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Lorri Mon

Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home - 0 views

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    Economic and Statistics Administration:  68 percent of households used broadband Internet access service; almost one third are not accessing broadband at home.  Rural, low income minorities' access lagged behind other groups.
Miki Wolfe

The Benefits of Facebook "Friends:" Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online ... - 3 views

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    -"information technology may enhance place-based community and facilitate the generation of social capital" (Facebook a place to enhance relationships, not connect with total strangers) *libraries need to take this into account when setting up pages and connecting with people/places -"We use Facebook as a research context in order to determine whether offline social capital can be generated by online tools. The results of our study show that Facebook use among college-age respondents was significantly associated with measures of social capital." *libraries want to accumulate social capital, but have to be aware that it does not always translate in a linear fashion (i.e. I like you online, I will visit in person offline.) -" Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) define social capital as "the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition" (p. 14). The resources from these relationships can differ in form and function based on the relationships themselves." *social capital= social presence = libraries maintain a sense of space online and offline -"Greater social capital increases commitment to a community and the ability to mobilize collective actions, among other benefits. " *libraries can advocate for the common good, and can be a bridge over the increasing digital divide
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    -"bridging and bonding social capital. The former is linked to what network researchers refer to as "weak ties," which are loose connections between individuals who may provide useful information or new perspectives for one another but typically not emotional support...(also) "maintained social capital," permits us to explore whether online network tools enable individuals to keep in touch with a social network after physically disconnecting from it. *libraries want bridging social capital, but especially maintained social capital.. but how to achieve this?? -"Because online relationships may be supported by technologies like distribution lists, photo directories, and search capabilities, it is possible that new forms of social capital and relationship building will occur in online social network sites. Bridging social capital might be augmented by such sites, which support loose social ties, allowing users to create and maintain larger, diffuse networks of relationships from which they could potentially draw resources" *Flickr, YouTube channels, Storify, FB, blogs, location-based apps -"friendsickness: refers to the distress caused by the loss of connection to old friends when a young person moves away to college" *how can libraries engender the same feelings/retain the relationship when people relocate? *"maintained" social capital will keep online relationships intact even when physical geography separates people *how can libraries "maintain" social capital? *ettiquette of posting/page behavior affects social capital, particularly maintained social capital (users don't have to disconnect, they can just "hide") *how can libraries generate that neighborhood feel online, how can they evoke the friendsickness response in people who relocate or otherwise lose physical contact with the library? The library as an online presence must work to bridge social capital and then maintain social capital
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    social capital akin to "Klout"?
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    -"Facebook might make it easier to convert latent ties into weak ties, in that the site provides personal information about others, makes visible one's connections to a wide range of individuals, and enables students to identify those who might be useful in some capacity (such as the math major in a required calculus class), thus providing the motivation to activate a latent tie. These weak ties may provide additional information and opportunities, which are expressed as dimensions of bridging social capital that speak to interaction with a wide range of people and the more tolerant perspective this might encourage. Facebook seems well-suited to facilitate these experiences, in that detailed profiles highlight both commonalities and differences among participants." *the library can use GIS info and the info gained from the revamped "insights" page to target latent ties, or friends of friends, in order to change those ties into weak ties
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    libraries need to aim for low/weak ties, not strong or close ties, with the community. Weak ties are still acceptable in social media, and are more powerful than latent ties, which in turn are better than none at all.
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    -"The strong linkage between Facebook use and high school connections suggests how SNSs help maintain relations as people move from one offline community to another. It may facilitate the same when students graduate from college, with alumni keeping their school email address and using Facebook to stay in touch with the college community. Such connections could have strong payoffs in terms of jobs, internships, and other opportunities. Colleges may want to explore ways to encourage this sort of usage." *also, libraries!!
Miki Wolfe

CONNECTIVITY DOES NOT ENSURE COMMUNITY: ON SOCIAL CAPITAL, NETWORKS AND COMMUNITIES OF ... - 1 views

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    -"in local contexts, the internet holds the potential to grow strong communities of place which are rich in social capital." *social networks mimic neighborhoods in real life. A sense of community can be fostered online, by strengthening latent ties in the community. These latent ties, elevated into weak ties, can be sustained over distances, whereas a physical location relies mostly on geography -"Community could be defined as a collective problem-solving, resource-sharing, interactive and distinct segment of a communicative ecology or society." (31) *does the online environment contribute to the depersonalization of society? Or does it create new, closer connected communities of people with similar interests and goals? (People in neighborhoods may be united by geography, but that's all.) -"The ability to combine face-to-face interaction and local activism with the individuality and flexibility of the online environment is a key advantage of community networks" (34) *proximity is helpful,but so are shared interests. Combine both and the potential is unlimited -"The developer's attention has to shift from mere access to information to use of information. Otherwise these projects regularly result in sophisticated technical products, yet without a social concept it is unlikely that the community will accept them: 'If you build it, they will not necessarily come' (35) *especially key in areas of social media, where navigation of media is as important as a viable site
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    - table on p 36: System vs Community designs. -goal is ultimately to increase social capital both online and offline, and take ties in the online community to better growth in offline community -digital divide serves to reinforce already existing gaps, and further weakens the community
Miki Wolfe

The Internet and Social Life - 1 views

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    **written before the rise of the SNSs -"It has been hailed by two U.S. presidents as the ultimate weapon in the battle against totalitarianism and tyranny, and credited by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan with creating a "new economy." (574) *foreshadowing the Arab Spring w/ Twitter... and SNSs participation of the overthrow of govts -quote by Manasian on p 574 (the Internet will change every aspect of our lives...) -digital divide is a concern, and it only gets worse -"Several scholars have contended that Internet communication is an impoverished and sterile form of social exchange compared to traditional face-to-face interactions, and will therefore produce negative outcomes (loneliness and depression) for its users as well as weaken neighborhood and community ties" (575) -"Others believe that the Internet affords a new and different avenue of social interaction that enables groups and relationships to form that otherwise would not be able to, thereby increasing and enhancing social connectivity" (575) -"First, each new technological advance in communications of the past 200 years-the telegraph, telephone, radio, motion pictures, television, and most recently the Internet-was met with concerns about its potential to weaken community ties" (Katz et al. 2001, p. 406) (576) *there are always concerns about the decline of the community, which are never fully realized
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    -"CMC (computer-mediated communication): viewed by some as an impoverished communication experience, with the reduction of available social cues resulting in a greater sense or feeling of anonymity *SNSs reduce the anonymity by creating online communities, and giving people cues by which to negotiate and validate truths and options
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