The Benefits of Facebook "Friends:" Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites - Ellison - 2007 - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication - Wiley Online Library - 3 views
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Miki Wolfe on 12 Oct 11-"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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Miki Wolfe on 12 Oct 11libraries 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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Miki Wolfe on 12 Oct 11-"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!!