MyReaction to MySpace

So let’s not beat around the bush – I’ve been morally opposed to MySpace since I was first introduced to it several years ago. Maybe “morally opposed” is a bit strong, but I definitely haven’t been the biggest fan. My familiarity with MySpace began when a couple of my co-workers (we’ll call them “Gabbie” and “Penny”) first signed up and started really getting into it. The two eventually convinced others at work to sign up, and at one point Penny even created an account for me. I tried it for about a week and ended up deleting it. I didn’t really see the point – I talked to most of my friends in person anyway. Why bother creating a profile explaining myself when everybody around me already knew me? Also, I wasn’t that stuck on the type of people I was seeing on the site – in all honesty, they didn’t look like the types of people I would generally call my “friends.” And speaking of friends, the whole idea of “friends” seems a little contrived. I mean, Penny and Gabbie have both received invitations from complete strangers asking to be included as their “friends.” I’ve even seen kids hold contests to see who could accumulate a bigger list of “friends.” Did I miss something? Is that the shallow level “friendship” has stooped to?

Everybody is saying that MySpace (as well as other social networking sites) are the wave of the future. I looked at several library pages that are trying to play into this craze, and honestly, am still struggling to see how well they really fit in. I guess I’m having difficulty in deciding how I feel about the whole thing in general. I’ll admit it – I’ve recently been doing a lot more on Gmail, using the chat feature, etc., and must confess, it’s been a lot of fun. I was pretty skeptical when I first created my blog, but that too has been enjoyable. To be honest, I think I need to be careful – it almost becomes addicting. It’s very easy for me to get caught up in the whole “I wonder if I have a new comment on my page – I’d better check again” mentality. I’ve always thought that computers were supposed to be time-savers, and yet I’m finding them becoming increasingly time-consumers. It’s very easy to squander an entire evening surfing the web or playing around on some of these sites.

Okay, so I could probably ramble on endlessly about this but since nobody’s reading anyway I might as well stop here. I’ll just say, it’s with great skepticism and reluctance that I venture into the world of MySpace, but . . . . . . since there IS a free flash drive, mp3 player, and laptop computer at stake . . . . . . here goes! Bring it on, MySpace!!!

Puppet Show 2.0 (Wikis)

(Bobby, a fifth grader at Salty Hills Elementary is sitting in his room, typing at his computer when his best friend Sally walks in. Let’s listen in . . . . )

Sally: Hey Bobby.

Bobby: Oh, hey Sally. How’s it going?

Sally: I’m fine. What are you doing?

Bobby: I’m creating a wiki.

Sally: A what-y?

Bobby: No, a wiki.

Sally: What’s a wiki?

Bobby: Well Sally, in Hawaiian “wiki” means “quick.”

Sally: Oh. Okay. Ummm, Bobby that still doesn’t tell me what it is.

Bobby: I know. Hang on a sec, let me finish. Basically, a wiki is a quick and easy way for a whole group of people to create a website without having to know much about computers. Anybody can add to or edit the information in the site.

Sally: Oh . . . . . Ummm, Bobby? I’m still kind of confused.

Bobby: Take me, for example. Right now I’m creating a wiki for people interested in all of the fun things kids can do in town. I’ll create the site and list the activities I know about like the skating rink, the water park, and the drive-in theater. Somebody else might come along and add a great new children’s museum they visited. Another person might know of a cool new library, and add that. And that’s how the wiki grows!

Sally: Oh, I think I get it. So I can create a wiki about anything I want to, and other people can add to it?

Bobby: Yeah, that’s right.

Sally: I think I’m going to create a wiki about Hello Kitty and why I think it’s dumb.

Bobby: You can, Sally. The only thing is, people who like Hello Kitty might be offended and change the things you said or delete the site altogether. They might even say mean things about you.

Sally: They can do that?

Bobby: Well yeah, sort of. Sally, if you want to create a site where you have total control over the information, you’re probably better off creating either a blog or some other type of website. That way you and you alone get to decide what is said.

Sally: Oh.

Bobby: Or, you could still make your wiki but you could change it so that it welcomes all points of view regarding Hello Kitty. Maybe you could call it, “Hello Kitty: Diverging Viewpoints.” That way, people with all sorts of opinions would feel welcome updating the site and expressing their views. Several libraries have created wikis where people have listed their favorite book titles. This is a great way for one person to be able to share a favorite book with many other users.

Sally: Hey, that’s a pretty good idea.

Bobby: Thanks, Sally. There’s only one more thing to remember.

Sally: What’s that?

Bobby: Your wiki should be updated on a regular basis.

Sally: You mean, once I set it up I have to keep working on it?

Bobby: Kind of, yeah. Sally, one of the strengths wikis offer is that they provide up to date information. For example, if you ran a library and created a wiki listing “New Children’s Books,” but never updated the titles, you’d eventually end up with a list of “new” books that are actually several years old. Your wiki would no longer be very useful.

Sally: I think I’m beginning to understand it all.

Bobby: You know Sally, if you’d like to learn more about wikis there are a couple helpful sites such as “Wikis in Plain English” (http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english) and “Wiki’s: A Beginner’s Look” (http://meredith.wolfwater.com/cil06/). I personally found the “Wikis in Plain English” video very helpful AND entertaining.

Sally: Thanks, Bobby. Wow, wikis can be pretty complicated, huh? I think my head is starting to hurt. Hey, Bobby.

Bobby: Yeah, Sally?

Sally: I don’t think I’m ready to make a wiki just yet. Do you wanna go play catch?

Bobby: Sure, Sally. I’d love to.

THE END