Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and the new contender Orkut

Email is for old people and MySpace is so yesterday

Wait a minute, I use email on a daily basis it's how I work. That was my response in class when we were told email is for old people. The response I got from the twenty year olds, was yeah that is understandable. What! Wait a minute are you saying I am old? They said, not extremely, but you are using old technology. If you want to connect with us you have to use what we know and use. They even had the nerve to ask if I knew how to text message. Thank goodness I have a thirteen year old, I was able to say yes. I upped them with my Wii. Then they upped me with their iPhones and well you get the picture.

I had to bite the bullet and create a Facebook page, it was something I have been avoiding. One, I didn't feel as a 30 something that it was a place for me. You hear about teenagers and college students using them daily. Secondly, it was just another online mechanism that I wouldn't maintain properly and I don't.

MySpace has always been a space with Advertising associated with it, it probably is the largest space for teenagers.

Facebook does have a huge college following it was after all started specifically for the college community by a couple of college kids. Facebook just started advertising and it received a huge backlash from its users, so much so that people bailed the network all together in protest. Facebook quickly fixed that with an option to stop the advertising on your page. I have yet to find that button. Tells you how much time I spend on it.

The next big thing on the horizon is Orkut by Google. This network is exploding and is massive in Brazil where it is being tested.

LinkedIn is the professional community. Want to network on a professional level without all the music, hoopla, games and advertising. This is the place for you, it's all about credentials here.

By the way if you don't want people on your personal site set it to private. If you are trying to promote yourself professionally then I would suggest leaving it open or create a group rather than a personal space. An open space means dealing with all the riffraff that comes your way. Just decline no one knows who you are declining.

I have to mention most people trying to create a web presence have more than one social networking space. One thing we have been asked repeatedly in class is, How can you call yourself an ed technologist if you don't use the technology that students are using to communicate with? They have a point. So start text messaging and check out the social networking sites experiment with it. You'll be surprised with the professional connections and who in your profession is already connected.