MMUSpaces

Today’s Guardian updates its readers on the social networking revolution in a fairly inconsequential description and superficial analysis of sites such as MySpace, Beebo, and Facebook. This seems to reinforce the fact that once a cultural phenomenon is actually picked up on in the pages of the Guardian it’s probably no longer ‘the coolest thing around’.

Of more interest is Heather Hopkin’s research for Hitwise on 11.04.07:

Today’s redesign of the homepage for Facebook comes at a busy time for the social network as the site became the 20th most visited website based on share of UK Internet visits for the week ending 7th April 2007. Facebook’s share of UK Internet visits grew 20 times year-on-year in March and are up seven-fold since early October, when Facebook ranked at #197 of all sites in the UK. The social network’s decision to expand registration to allow anyone to network on the site has had a clear impact on its popularity, however the social networking space in the UK continues to be dominated by MySpace and Bebo, who were the #7 and #8 most visited websites respectively in the UK last week.

Now Facebook seems to be the social networking site preferred by those students I speak to on the Communication programme at MMU (put me right if I’m wrong!). And it’s important that they are - social networking skills are key (communication) competencies that are going to be increasingly important in professional life.

But what I’m interested in is the connections between social and other networks. If we are going to move beyond a series of ‘walled gardens’, sites which organise ‘members’ and facilitate communication amongst them, we’ll need connection between say Facebook and MySpace.

And because we don’t always live in a (virtual) social network with people ‘just like me’, what could be the connections between professional and social networks? What I’m wondering is whether there could be some connection between the social network of Facebook and learning networks such as the university? Replicating/duplicating Facebook won’t work; after all, students still prefer a hotmail/Gmail/Yahoo Mail account over a university email account. At the moment if there is a need for the connection it ‘works’ by somebody reading a programme noticeboard or hearing some ‘news’  and putting it on friends’ ‘walls’ in Facebook. Fine. And that might actually be enough.

But could there be other ways to facilitate that kind of communication link which also respects the very different ’spaces’ we all participate in? You see I don’t want to be in your Facebook … and I’m sure you don’t want me to be there either - you’re having too much fun!!