JAVS Fall 2008

viola world and what they would like to see from the AVS and the Journal of the American Viola Society . By enabling high school and college students to have a say in what they want to see, a greater number of individuals can take ownership in the society and make it their own, which is the ultimate goal of any national organization of the magnitude of the American Viola Society. Social networking is just one area of the Internet that is gaining attention from violists. Other features of the Internet that individuals have been taking advan tage of includes the blogosphere (the online commu nity of diaries or journals, known as blogs), listservs (an e-mail service where individuals can enroll their e mail address to receive e-mails about specific topics), and the professional networking service LinkedIn. In addition to these resources, many more are coming into existence every year. Facebook is certainly a great online resource because of its ability to consolidate our many online activities and the ability for mem bers to easily share information. As new ideas and

on new viola works and music publishing companies, links to musical performances featuring the viola, and other aspects of viola performance and education. The group page has the potential to serve as a fast and easy way to distribute information to violists everywhere. Facebook is also a fantastic resource for the distribu tion of AVS information because of the specific age group that it reaches. Many individuals on Facebook are high school and college students, individuals who may not yet have a membership to the society or may not be in an area where they can receive the informa tion about viola society events in their communities. By distributing the information over Facebook, it is hoped that more individuals can easily become involved in the society and perhaps even bring the society to their community. As of September 2008, the Facebook group had more than five hundred members.

A great aspect of the Facebook online community is that individuals can easily express their interests in the

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