Thing 20--Libraries & Social Networks

I registered for Facebook and added some friends. I knew one other person participating in "23 Things". I relied on the good humor of my nieces and nephews to bring my friends list up after that. It was interesting to see how linking the friends list from one of the kids took me the next one... I did feel like I was intruding a bit. I was also uncomfortable writing my own profile, not knowing who would eventually read it and not feeling that there is much of interest to write.
I joined Librarians & Facebook & the Library 2.0 groups. I was pretty sure that I would be interested in the discussions of these groups.
I visited MySpace and thought the content seemed less controlled. I did think the feature for finding friends was more helpful than on Facebook. Being able to search for people with certain criteria would be helpful if you actually wanted to make contact with people of the same age, interests and geographical location.
I visited the 2 library MySpace sites and didn't see the attraction. Some of the information seemed dated (activities from last October). Setting up a website or any other communication is one thing. Keeping the site updated and fresh is a time consuming challenge. I wonder if having a site that isn't maintained is worse than not having one at all.
Although I don't see an immediate use for these in my library, I think it is valuable to explore these social networks and understand a bit of what is going on in technology.

As a postscript, I have enjoyed reading the blogs of those who have finished the task. It is good to see some examples of how various features can dress up the presentation.