“The Librarians” series 1 promo

Head Librarian Frances, all kinds of wrong and a tad politically incorrect, but funny nonetheless 🙂

So I’ve come to the end of my unit where I now need to decide which form of social media most appealed to me. Like splitting hairs, it’s just not that cut and dried. Each form of social media has it’s own unique features,so depending on what it is I’m looking for, or how much time I have, will depend on which way I lean.

Before all this began, and purely because it’s where my friends are at, I would probably have given my vote to Facebook but will now admit that in comparison to others I’ve researched, it’s quite “dullsville”. To be perfectly honest, to begin with, I found blogging monotonous and far too time consuming, but as this unit has progressed, fond of & blogging are words I can now bring myself to use in the same sentence. Who would have thought! Creative writing was never really one of my strong points in English all those years ago and would have preferred to put bamboo needles under my finger nails. Extreme yes, but when was I ever going to require those skills! If Miss Campbell could see me now 🙂

Twitter doesn’t really set my hair on fire. I’m a visual being so Instagram & YouTube get the “thumbs up”. In fact, if my photography skills weren’t so embarrassingly amateur, I would most definitely give Instagram the Fkick(‘r).

So it’s not surprising by any means that libraries utilise and experiment with all forms of social media. Just like myself, users have their own preferences according to their needs so it’s imperative that libraries have all bases covered.  As we know, demographics certainly play a large part in the choices a library makes when it comes to social media. What works for one may not necessarily get results for another. Engaging and connecting with users is after all the whole point of the exercise.

Who knows what cyberspace has in store for us but rest assured, it will be mind blogging!

 

Social Media issues…The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Due to it’s rapid growth,social media has become extremely popular and has greatly influenced the way we access and use information in all aspects of our lives.

We all know how wonderful social networking is, how we’re all in touch with each other and updated on each other’s lives. But some problems issues have come about because of all the sharing and connectivity. It’s probable that some of you may well be able to relate to any one of following.

# All of a sudden, you find yourself wondering why your life isn’t as fabulous as your friends. Whenever you check Facebook, Twitter,or Instagram, they’ve uploaded photos of themselves or “checked in” having an awesome time, while you’re slothed on the couch on a Friday night in your favourite tracky daks watching your DVD boxed set of “Friends”.

# Checking to see who & how many liked your status update or photo. This can feed a vulnerable person’s insecurities. Why aren’t my posts being commented on or at the very least liked?

#  The carelessness of sharing news without checking the facts.

#  Comments being misconstrued because it’s difficult to convey the tone of your comment. This has been the cause of many conflicts, or the reason for blocking friends, & even more extreme, unfriending. (not sure that’s actually the correct term). Unfortunately I have experienced this first hand and can tell you there was absolutely no malice intended in my comment. I thought I was being funny. Apparently not! Even with the added smiley face 🙂

# Sound familiar? You and your friends or family are out to lunch or dinner but no-one’s talking! Everyone is on their phone checking their newsfeed. You might even like or comment on each other’s photos and status updates while sitting across from each other. Totally bazaar. Or my personal pet hate, whilst in conversation, someone gets a notification on their phone and has to check it immediately. And if that’s not bad enough, starts typing away madly to respond, and though completely distracted still pretends to be listening. Have we or are we losing the ability to conversate or communicate without the aid of technology?

# How many people haven’t been hired due to the content of what they’ve posted on their pages?

# The explicit images that can be accessed by minors if parents aren’t what I refer to as tech savvy.

# Cyber bullying. A truly tragic state of affairs often with dire consequences.

# Copyright infringement.Remember that permission may be required to use or post pictures that belong to someone else.

Some of the more concerning issues are privacy & confidentiality. Protecting personal information is of great concern. Being careful not to give out too many personal details. Making sure to apply privacy settings limiting access to the undesirable. Keeping username & passwords secure so only you have access. And ensuring that your passwords are strong.

There are many issues related to the use of social media and these are just some that come to mind.  At the end of the day, it’s totally up to us as individuals to be responsible for what and how much we choose to share, who we choose to share with & which social media platforms we utilise.

