INFORMATION UPDATE April 2006 Number 73 Welcome to INFORMATION UPDATE, a monthly resource for information seekers and users. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ IN THIS ISSUE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ => Do It Yourself - Internet Social Networks => Did You Know? - There's Also a Network of Info Pros => Notes, News and Announcements => Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information ************************************************************ DO IT YOURSELF - Internet Social Networks ************************************************************ The Internet news these days seems to be all about social networks. You may not recognize this general term as well as the services that provide it. MySpace http://www.myspace.com/ is becoming a household name as the service has well over 40 million members, capturing the attention of Rupert Murdoch in July. Murdoch's News Corp. purchased MySpace in July for $580 million. Other social networking sites are: Friendster http://www.friendster.com - an early contender now outstripped by MySpace Facebook http://www.facebook.com - connects people within an academic community. You have to have an e-mail address at a participating school to join. These sites have become the subject of some debate as observers question their impact on fact-to-face relation- ships, user safety, and allocation of resources such as time. We're not going to get into all of that right here, but there are some good resources to examine if you want to know more. The Pew Internet and American Life Project has an interesting paper posted on its site based upon 2004 surveys of over 4,000 Internet users. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Internet_ties.pdf The safety issue has been in the news as unsuspecting youth are lured into dangerous relationships with adult predators. Parents are cautioned to be aware of their children's online activity. Whatever else is going on related to social networking, there is a substantial amount of money changing hands. In October 2005 MySpace accounted for 10% of all advertisements viewed online. (BusinessWeek http://digbig.com/4gnpf ) It's a pretty sure bet that News Corp. wouldn't be interested if there weren't money to be had. Just a few clicks around MySpace produced ads for AmericanSingles.com, Hoover's, Aquafina water, iTunes, and Radio Shack. For a directory of networks try: Link n Rank http://www.linknrank.com/ Happy Searching! ************************************************************ DID YOU KNOW? - There's Also a Network of Info Pros ************************************************************ Networking has its advantages. When information professionals network, the benefits extend from them to their clients. As is the case in so many professions, info pros often specialize. These specialities lead to expertise in a given subject area, database, language, or information source. Networking allows individuals to share that expertise to mutual advantage. Networks of information professionals reside in electronic discussion lists such as BUSLIB, the discussion list for business librarians. Associations such as the Association of Independent Information Professionals provide another resource for connecting with experts in all areas of information services. You don't have to be a direct particpant in networks like these to benefit. You just need a trusted info pro on your team who does participate. For more information, contact Shamel Information Services, 858-673-4673 or mailto:cshamel@shamelinfo.com ************************************************************* Notes, News, and Announcements ************************************************************* April 19-23 Association of Independent Information Professionals meet in Coral Gables, FL. http://www.aiip.org >>Information Seekers may now subscribe to Information Update using the web form at http://shamelinfo.com. If someone has forwarded this newsletter to you, why not register for your own free copy? Use the form on the Shamel Information Services web site at http://shamelinfo.com. ************************************************************** Shamel Information Services Web Site ************************************************************** The Shamel Information Services web site at http://shamelinfo.com contains Information Update archives. Just click on "Newsletters" and check for any issues you might have missed. Cynthia L. Shamel, editor Shamel Information Services Telephone: 858-673-4673 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Subscriptions to INFORMATION UPDATE are free. To subscribe use the form at http://shamelinfo.com. To unsubscribe, please send your request to cshamel@shamelinfo.com. All requests are handled promptly. Copyright 2006 Shamel Information Services Please feel free to forward this issue to colleagues, in its entirety. Other uses without permission may violate copyright. Online archives at http://shamelinfo.com/newsletter.htm ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^