Assessment item 3: Evaluative Report

Evaluative Statement

During my studies of INF206; Social Networking for Information Professionals, I have increased my understanding of social networking technologies and the concept of Library 2.0, which focuses on user input into library services. In this blog I was able to address the learning objectives of the subject which are: to demonstrate an understanding of social networking technologies and Library 2.0, to critically examine the features and functionality of social networking tools and how they can meet the needs of users and support the organisation, and lastly to demonstrate an understanding of some of the issues that are present in a socially networked world (O’Connell, 2011).

The first post required for the subject was to define social networking, which I felt was largely concerned with maintaining and expanding relationships and collaborating online. During the course of the subject I immersed myself within many different social networking technologies such as Facebook, Flickr, Delicious, Twitter, Second Life and Linked in and learned how to incorporate aspects of these social media tools into my blog; such as Delicious tag clouds, Twitter RSS feeds and displaying updates of my Flickr photos. Since completing the modules and spending time exploring these technologies my definition of social networking has grown to incorporate an emphasis on sharing and communicating online with other users by contributing content.

In the post Facebook and Hootsuite, the benefits and pitfalls to using Facebook from a user’s perspective and within the library have been discussed. The layout of Facebook, with its continual updates, can make it difficult to locate older posts and distinguish between what has already been read or not. However its simplicity and ease of use makes it a great tool for sharing all types of information, such as video and audio files, and its popularity of over 800 million active users (Facebook, 2011), provides a good opportunity for library’s to connect with people. However it is important for organisations intending on using Facebook for providing services and information to users to remember that they need to be active users themselves and update the page regularly in order to have a consistent presence and make the most of this online technology.

Adopting social networking technologies, such as Facebook, is one way library’s can implement library 2.0 and become more user-centred. The term Library 2.0 stemmed from the term Web 2.0, which is the second generation of web-based services that are more user-driven and focus on participation, sharing and online collaboration (Peltier-Davis, 2009, p. 18). Therefore, Library 2.0 is centred on users participating in the library’s web presence by contributing content (Maness, 2006), and according to Sodt and Summey, also includes any service that makes use of customer input and is evaluated regularly (2009, p. 99). By having a more participatory library service through the use of social networking technologies, libraries can gain a better understanding of users’ needs from their feedback and comments, and then develop services and select resources to meet these needs.

Before adopting a social networking technology in an organisation such as a library, the technology should first be evaluated in terms of the benefits it can bring to the organisation, how it can meet user needs, and should also be compared against similar tools. The library should consider things like staff training, implementation issues, and the time required to manage content to determine not only if it is feasible to implement the technology but also whether a particular tool is the best choice for both the library and the users. The post Yummy Bookmarks discusses some of the features of the social bookmarking site Delicious and how it could be used internally amongst library staff and externally to support users through sharing online content. By using Delicious for my own personal bookmarks during this subject I was able to gain a better understanding of its features such as the browser icons to add and share bookmarks and the create tags function to organise them. This experience helped me to consider its possible applications within a library setting and compare its functionality with other sites such as Twitter.

Throughout this subject I have also increased my understanding of issues that exist in this socially networked world. For instance, the post Restricting Access addresses ethical and social issues, such as the digital divide and how limited access to the internet can affect equal opportunity to access information. This post also addresses technical issues such as the bandwidth required to support social networking sites and educational issues involved with restricting student access to certain resources within schools.

Reflective statement

Over the course of this subject I have learnt how to use a number of social networking technologies I was previously unfamiliar with, become more aware of the implications of adopting social media tools within a library and the steps that need to be considered, and also how the tools can be beneficial to an organisation to help meet users’ needs. At the beginning of the subject my expectations were written in my first blog post, which was to learn more about social networking and social media sites and how they can be used from an organisational perspective to connect with users as well as their functionality from a user’s perspective.

I was able to learn about social networking technologies from a users’ perspective by joining a number of different social media sites and using them throughout the subject. When I first began I only had experience using Facebook, Google Docs, Blogger and Wikipedia, and since then can add Twitter, Delicious, Flickr, Second Life, RSS feeds and Linked In to the list. By actively participating in these online technologies I was able to experiment with different features such as tagging in Flickr and following people in Twitter, and was able to get an idea of how these technologies could be used in a library to connect with users. For instance, Twitter could be used to inform people of events at the library and provide regular updates on services and resources, and RSS feeds can be used to send website updates to users in a way that allows them to view the information in their own time and place without having to delve through many complex websites to find it.

