Anyone can share their thoughts.

Some gifted writers in generations past were known for their personal diaries and journals. In today's Social Web, anyone can have a blog -- basically a public journal. Clearly, some are better than others, but the average person has probably never had the freedom of expression than he/she has today.

People blog about politics, sports, their travels, experiences, familes, pets, gardens, cooking preferences -- whatever. You can create a blog to express anything you want it to, or to communicate any message you wish to put out there. The collection of these blogs is social in nature itself, by the interaction and discussions ON the individual blogs makes the social dynamic even greater.

Blogs are just one of the social web tools available to people today. We've looked at plenty of others in class today. Now, it's your turn. Explore, participate, interact. It's YOUR Internet.

Instant Messaging for Reference

Since Susan and I started teaching this class last December, we’ve been suggesting that instant messaging might be worth a look for reference work. It’s an interactive social networking tool, easy to use, and free to anyone wanting to give it a try. Now the Jackson Library at Lander University in South Carolina is doing just that. Whether students have MSN, Yahoo, or one of several other accounts, they can now interact with a librarian via Meebo, a multi-brand IM provider.

It’s just another example of how libraries are stretching into the Social Web, meeting patrons where they are, and seeing how things work.

Now it’s your turn to explore the Social Web and see where you might find a niche. Click “Comment” below and leave us you first name, personal page website and username (or URL). Then be sure to tinker and add to it over the next few weeks and visit your classmates’ pages, too. We’d love to hear about your experiences on the Social Web, too. Happy interacting!

-Steve