Abstract
Serials: The Journal for the Serials Community has been digitised and can be accessed in full on this website. All content is freely available on an open-access basis. Serials was published between 1988 and 2011. In 2012, the journal was retitled and is now published as Insights: the UKSG journal.
Highlights
The major social networks have seen remarkable growth in usage in recent years. (Facebook claims over 43 million active users, up from 12 million in December 2006.) High numbers of regular users, those that can be precisely segmented based on comprehensive profile information, are lucrative targets for sales and advertising campaigns
Each service has developed a distinct userbase: LinkedIn has cornered the professional market; Bebo is strong amongst younger teenagers, Facebook leads in higher education; Rupert Murdoch’s MySpace is arguably more commercial while Google’s Orkut[5] is said to be popular in Brazil[6]
Libraries have integrated applications within their Facebook pages that enable users to search catalogues and ask reference questions. They have extended their offering beyond this replication of physical library services, for example setting up groups like ‘Awesome Resources’[7], which provides a forum for discussion of web-based research tools
Summary
With the rise of social software in recent years, it is likely that most readers will have heard of, or even be registered with, one or more of the popular social networking sites (think Facebook[1], MySpace[2], LinkedIn3, Bebo[4]). These sites provide users with an off-the-peg online presence; registration is free and involves building a profile of basic personal details, along with anything from qualifications to preferred musical acts, hobbies to employment history, depending on the target demographic and objectives of the chosen service. Interaction between contacts is enabled through a variety of media – video, voice and text-based messaging
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