Information professionals in libraries could use social networking technologies in a number of ways such as for promotional purposes, to increase their online presence, to maintain contacts and extend their client-base, to provide reference services, increase participation within the library by encouraging feedback and involvement, collate user data through polls, surveys and comments to develop services and to provide library news and updates. This subject has taught me that there are many ways that libraries can make use of social networking tools and that it is especially important in today’s society due to the huge number of people using these platforms. Therefore in order to stay current and remain relevant to users, libraries need to be involved in social networking sites because that is where the users are.

Throughout this subject I have also learnt a number of important points in regards to social networking as an information professional, such as the importance of having a social media policy. This is necessary for organisations adopting social networking technologies because it ‘can help establish clear guidelines for staff members who are posting on behalf of the organisation as well as employees with personal social media accounts’ (Kroski, 2009, p. 45). The policy can also include information on what staff can contribute to these sites, how to minimise potential risks and can highlight issues surrounding privacy and security in regards to social networking. Another important point was to be cautious on what you post whether you are posting on behalf of an organisation or yourself because once the information is out there anyone can see it.

Overall, I feel that by immersing myself within these technologies I was able to gain a better understanding of how they could be used from an organisational perspective and the benefits to using them from a users’ perspective. I intend to continue using Delicious, Twitter and Facebook for personal use, and may even start a personal blog with the skills I have learnt. From the perspective of an information professional I hope to contribute some of the skills and information I have learned to help develop and improve library services by implementing social networking technologies that are beneficial to users. In conclusion, INF206 has provided me with a better understanding of social networking tools, the concept of a more participatory library practice and an increased awareness of some of the issues involved at an organisational level, such as bandwidth issues, and at a broader level, such as online security and information access issues.

References

Kroski, E. (2009). Should your library have a social media policy? School Library Journal, 55(10), 44-46

Maness, J. (2006). Library 2.0 theory: Web 2.0 and its implications for libraries. Webology, 3 (2), Article 25. Retrieved from: http://www.webology.org/2006/v3n2/a25.html

O’Connell, J. (2011). Social Networking for Information Professionals [INF206 201160 Subject Outline]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/INF206_201160_W_D/page/58773d30-075c-4ac7-8062-19d900f1079a

Peltier-Davis, C. (2009). Web 2.0, library 2.0, library user 2.0: innovative services for sustainable libraries. Computers in Libraries, 29(10), 16-21. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

Sodt, J. M., & Summey, T. (2009). Beyond the library's walls: Using library 2.0 tools to reach out to all users. Journal of Library Administration, 49(1/2), 97-109. Doi:10.1080/01930820802312854

Facebook (2011). Facebook Statistics. Retrieved on the 7^th of October from: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

Developing a Social Media Policy

  by  Timm Suess 

After reading a number of articles about developing social media policies in organisations I found the following 5 points useful to consider in relation to employee’s use of Web 2.0 tools for work and personal use:

1. The policy should focus on what employees can do rather than what they can’t do (Lauby, 2009)

This is important to avoid discouraging staff from using social networking technologies by being too restrictive.

2. Employees need to be made aware of their obligation to protect confidential organisational information, including the privacy of other co-workers (Lauby, 2009)

This is necessary to avoid posting photos or other forms of information without another person’s permission.

3. Time set aside for using social media tools should be considered (Lauby, 2009)

This point is required to ensure staff are aware of the amount of time they should be spending on social media sites for work purposes and to create a balance between using social media and completing other work tasks.

4. A set of guidelines should be developed on how to use the technologies with minimum risk (David Fleet’s Social Media Policies E-book, 2009)

This will be helpful for staff who are unfamiliar with the technologies and help to provide clear steps on what should/should not be shared.

5. Ensure the policy addresses the different types of social media being used as well anticipate emerging and future technologies (Ellyssa Kroski's School Library Journal article, 2009)

This may mean having the policy in a format that can be easily updated such as a wiki or blog in order to easily be able to keep the content current as the technologies change.

