Let me just start off by saying that I like the author's definition of Generation Y ("persons born between 1977 and 1994"), because it just barely squeaks me into that demographic ... and here I've always thought I was one of those disillusioned Gen X slackers ;)
Other observations:
* Fernandez encourages libraries to "look into the future and anticipate the needs of a wide variety of patrons", and I believe this is a rational way to look at the adoption of social networking sites into the library's online presence ... It's important for librarians to investigate and see what their individual communities want (and not just rush into the latest "flavor of the month" just because it's what everyone else is doing). If the patrons communicate a desire for the library to have a Facebook page, then go for it; if they don't, then don't force the issue just to appear "hip"!
* With our recent discussions on socially targeted advertising, I found this paragraph interesting: "A study conducted in 2009 revealed that the majority of 18 to 24 year olds surveyed did not want tailored advertisements. When the participants were informed that their online activities would need to be tracked in order to include tailored advertising, the number who opposed tailored advertisements increased."
So, it appears that the younger generation isn't so eager to have their information used for targeted ads after all ...
* The author points out the Beacon and terms-of-service controversies surrounding Facebook, as a way to remind his readers that social networking sites are businesses that are out to make money ("The bottom line is that the profitability of SNSs - even their very existence - depends upon their users transmitting information about themselves freely"), so they may often play fast and loose with that information (while hoping that no one will notice!).
Again, librarians have to take these types of behavior into account when deciding whether or not it is appropriate to encourage their patrons to join these sites. Fernandez says as much when he points out that there is "ample historical evidence" for social networking sites to "continue to push at the boundaries of what their users find acceptable", and that for this reason "librarians have an obligation to consider their values and the practical implications of acting within these spaces."
In fact, the author states that librarians cannot use ignorance by patrons of how social-networking sites work as an excuse for ambivalence towards their stances on user privacy ("The fact that many users are legally complicit in the invasion of their own privacy as SNSs conflate public and private realms does not relieve librarians from considering how the value of privacy should influence their actions").
* Fernandez claims that if "librarians do not find ways to articulate their roles in relation to SNSs they risk being left behind" ... Again, if users do not want to accept "authority figures" (like librarians) into their respective social-networking realms, then they are going to be "left behind" and left out regardless!
* He does touch upon this issue when he quotes Danah Boyd's statement concerning authority figures and students ("You should enter the students' social networking space only as a mentor and only as invited"); he compares this to corporate marketers who have found that users of social networking sites "react poorly if they feel as though their space is being invaded" ... Again, if users are willing to accept "outsiders" into their social circles, then individual librarians may proceed; however, don't expect patrons to automatically respond just because you set up a Facebook page. They could just as easily reject your participation and ignore your presence as an undesirable nuisance ("It would be a mistake to override students' boundaries and break the trust libraries have developed").
* Finally, Fernandez is talking about privacy with this particular statement, but he could just as easily be referring to the "parents at the party syndrome": "Libraries must ensure that the patrons do not feel violated. Simply being legally covered does not ensure that the user will not feel offended at an unwanted intrusion into a space that operates between public and private realms."
If the patrons don't want librarians around, then we shouldn't try to make them accept us (i.e. perpetrate an "unwanted intrusion" into their social-networking space)!
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