Learning About Twitter

I have been exploring Twitter of the past couple of weeks. You can follow me by clicking on the link in the left sidebar. So far, I think I'm getting a better graspof its uses. For the most part I have been observing what others are tweeting and not doing much tweeting myself, but I am still trying to feel it out. I have been following a few of our classmates and the organizations listed below:
ALA Connect: @alaconnect
Library Journal: @LibraryJournal
ALA Booklist: @ALA_Booklist
Women's Health: @WomensHealthMag
URI: @URINews

The article posted on Sakai by Kivi Leroux Miller, "Tips for Writing Facebook and Twitter Updates" says organizations should use their updates to get followers do three things: do something, think something or feel something. Libraries have to ability to hit on all three. We can call people to action as advocates, we get them thinking by presenting great resources, and we can make them feel involved by creating a online community that mirrors our physical one. Thinking about these three elements of social media updates helps me think outside of the usual "Library Event Tonight!" post.

Wikis for Collaboration and Training

The article "Blogs, Mashups, & Wikis, Oh My!" by Bruce W. Dearstyne helped me to better understand the diverse uses for wikis and blogs. Sometimes I am so immersed in thinking of how applications work for libraries, I forget to consider how collaborative web 2.0 tools help in other fields. Particularly for corporations and businesses that have branches and satellite offices scattered all over, wikis can connect employees working on projects from different locations, or while they travel. I also think wikis can be great resources for training, whether for new hires, brushing up on policies and procedures, or disseminating new information. A wiki can provide interactive tools like step by step video instruction as well as external links; emails generally are not that dynamic. Wikis are a great way organize policies that can be updated regularly with ease, rather then a printing and reprinting handbooks.
Yet, as the article mentioned, security and maintenance are important considerations. Who will "guard" the wiki? Who will be responsible for updates? How will they be compensated? Who will have access to the wiki? Who will have editing access? Are there legal issues regarding the information shared? Clearly organizations have to carefully consider every angle before proceeding. 

Pros and cons of this revolution

I think I have a have a more finely tuned idea of Library 2.0 really means after reading Tom Kwanya's article where he offers this definition from Scott Walter:

"Library 2.0 is a commitment to assess, improve, integrate and communicate library services using the newest information technology and the tried and true "human technology". It is any service, physical or virtual, that successfully reaches users, is evaluated frequently, and makes use of customer input (Casey and Savastinuk 2007)."

Elsewhere Kwanya refers to Library 2.0 as user-driven service. This appeals to me, as I personally feel services should be guided by users needs and lifestyles. As much of the literature suggests, our flexibility as librarians is our key to survival. Hence me taking this course.

In the Sandra Ordonez piece, a portion of the Matt Hinckley quote really caught my attention: "the increasing proliferation of choices means that news consumers can choose to focus exclusively on 'infotainment,' and thus disengage from serious coverage of critical issues." Its the equivalent of only reading the headlines, and never getting to the details. My boyfriend glances over world and local news sites regularly. When I asked him why he doesn't watch the news or read the paper for something he might have missed, he responded "Why bother. By the time I get to it, its already old news" (read: not valuable). If it's not coming from a website, it doesn't feel current. I'm afraid he is not alone in his sentiment. To echo Hinckley, speed of delivery and access trump range of coverage, accuracy, and source for many. Yet, as Sasha Pasulka argues, are we more informed because of our proximity to information? Although social media may put us closer to news and information, it doesn't help us to critically evaluate it by providing time to digest after consumption. Also, as Kwanya mentioned, it can be very partisan in nature, which can be a problem for those who lack the ability to discern a reliable source from a questionable one.

Social Media Resumes?

I found this article in American Libraries Direct about social media resumes. Some of you may have seen it if you receive the newsletter in your email. The resumes incorporate facebook, video, and other media rather than a traditional paper resume. Job-seekers certainly want to stand out, but a juicebox resume? Some are incredibly creative and no doubt would be eye-catching to recruiters, but do you think social media resumes are professional? They generally have a playful nature that could be discouraging to some conservative employers. Do you think that interactive resumes and artistic representations of qualifications would work for job-seekers outside of the fields of media, technology, and the arts?

My Digital Contribution

As I mentioned on the class forum, my online presence is not very strong (but its growing). However, I overlooked my PFE experience working on the Digital Commons at Rhode Island College . I work on the database for the records to the Smolski collection, slide photographs by Chet Smolski converted to digital format and uploaded to the Digital Commons site. I primarily work with the records, but hope to learn more about converting and scanning the slides. I guess I am making a contribution to the world of virtual information after all! There are some terrific photographs of Providence architecture in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as other images if anyone is interested.

"The Networked Librarian"

I just finished watching "The Networked Librarian" video. I hadn't heard of anyone referring to "FOMO" (fear of missing out) before, as Rainie refers to it. This fear ties into the question Suellen posted on her blog about always being connected as well as the comments about time-suck and internet obsession several of us mentioned in class. I have noticed being disconnected from my cell phone or internet access makes me a little anxious because I don't want to miss out on something. The number of accounts and sites to keep up with can be overwhelming and I often wonder if I am the only one experiencing information fatigue. I have organized my classmates blogs into the Google Reader and so far I think its a great tool for me.
As Rainie mentioned, broadband connections have drastically changed participation in social media and internet activity. I am a very get in, get out, and get on with it internet user, so increased speed of delivery has certainly influenced my internet use over time.

New and Exciting Things!

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog for the Library 2.0 and Social Networking course at URI!. Here I will be discussing ideas and issues related to the course materials and topics.

I am so excited to start this class! This is my first blog and I have to work on getting some other social media sites up and running. I look forward to trying out some new and exciting things in this course and exercising some creativity!