Thing 20. Libraries and Social Networks

Yeah, yeah, sometimes I even shock myself, even for Shocker boy...I just don't like anything?? What is my problem??? In the case of Facebook and MySpace I think I know the answer...and it hurts to say but I'M TOO OLD!! (I should be called Shocker Old Man...). I get what seems like fun on these sites but just can't relate to them in any meaningful way because I don't know anyone in my circle of adults who would want to spend their time hanging out here. These places become tiring too fast and seem awfully superficial considering they are trying to describe real people...sort of like viewing an endless supply of personal ads...and truthfully, do I really want to know so many people's personal interests???

Yes, I'm old and needing something deeper and more meaningful than this...so I am a little alienated from this scene...now for the kids out there--Yeeeessss,I get it!! See how cool you can make yourself and see the coolness of all your friends even if they are mostly poseurs (another word for fake...).

Now of the two sites, from my examination I would definitely say that MySpace is the better of the two...at least every profile is a little surprising in the way it portrays some sort of creativity, particular the music and backgrounds which can be very intense for the good ones out there...

Now Facebook, by comparison is a drag...I joined some library groups as instructed by the 23 Things authorities but soon tried to figure out why I would want to??? What I found was the complete opposite of the library ideal which is organizing information in a systematic way that can be efficiently discovered and have an enlightening purpose, but all I found in these groups were random entries, each one talking about themselves, with no continuity, no connection to the previous comments...a random mess I would call it...good for browsing until you hit upon something that causes you to pause, but is this what library people should be doing?---only to appear like they are with the times?? (see meaning of word poseur...)

Okay, it can be interesting at the library to browse the shelves, but do you want to do that on a web site by scrolling through endless amounts of postings, each placed there chronologically by entry date?? Sort of like putting your books in your library on the shelf by publisher date. We overthrew that kind of thinking by the Library of Alexandria times...if you don't think so, try a seance with the librarian masters of the past for their views...in this regard, I put this bumper sticker on my car: "What would Ranganathan do?" (look him up...if you want to get the joke).

All right, if you did happen to hit upon an interesting post, you are able to thread some follow-up, but I didn't see too many doing this since how many adult types would have the patience to go one-by-one trying to find a titillating entry...man, I'm getting old...when I'm looking to kill time browsing for kicks, I get off Facebook and head for a really great browising spot...the Drudge Report!!---maybe he's going to be the model librarian of the future???