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“Once a social networking haven for college students, Facebook’s decision to open registration has helped attract new visitors from outside the 18-24 year old age segment. In fact, the 38-percent increase among 18-24 year olds was the lowest rate of growth of the age segments represented in the study. The most dramatic growth occurred among 25-34 year olds (up 181 percent), while 12-17 year olds grew 149 percent and those age 35 and older grew 98 percent.” From: comScore: Measuring the Digital World based on demographics from May 2006 - May 2007

What is Facebook? It’s a social networking system, in which a user creates a page (“profile”) on the Facebook site. Once the profile is created, users can add information about themselves, including contact information and different interests. Users can find friends and colleagues and invite them to link to their pages through “friendship.” Privacy settings help establish how much information can be shared publicly and how much is limited to friends only.

There is more to Facebook than just setting up a profile, however. Pages can be customized to express users’ interests. Tools can be added to make a user’s page more functional. Think of it as a membership directory on steroids. Or as an interactive rolodex. Or a personal website. Or your personal clearinghouse for resources and contacts. Or…[insert favorite way of describing Facebook here].

Here are some ways people and organizations are using Facebook to connect, share, and promote – feel free to suggest others (note: you must be logged in to Facebook to access Facebook links – if you don’t have a Facebook account, find a friend, relative, or colleague who does – think of it as a great opportunity for “over the shoulder learning”): (more…)

Have a Facebook page? Thinking about setting one up? Here are some applications for your consideration – many thanks to Jacob Richman for highlighting these sites (and creating a number of them!):

My Hebrew Name - display your Hebrew name on your profile
Jewish Wisdom – search over 3,000 quotes from the Jewish Wisdom database to add to your Facebook page
I am Jewish – add a graphic of the star of david to your profile
Jewish Dates 2.0 – add Hebrew dates to your profile, including your birthday
Jewish Thought for the Day – wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe

See Jacob’s site for more: Jacob Richman’s listing of Jewish and Israeli Facebook Groups:

And in the spirit of the season, take a look at these:

Chanukah Cards to send to your Facebook friends
Hanukkah Lights to light the chanukiyah on your Facebook page

What are your favorite Facebook applications?

And speaking of colleagues and communities of practice, Reuven Werber shared with me in a Skype conversation his experience participating in an online collaboration with other educators. Educator, Vicki Davis (aka Coolcat Teacher), used twitter to reach her colleagues and invited them to experiment with Google presentations – at least 40 educators from around the world responded. They were able to both present and chat online for free, using Google Presentations. The presentation they designed, btw, was on how to create Google Presentations. Read Vicki’s first hand account.

More and more of these types of stories are emerging in the education and not-for-profit blogosphere. Do you have a story to share?

There is an emerging Jewish presence in virtual environments. Second Life, for example, is home to a virtual Kotel and Torah learning center, Temple Beit Israel synagogue, a Jewish Historical Museum, a Holocaust Memorial Museum, an artistic representation of a mikveh, a Judaic gift shop, a cafe and Jewish art space, and Ir Shalom – a Jewish city. People regularly gather to learn and discuss Torah and gather inworld to acknowledge Jewish ritual in the real world. A recent genealogy exhibit featured resources from JewishGen, the online Jewish genealogy project. 2Lifemagazine: The Jewish Magazine in Second Life highlights activities and issues of identity related to being Jewish as expressed in the virtual world.

These projects are the work of individuals who have taken it upon themselves to create Jewish culture in Second Life. This in itself is noteworthy. Individuals design and create Jewish artifacts and activities with which they actively engage and invite others to join as well. They are creating a deeply personalized environment on their own, without impetus from traditional institutions, to explore their Jewish identities with others from around the world who happen to interact online. It is also noteworthy that these forms of expression reflect traditional metaphors of Jewish community.

The immersive Jewish community is growing, both in terms of Jews who are joining and in terms of Jewish activities. The medium is still young, and not without its challenges, but opportunities for Jewish learning and the exploration of one’s Jewish identity/ies abound.

