I don't use my facebook account much - every month or so i check it out, and i send a feed from my regular blog her to the Landing and to facebook. I checked it out this morning- about 50 friend requests - 80% of them from people I don't think I ever met, but perhaps they heard me talk at a conference someplace. Lots of wall messages to read, nothing of too much interest.

But I did check out one of (seemingly most active) 25 or so groups with AU in the name. I was most impressed with the group called Athabasca University that Bethany Tynes has either started, posted a set of guidelines for or both. She also moderates the group with frequent responses. The group seems to be reaching critical mass- at least lately with about 25 posts in January - most with responses and mediam sized threads (3-6 average). the conversations seems to revolve around questions about AU policy, proceedings and personal strategies to succeed, recommendations for or questions about particular courses and programs, requests for study buddies and complaints.

This is the type of conversations I had hoped would happen on the Landing, and does rarely. I think that Facebook just generates more eyeballs (3rd largest nation in the world with over 160,000,000 eyeballs (assuming there are not many Cyclops reading)) 

I won't go on about the advantages of a "boutique' social network versus the mega, mass environment of Facebook, but sometimes it seems I should just the madding facebook crowd.

I don't like their changing privacy policies, their control of my data, the commercial ads and their lack of exporting capacity- but social networks only work when they achieve critical mass. Will the Landing make it???

I'd be interested in talking to a masters degree student wo]ho would like to do an independent study or better a thesis investigating the AU Facebook groups. Email me if you are interested.