Social Networking Sites

Legal English demands not just a command of more formal discourse and specialized vocabulary but also an ability to use the language for less formal contexts. It is my hope that all of you have some fluency in the metalanguage English used as a bridge among non native speakers in social and educational contexts. A command of less formal English may facilitate vocabulary acquisition and cultural lessons. For this reason, during our first week of class, we will review two commonly used social networking sites: facebook and myspace.

If you already use one or both of these sites, I may ask you to assist in introducing them to the class. If you have an account with one or both sites in your own language, I will ask you to create an English language account. For our class, create both a facebook and a myspace account.
Please be mindful of privacy issues. Many more profiles on facebook are private, i.e. may only be viewed by someone's friends, than are those on myspace. Facebook seems to be a site where may people use their actual first and last name and post a lot of personal information, photos, and videos. Myspace seems to have more users who rely on nicknames or aliases. Myspace users also post personal information, pictures, and videos.

For Facebook: 1. Post basic personal information 2. Join the chicago network 3. Add four applications 4. Take two quizzes 5. Write 3 blog posts (they may be brief) 6. Friend all of your classmates 7. Friend four more people (facebook should recommend some) 8. Write on your classmates' walls ( you should write three wall posts minimum).

For Myspace: 1. Post basic personal information 2. Format (templates, fonts, images) 3. Add 3 applications 4. Post three blog posts 5. Friend 4 musical groups or musicians 6. Friend all of your classmates 7. Friend 4 people 8.Write on your classmates' walls (you should write a minimum of 3 wall posts).