To be honest, answering a question about what I have learned from this course is a little difficult, since I must admit to having had plenty of experience using social networking tools prior to taking this class ... I first logged on to the World Wide Web the summer prior to my freshman year of college (1995), and have been "hooked" ever since, always eager to try the next "revolutionary" social service or join the latest "flavor of the month" web site (which, to be honest, more often than not simply fizzle and disappear with little fanfare). As such, I've always been interested in how these types of online tools could be applied to an institution - such as a library - as another avenue for reaching out to potential users.
So, I would have to say that a lot of the things that I have learned from this class have come from observing those of my fellow students who might not be as familiar with social networking tools as I was ... Now, I hope this doesn't come across as condescending (because that is certainly not my intent), but it was interesting coming from a place steeped in the "culture" of the online world, and seeing how other people adopt and interpret that world from a fresh perspective.
Seeing their growth over the course of this semester (I remember one person in particular stating that they never thought much about social networking before this class, which was just so different from my own experiences) was truly interesting to behold; I wish them all the best of luck in continuing to learn and grow within the virtual landscape (and convincing their respective libraries to adopt social networking policies of their own!) ...
As for what might come next for me personally, I will continue exploring options for my academic library (I'm a member of our Web Development Committee) in terms of advertising and promoting library services to our students within the virtual realm ... For example, while I maintain an "unofficial" Twitter feed that points out interesting materials found within the collection, there was a time when our library actually had its own account (@HCDinand) which has since been abandoned. At the time, the reason given to me was that (and I'm paraphrasing here) "Twitter is for celebrities, not libraries."
After taking this course, I believe I have some extra "ammunition" to try and persuade them otherwise!
That was one of the most interesting parts of teaching this course, the wide range of experiences with and attitudes aobut about social networking. It made things lively! I'm glad that you were able to glean from it as well. Seems to me you may have learned why some of your colleagues don't always see it as you do. Cheers for the future!!
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