References

Lauby, S. (2009) 10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy, Mashable, 3 October [blog] http://mashable.com/2009/06/02/social-media-policy-musts/

David Fleet's Social Media Policies E-book (2009). Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/davefleet/social-media-policies-ebook

Ellyssa Kroski's School Library Journal article (2009) Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699104.html

Online Identity

Having an online identity can be both beneficial as well as pose dangers. In the article ‘Aliases, creeping, and wall cleaning: Understanding privacy in the age of Facebook’ the author states that by not participating in social media sites such as Facebook, which is currently a major mode of communication, individuals will be left out (Raynes-Goldie, 2010). However there are also a number of implications to using Facebook such as the inability to pre-screen comments and tags before they are applied, which can result in someone posting an incriminating photo or message that you may not wish others to see and you have to hope you can remove it before anyone does sees it (Raynes-Goldie, 2010). This can affect one’s personal identity and even cause problems when future or current employers view your Facebook profile and see inappropriate material.

  by  â™¥KatB Photography♥ 

The article ‘Wikidentities: Young people collaborating on virtual identities in social network sites’ also addresses online identity, largely focusing on the perceptions of online identity on MySpace by a group of students. In the interview students admitted to often getting their friends or family members to create profiles for them due to a lack of technical knowledge (Mallan & Giardina, 2009). This is concerning because MySpace requires users to have personal usernames and passwords to log in to a secure page that they can update, and by sharing passwords with other people it increases the risk of online identity theft.

I also read the article ‘Friend me?’ which discussed the implications of befriending students on Facebook for Information professionals working in schools. This article highlights the need for information professionals to be aware of school policies regarding social networking and encouraged options such as creating a Facebook page for the library, rather than accepting student friend requests on a personal page and overstepping school policies. Overall these three articles provided insight into the possible implications of having an online identity and provided suggestions and tips to avoid these potential consequences such as being mindful of what you share.

References

Harris, C. (2010). Friend me? School policy may address friending students online, School Library Journal, 1 April. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6724235.html

Mallan, K. & Giardina, N. (2009). Wikidentities: Young people collaborating on virtual identities in social network sites, First Monday, 14(6), 1 June. Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/2445/2213

Raynes-Goldie, K. (2010). Aliases, creeping, and wall cleaning: Understanding privacy in the age of Facebook, First Monday, 15(1), 4 January. Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2775/2432

Restricting Access

Providing information access for all is a difficulty faced by libraries that has become a bigger problem due to the increase of Web 2.0 technologies that are more complex and require higher levels of bandwidth to use, resulting in a digital divide between those who have adequate access to the internet and those who do not. The article ‘When YouTube is blocked’ addresses the impact of restricting access to information in video format to school students. The author states that many schools block access to YouTube which restricts them from viewing educational videos that can support their studies (Valenza, 2008). This goes against providing freedom of information for everyone and limits the type of information that students can use.

by tim caynes

The article ‘Public libraries and the Internet 2008-2009, also addresses the issue of information access, however from the perspective of libraries having inadequate services, in relation to the number of computers, the level of bandwidth and relevant training, to meet users online information needs. In this article a survey was conducted to gage the use and development of internet access, training and services in public libraries. The survey indicated that libraries struggle with infrastructure issues as online services become more complex and bandwidth intensive, and that most libraries provide an insufficient number of computers and relevant training to meet the growing needs of users (Bertot et al., 2009). The article highlights the number of issues that libraries need to address in order to provide online services for users such as continual staff training, technology upgrades, arranged limits on services to provide fair access such as time restraints, etc.

Both of these articles highlight the importance of libraries providing adequate access to information for users and some of the negative side effects of restricting access, for example by placing time limits on computers then people who are filling out online employment application forms may not be able to finish in time, which will greatly impact their ability to get work (Bertot et al., 2009). With the continual rise of online information and services, there is a growing need for libraries to be able to support access to the internet to ensure equal access to information for users and lessen the digital divide gap.

References

Bertot, J. C., Jaeger, P. T., McClure, C. R., Wright, C. B., & Jensen, E. (2009). Public libraries and the Internet 2008-2009: Issues, implications, and challenges. First Monday, 14(11). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/2700/2351

Valenza, J. (2008). When YouTube is blocked (way more than eight ways around), NeverEndingSearch [blog]. Retrieved from http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/neverendingsearch/2008/12/19/when-youtube-is-blocked-way-more-than-eight-ways-around/

Changing Preferences...

