Social Networking: Harnessing the Potentials for Information Dissemination in Nigeria

Abstract

Social networking is a new form of information dissemination platform, using WWW, COM as its driver. It uses the social media site as an interface for sharing information and content like photos, video, messages and academic resources. This paper focuses on social networking and its potentials for information dissemination in Nigeria. It examines the various social networking sites and their relevance to individuals and university Libraries in sharing of personal information and library content. It explored the implication of social networking for libraries and the role of the librarian. The paper conclude that Social networking is a useful platform for information dissemination, but faced with challenges, such as lack of awareness, copyright issues, lack of training program on the use of social media site, bandwidth problem, technophobia and unreliable power supply, and recommended periodic training and awareness campaign to enable librarians and users take full advantage of the media for information dissemination.

Keywords: Social networking, social media, media education