2: Facebook and Social Networking Sites: The Multiliteracy of Personal and Professional Network Building

Along with new technologies, literacy is evolving. Facebook.com and other social networking websites have created a new multliteracy connecting people and sharing information through social graphs, which are “digital mappings of people’s real-world social connections” (Facebook, 2008). With over 50 million users, half of whom return daily, Facebook changes traditional static text into a more interactive, changing, and far-reaching form (Facebook, 2008). Within minutes, users can create a profile and send out requests for acquaintances to become “friends.” They can take advantage of Facebook’s networks to connect to old friends as well as create new relationships. Because these networks include affiliations to colleges, high schools, local associations, activity groups, and more, users receive “friend” requests from people associated with many different parts of their lives, including friends lost for many years.