When reading ‘Wikipedia and the meaning of truth’ I found it interesting to learn that Wikipedia is the most widely read online reference on the planet and that it is often the first or second ranked result for most internet searches (Garfinkel, 2008). This really says a lot for the way people are finding information in today’s society and provides information professionals with an idea of how users are searching, and the emphasis they place on immediacy and ease of use.

by quinn.anya

In the article ‘Catalysts for change’ the author discusses the results of a report focusing on student perceptions of libraries and information resources. It was interesting to find that search engines are ranked as the first choice for finding information by college students and that more than half believe they have the same credibility as information located in the library (Lorenzo, 2007, p. 2). Also, the fact that Google and Wikipedia are easy to use and quick to access is more preferable for users than complex library databases.

One of the important messages I got from this article is that for years libraries have been educating users about where information resides, how to access it, and what can be done with it, and that it can’t be assumed that students can decipher credible information on the web because they have grown up with technology (Lorenzo, 2007, p. 3-4)

Another article I read was ‘Credibility of content and the future of research, learning and publishing in the digital environment’. In this article the author discusses how to respond to students’ information needs, and whether they require assistance in determining the credibility of information and also how the library should provide this assistance. An important message that I gained from this article is that Librarians need to respond to the preferences and needs of the younger users and work together with them to develop services that suit them (Wittenberg, 2007). By doing this, libraries can be more relevant to their users by responding directly to their needs.

References

Garfinkel, S. (2008). Wikipedia and the meaning of truth. Technology Review, 111(6), 84-86. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=490b943a-20fc-441b-bf71-0e0fdda1eb60%40sessionmgr11&vid=2&hid=8

Lorenzo, G. (2007). Catalysts for change: Information fluency, Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and the new education culture. Retrieved from http://www.edpath.com/images/IFReport2.pdf

Wittenberg, K. (2007). Credibility of content and the future of research, learning, and publishing in the digital environment. The Journal of Electronic Publishing, 10(1). Retrieved from http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=jep;cc=jep;rgn=main;view=text;idno=3336451.0010.101

Shifting Trends

After watching the ‘Did you know 4.0’ video from YouTube shown below, I identified a number of trends that have impacted upon the way individuals behave as digital citizens. Firstly, the shift from paper-based newspapers to online newspapers has been dramatic, with a drop in newspaper circulation by 7 million over the last 25 years, whilst online newspapers are up to 30 million readers. The video also highlights that traditional forms of advertising are dropping and being replaced by digital advertising. These changes demonstrate the significant impact the internet has on society and how it is changing the way people access information, because the internet can provide instant and easily accessible information. Libraries need to be aware of trends such as this in order to provide information in formats that suit users, and also to develop information policies that address things such as copyright, access, and online safety.

Another trend I found amazing was that Nokia sells 13 mobile phones every second. This is a phenomenal number of mobile phone sales, and demonstrates the shift in society where the majority of people own a mobile. This trend could affect the way libraries provide services, where instead of providing email notifications for library updates they could send mobile updates, which are more likely to reach users sooner as they can carry their mobiles around with them. This change may also be more desirable by users because 90% of the 200 billion emails sent everyday are spam, which may dissuade people from using email services and result in individuals resorting to other ways of receiving notifications such as social networking sites and through their mobile devices. However libraries would need to create policies before considering providing services such as this to ensure user privacy is not breached and that personal information is used appropriately.

I also found it interesting that in the US, 17% of large companies have disciplined an employee for violating blog or message board policies. This statistic highlights the need for clear information policies that address how employees should use social media tools and what constitutes as appropriate behaviour on these platforms. Organisations also need to ensure that staff are aware of these guidelines and provide related training to avoid employees violating policies unintentionally. Hence, it is important in a rapidly changing society, where information in digital formats is more prevalent than ever, for organisations to ensure they have information policies that apply to the new tools and technologies being heavily used today.

The Happiest Social Media Strategy on Earth!

by silkegb

I quite enjoyed reading an article I found through a twitter post entitled “Disney Marketing: The Happiest Social Media Strategy on Earth” which discusses how Disney uses social media in a casual way to be informational rather than focus on being commercial, and how important social media tools have been in connecting with people. Definitely a worthwhile read.