YouTube’d

YouTube…One of my favourite past times on the net. Spending copious hours wading through music clips and old sitcom theme songs taking me back to my pre teens and beyond. The likes of Countdown with compare Molly Meldrum the music guru. “Do yourself a favour” he’d say. How I’d like a dollar for each time I heard that! The tartan clad Bay City Rollers, the sultry David Essex, Sherbet, Hush, Skyhooks, my list is endless. Hour upon hour of what I consider good wholesome entertainment. Yes…there I was in the late 60’s & early 70’s, striking a pose in front of the mirror, brandishing a hairbrush, belting out every note. I was awesome though my siblings would beg to differ. If not for YouTube, these precious memories would be just that.

A video sharing site such as YouTube is another form of social media that a library is able to utilise to promote itself, a great place to showcase it’s creativity. Generally a mobile device such as a camera phone is used to create a movie clip which can then be uploaded with ease, shared and viewed. Around 100 hours of new videos are uploaded every minute around the globe with approximately 800 million users a month. Extraordinary figures. How’s that for exposure!

YouTube has something for everyone from the youth to the elderly. If it’s been on video, it’s probably on YouTube. It takes the idea of viral videos to a whole new level.

So how does YouTube benefit a library? It allows the library to share any number of things. Behind the scenes tour giving patrons entry behind closed doors to experience the day to day operations. Introducing staff adds a personal touch, makes them approachable & familiar. Showcasing library exhibits & new resources. Instructional videos or tutorials. Book reviews. The options are endless. Sharing of clips is how word gets out amongst the community and as a free service, like many other social media platforms, is an incredibly valuable tool and should be utilised.

Correction…that’s now 8 yrs…Queenslander!!!!

A Facebook favourite of mine

State Of Origin has finally arrived

Go the Mighty Maroons!!!

Memories…..

Say cheese… Flickr V Instagram

Image and video hosting websites such as Flickr and Instagram are commonly used by libraries and each have their own unique offerings. Flickr enables both amateur and professional photographers alike to organise and share their photos as well as connecting with others. The photographic “creme” rises to the top, due to other Flickr users who make comments, post blog entries, and cause the photos to achieve recognition in the popular/favourite lists. Flickr can draw you in, and before you know it, countless hours will have passed as you click through the endless images in every subject or tag imaginable.

Instagram has a distinctive feature confining photos to a square shape similar to a Kodak Instamatic image. It allows users to take photos on their smart phones, apply filters, add hashtags, and then share these images online with their followers.This social media platform is growing fast and with the majority of users in the young adult/ university student age bracket, it certainly makes sense for libraries to utilise Instagram.

Both of these sites achieve the same outcome, photo and video sharing, but ultimately it comes down to a personal choice and what appeals to the user.

So how are these social media sites beneficial to a library you ask?

Flickr and Instagram are being used by libraries to connect with users in a range of exciting and innovating ways.In order to reach a wider audience, tagging is paramount. What better way to showcase all a library has to offer with a minimal amount of effort.
It can be used to give users a behind the scenes look at how a library operates, to introduce the library staff and describe their roles.
To publicise upcoming events within the libray such as a book sale, childrens events, study groups or perhaps an author visit to name a few.
Libraries can share collections of photos of their local history which may well be unique to that library.
Make users aware of new books and other resources.
All these things may encourage or inspire users to come into the library.

It’s imperative that libraries stay in touch with how society now interacts with one another and with so many social media options available, it enables them to target people of all ages.

I read somewhere that photosharing websites are “a community of visual conversation”. Sums it up nicely I think.

Diet Tip from the gorgeous Miss Piggy

“Never eat more than you can lift”

To Tweet or not to Tweet

What is this thing they call Twitter? My understanding is this…. a pint sized version of blogging useful for exchanging information. A maximum of 140 characters per tweet makes it appealing to the masses, millions in fact. I can choose to be anonymous and need not partake in conversation, just observe. Or should I choose, get amongst it, be it fact or fiction.

The essence of Twitter is conversation. Libraries, however, tend to use it as a broadcast mechanism and can make good use of this without spending much time or effort. To engage readers, spread information & promote the library. It’s used to encourage followers to interact with the library, to ask questions, share links & re-tweet posts from others. Another versatile social media tool for libraries to utilise.

Though not yet convinced I need require a Twitter account, never say never!