Myspace and Facebook:Reaching our students with their technology of choice

Yvonne Nalani MeulemansSciences and Health & Human Services Librarianymeulema@csusm.eduCalifornia State University San Marcos Melanie ChuOutreach Librarianmchu@csusm.eduCalifornia State University San Marcos

LOEX National ConferenceMay 5, 2006

What areMyspace and Facebook?

Myspace/Facebook as Computer-Mediated Communication

• CMC’s strengthen existing ties.

• Strong ties will often use more CMC types.

• Weak ties tend to use a single type of CMC.

Myspace/Facebook as Computer-Mediated Communication

• Bulletin boards facilitate beyond classroom communication.

• May support student social life beyond classroom.

Myspace/Facebook as Computer-Mediated Communication

• Bulletin boards allow for “determination of self-presentation”

• Myspace/Facebook can be significantly customized; a means to determine “self-presentation?”

First-year student usage survey

• 3608 Myspace pages by current CSUSM students (appx 7500 FTE)

• Of 89 responses:• 49 had both• 38 had Myspace page only• 2 had Facebook page only

First-year student usage survey

• A fair, positive correlation between number of visits per day and time spent per visit was found (r(89)= .4).

• Many use their pages to communicate with people they already know offline.

First-year student usage survey

• Of those who reported they had both a Myspace and Facebook page, 90% said they use it to communicate with others about school, professors, or courses.

• Of those with only a Myspace page, 50% said they use it to discuss school professors or courses.

Focus group

Discussion points:• First contact• Typical session• Benefits/problems• Academic use• Role at CSUSM• Recent press coverage

Focus group

• Demographics:• 2 first year, 1 junior, 1 senior• Variety of majors• All have Myspace, 2 have both• Typical usage: “20 times a day”

Focus group

• Benefits• Keeping in touch with friends• Learning about new people

• Drawbacks• “Melodrama”• Time-consuming

• Myspace/Facebook v. WebCT

Focus group

Findings reiterated survey results:• CMC literature• Academic potential • Usage

Practical integration

• Make your own page.

• Post bulletins with search tips, create an anonymous comment box, or start a blog on research.

• Can support “just in time/point of need” reference.

Practical integration

• Add to existing outreach efforts.

• Promote and create awareness of library services and events.

• Create profile for library with multiple librarians contributing.

• Support learning communities.

Concluding points

• Analyze user population• Determine learning objectives• Assess impact• Further research• Myspace v. Facebook

Yvonne Nalani MeulemansSciences and Health & Human Services Librarianymeulema@csusm.edu

Melanie ChuOutreach Librarianmchu@csusm.edu