account. I created a MySpace page a while back because a lot of my friends were there, and I thought it would be a great way to keep up with friends who live far away. But, for some reason, I have found it to be rather difficult to figure out. It's probably like most things, I just haven't put enough time into it. And I never really actually communicated with my friends all that much on MySpace. More recently, however, I have re-discovered Facebook. I first had a Facebook account when i was in grad school and a TA; I thought it would be good to know what all of my students were up to. However, I wasn't entirely comfortable with that account, as I wasn't sure of the privacy standards. But, when I started to realize that nearly all of my friends had decided that Facebook was the "better" way to communicate and stay in touch, I opened a new account, and have liked it much better than MySpace. While all of the application invitations can get annoying, I do like that you can become "fans" of things, and it seems much easier to communicate with friends who are also on Facebook. It's also a great way to share pictures, because if one of your friends "tags" you in a picture, it is automatically added to the photos on your account, which is pretty cool. Also, it's a great way to create groups and events, and it just seems a little easier to use, and much more private than MySpace.
I looked at Hennepin County Library's MySpace page, and I really liked it. Our library has talked in the past of having a MySpace page, but we have filtering problems that would have to be overcome before that could become a reality. I liked how HCL featured music they have on their shelves, events, and all of that. It would be great if we could link it to the library's home page. I'm not exactly sure how well a Facebook page would work, since I think MySpace is still more popular, but any of these I think would achieve one goal - to get youth and teens more involved in the library.