Myspace and Facebook: Reaching our students with their technology of choice
Yvonne Nalani Meulemans Sciences and Health & Human Services Librarian ymeulema@csusm.edu California State University San Marcos Melanie Chu Outreach Librarian mchu@csusm.edu California State University San Marcos LOEX National Conference May 5, 2006
What are Myspace 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 “selfpresentation?”
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 Meulemans Sciences and Health & Human Services Librarian ymeulema@csusm.edu Melanie Chu Outreach Librarian mchu@csusm.edu