Swift Kick Central

The Wonders of Social Bookmarking

Bookmarking in the web 1.0 world used to be a very private matter. Not as much by choice but as by design. Web 2.0 is ushering in a new era of bookmarking called, social bookmarking. The basic idea is that you surf the web, and when you come across something of interest, you bookmark and tag it to your account. Then others can watch your account (or have an RSS Feed) and see what you are researching. There are many social bookmarking marking sites out there including:

Blinklist
Blogmarks
Del.icio.us
Diigo
Furl
Ma.gnolia

Among many others.

I personally use Del.icio.us for all my social bookmarking.  The usefulness of such tools are only just starting to be understood.  Currently, students and advisors can instantly be updated on my most recent research about social networking sites like Facebook by clicking here.  Or to take it a step further they can use an RSS Feed of my account and receive the information directly on their desktop like an email program.

At Swift Kick we also use Del.icio.us to mark information for each other.  For example, as I am researching about non-profits, I can tag a website for a specific member of Swift Kick such as Emma. Then she will see that I tag a website for her to view. Or we use a thing called keytags.

Keytags are tags that have no meaning to anyone outside Swift Kick.  It's like a little secret SK Language.  For example, if I find a page that lays out step-by-step on how to become a non-profit I would bookmark and tag it as usual, but then I also add an extra Keytag like 'SKNP' which stands for 'Swift Kick Non-Profit.' This way we can keep a running record of our collective research for a specific topic.

Another example is 'SKMSFBL' (Swift Kick Myspace Facebook Lecture). This Keytag is used for any findings related to our Myspace Facebook Lecture.

You can create an unlimited number of tags and keytags. Here is what my tag cloud looks like.

Researching and staying current are easier than ever with social bookmarking sites. You are tapping into the collective knowledge base of millions of people instead of relying our your own ability to find information. So if you are not yet social bookmarking, then create an account with Del.icio.us and start tagging. Or you can just check out mine by clicking here. 

Schools reaction to Myspace and Facebook

A closer look at how schools are reacting to Myspace and Facebook.

The best place to start when deciding what type of policy your school should enact regarding Myspace and Facebook is to first see what other schools are doing. Then decide what is best for your school. When looking at over this list. Keep in mind the difference between public and private, large and small, athletes or non-athletes.

Louisiana State - Two members of their swim team joined a Facebook group that supported the firing of their swim coach. The students did not post threatening comments, just voiced objections to their coach. In a knee jerk reaction, the school kicked the athletes off the team. As athletes you are held to a higher code of conduct because you are considered an ambassador for the school.

Fisher College - This is one of the most publicized cases regarding Facebook and higher education. It was the first time a student was expelled due to behavior on a Social Networking site. Cameron Walker was a sophomore and President of the Student Government Association. Cameron posted several negative comments on a Facebook group about the school's police chief in an attempt to have him fired. The administration found out about his threatening comments and expelled Cameron. He admits it was stupid to post the comments, but says the administration should be able to separate humor from threats. 

U. of New Mexico - often times schools will use things such as security and bandwidth as an excuse to block access to the site. It is kind of a way to side step around the legal issues. U. of New Mexico blocked access for a while due to "unsolicited e-mails". Kent State blocked athletes for a while before reversing their decision.

Goucher College - A first step is to post a warning and policy guideline on your website for social networking sites. Goucher College has a simple outline that can be modified for your school. Something to note is the policy comes from their student code of conduct handbook.   

West Texas A&M / Mercyhurst - Both these schools not only post the information online as how to properly use SNS, they also created a handout that they distribute throughout the college. The approach will hit more students and be more effective.

Iowa State U. - Michael J. Bugeja from U. of Iowa wrote an article titled "Facing the Facebook." This article is one of the most widely distributed articles in higher ed on Facebook.

North Carolina State U. - Educating students year round on proper Internet use seems to be the best policy a school can take. NC State is leading the charge with how best to do this. They hosted a live web cast panel discussion on all things Facebook. They then went on to post all the materials of the discussion on their website. Ideally a school should have these educational sessions three times a year.

Where do you see your school on the graph above?

Find more examples at USA Today.