Take a look at the following publications for some interesting articles on social networking, online learning environments, and what it’s like to be Jewish in a virtual world:

The Wall Street Journal published a series of articles in its June 18, 2007 print edition Report on Technology. Copies of select articles are available online including the following:

“A Job Interview You Don’t Have to Show Up For: Microsoft, Verizon, Others Use Virtual Worlds to Recruit; Dressing Avatars for Success” by Anjali Athavaley, Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2007.
“All Things Digital” by Walter S. Mossberg and Kara Swisher. Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2007.
“Making Sense of Social Software.” Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2007.
“Matters of the Mind” by Lee Gomes. Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2007. Want something more substantive than YouTube? Here’s where to find highbrow videos on the Web.
“Playing Well With Others” by William M. Bulkeley. Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2007. How IBM’s employees have taken social networking to an unusual level.
“Social Studies” by Michael Totty. Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2007. Companies of all kinds are figuring out which tools work and how to use them.
“Wikis at Work” by Vauhini Vara, Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2007. Companies turn the Wikipedia concept into a powerful corporate-information tool for employees

For an education perspective, see ISTE’s May 2007 issue of Leading and Learning with Technology.

2Life - The Jewish Magazine in Second Life presents its June 2007 issaue, “Hiders and Seekers - The Inter(net) Faith Issue, in which they explore aspects of Jewish identity and faith identity in the virtual world.

Once again, the Jewish Week looks at issues related to teens and social networking. The article, “Virtual Values, Real Victims” by Liel Leibovitz, is featured on the front page of the Jewish Week, April 20, 2007 and focuses on ways students and administrators are addressing anti-social uses of social networking. The article highlights different models of handling this important topic, including legislation against cyberbullying, banning the use of social networking, student education, and parental awareness.

The article cites Ira Miller, dean of Ramaz Upper School, who advocates framing the issue as one of Jewish values and ethics, safety education, and life skills for the 21st century:

“It’s foolish to try and legislate our students’ use of technology…. All of these programs are part of their environment, and we have to train them and give them the ethical sensitivity on how best to use technology, the same way we’ll try to teach them sensitivity about lashon hara [gossip or harmful speech].”

Cyberbullying is a very real and serious issue and has been a recent topic of discussion in the blogosphere lately. Resources for students, educators and parents include the following:

Cyberbully and its affiliated site, the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use – publications, reports, and other resources that address issues of the safe and responsible use of the Internet.
Cyberbullying and Internet Safety – Wesley Fryer’s wiki of resources including a podcast, articles, and other resources. See also “Ideas for Addressing Cyberbullying,” Wesley Fryer’s podcast from his Speed of Creativity blog.
National Crime Prevention Council – resources and tips regarding Internet safety and dealing with cyberbullying.
Stop Cyberbullying - social network devoted to identifying resources and solutions to combat cyberbullying.
WiredSafety.org - resources for victims of online abuse, education and awareness regarding online safety and responsibility. See especially the StopCyberbullying site.

Also revisit the resources listed under the jlearn2.0 posting, Derech Eretz – Acceptable Use Policies

The Ad Council produced public service announcements regarding cyberbullying. The ads target 12 and 13 year olds (“tweens”) and are available from their site and on YouTube:

Cyberbullying – Talent Show

Cyberbullying – Kitchen

The “cyberbullying hurts” graphic at the top of this post is attributed to Scott McLeod; see his site for other related images that can be used to highlight this issue.

Interested in how Jewish teens are using technology to explore their lives? Take a look at the March 30, 2007 supplement, Fresh Ink for Teens: In Your Facebook, published by the New York Jewish Week. This issue includes several articles by teens on their experiences with technology-based communications.

On another end of the age scale, baby boomers and their parents are among the fastest growing consumers of video games, according to the New York Times article, “Video Games Conquer Retirees,” March 30, 2007. A customer survey by PopCap Games cited in the article found that “71 percent of its players were older than 40, 47 percent were older than 50, and 76 percent of PopCap players were women.”

In addition, corporations are increasingly turning to games and simulations for training and development. It will be interesting to see how these arenas continue to grow and how the educational community reframes its ideas and biases about what learning is, how people learn, and what tools they use to support this endeavor.