Do You Yahoo by Stephanie (Sarah Leah) Gross
Do You Yahoo by Stephanie (Sarah Leah) Gross
Yoohoo . . . do you Yahoo?
By STEPHANIE (SARA LEAH) GROSS
A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by AJL President Suzie Dubin to write a short article on social media for the benefit of the not-yet-inducted. I smiled to myself as I pondered various reactions, often negative, of the often leery, obsession with seeing oneself on the web. In truth, I have encountered techies who seem to proselytize the necessity to adopt a public profile: “You’re not saved unless you tweet on Twitter, friend on Facebook, or post your resume on LinkedIn.” Actually, I hope here to convince colleagues that taking a measured approach to social media is the best practice.
I was never big on herd mentality, although there is much to be said for “wisdom of the crowds.” (In fact, the custom of labeling blog entries with tags is one apt example of folksonomies.) Social media has definitely been a boon to marketing and entrepreneurs. Information specialists may also adopt various presences on the web, provided that the intention is founded on solid professional use to instruct, build community, and promote the respective institution.
As of today, we are still very much in a beta stage with little or no formal guidelines even from our professional associations. We knew what to do in the 20th century, but now in this millennium we are struggling to come to terms with the exponential metamorphosis of library use, information gathering, dissemination, even employment. There are benefits to elevator talk, staff lunches, or enhancement of attractive flyers through various electronic avenues.
A librarian’s knowledge of what makes a good website is becoming a vital plus in the profession. No longer does he or she need to know computer code to critique the synagogue’s homepage, suggest applications such as a slideshow, install an online catalog widget, or link to Facebook. Moreover, many librarians who are communication-savvy will thrill to find that they can post rudimentary blogs that are aesthetic, meaningful and productive.
I began NY Librarians Meetup on Blogger about nine months ago. Since then, I’ve begun following other bloggers and some have followed us. The purpose of our blog was not to highlight one particular library or librarian – rather, to provide members with visibility while covering a wide array of issues germane to new librarians and library students. Topics have included library tours, conferences, and workshops, as well as internships, library trends and technology. My hope in this article is to both encourage and promote use of social media to achieve our goals in tandem with the mission of AJL. Close to home, President Suzie Dubin has created a lovely blog People of the Books for AJL and Heidi Estrin continues to inform and entertain us with her Book of Life podcasts.
I would like to just briefly pause in the short time remaining to list and critique (and yes, recommend) a few of the most pertinent sites.
LibraryThing: Social cataloging web application for storing and sharing personal library catalogs and book lists.
Facebook: Social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. Applications such as weRead and GoodReads are quite conducive to sharing resources and opinions among discussion books members. LibGuides, online pathfinders, are very popular among academic librarians. Privacy settings are flexible and lists may be devised to organize usernames (“friends” in FB) into various categories, e.g. patrons, staff, clergy. Where mobile reference is available, IM (instant messaging) widgets such as Meebo may be installed.
Twitter: Microblog. Short headlines, such as upcoming library events, may be posted to the internet. These “Tweets” may have a hyperlink to further information to other sites, often a library homepage. URL shorteners such as tinyurl and bit.ly may be utilized to decrease the number of characters in the Twitter string (140 total). Bit.ly allows for tracking, a handy mechanism to support patron usage. News headlines are often “pushed” to the “net” via tweets or even re-tweeted. Twitter now has a list feature by which these postings may be indexed and searched. Hashtags (#) before a label may designate a particular event. Perhaps #AJL10 will be used for our upcoming conference in Seattle. Twitter aficionados also enjoy using TweetGrid for Twitter parties and Twitter Conference.
Friendfeed: Venue for posting web gleanings. It’s much like Facebook, but to my mind far tamer.
Delicious: Social bookmarking site. Rather than simply save the link to your “favorites,” why not share it with colleagues? There is an option to keep posts private. The use of tags and bundles facilitates a rudimentary organization of saved material. On most sites, it is possible to form or join a group – e.g., strictly for librarians -- but there are also groups focused on Israel, parenting, instruction, and so forth.
Before establishing a social media presence on the web:
1. Follow “the rules.” If your institution has a social media policy, do follow it. You may suggest emendations or compose your own guidelines for approval, but by all means follow best practices such as the Title 17 Copyright Act, intellectual property rights of others, and in general the right to others’ privacy. Many individuals do not wish their names published, photos posted, and so forth. While for our SSC members social media is crucial to building communities and outreach, I witness daily the gamut of personal preferences and attitudes even young people have towards the internet, security and privacy.
2. Have some goals in mind. Study the site you wish to utilize just as you would a database. Know how it works, what the terms of service are, what your liabilities are, and what the value of such an online venue might be. There are some nice sites for homemade videos, for example Vimeo.
3. Bring out your most prized pieces of PR, e.g. flyers, library guides, newsletters, even vertical file ephemera. Consider how making this material available on the web can enhance your visibility and usefulness to your clientele. Then review the social media mentioned above and the resources below. Your decision will be far easier when you know what you want to accomplish. If you have friends and contacts on Facebook, etc. tap them for opinions and recommendations. Look for comparable institutions that are already using the internet and evaluate how their sites or applications support your institution’s goals.
Good luck!! Remember to share your insights with your fellow members on Hasafran listserv, user groups, AJL blog, and regional homepages, e.g. AJL-NYMA.
NEWS FLASH: On March 13th, 2010, two Web2.0 mavens, John Blyberg & Meredith Farkas presented a thought-provoking webinar on the appropriate use and considerations of building and sustaining an online library presence. ALA Techsource Webinar: 20.0 Building the Participatory Library. Problems addressed are inactive library blogs, lifeless virtual library communities, and out-of-date Facebook pages.
Resources:
Jacob Richman (various)
Jacob Richman's Training - Seminars - Social Media
Jacob Richman's Hot Sites - Social Media Articles and Videos
Netiquette: Etiquette on the internet. See: The Core Rules of Netiquette excerpted from the book Netiquette by Virginia Shea. Click on each rule for elaboration. (See former link for review by Howard Rheingold.)
The Tech Set edited by Ellyssa Kroski Neal-Schuman 2010 (request exam copy)
Web 2.0 for Librarians and Information Professionals edited by Ellyssa Kroski. Neal-Schuman 2008
Social Software in Libraries: Building Collaboration, Communication, and Community Online [Illustrated] by Meredith G. Farkas Information Today March 2007
(tags - screencasting software, librarian bloggers, social software tools, social bookmark manager, library blogs, social bookmarking system, social software applications, virtual reference services, patrons online, social networking software, subject blogs, most wikis, gaming programs, social bookmarking sites, mobile revolution, bookmarking service, handheld users, bookmark managers, other online communities, reference assistance, younger patrons, virtual reference desk, blog software, wiki software, blog posts [from Amazon website retrieved January 30, 2010)
Other Social Media Sites of Interest:
Association of Jewish Libraries Wiki created by Diane Romm & Joyce Levine of the AJL Technology Committee. The wiki is a collaborative website for librarians and support staff comprised of links and resources supported by PBWorks.
Connect.ala.org, Official ALA forum for a wide variety of topics. AJL is now an affiliate. Use this space to connect with other information professionals.
Diigo : A powerful research tool and knowledge sharing network. Recommended for educators.
Digsby: Widget for aggregating email, social media, and IM (instant messaging). Useful for mobile reference.
Facebook: See Jennifer Freer – Reference Librarian for exemplary use as professional page. See AJL on Facebook for use in outreach, publicizing events, sharing resources.
The Facebook Guidebook by Mashable.
Faviki : A social bookmarking tool that lets you use Wikipedia concepts as tags.
Flickr: Photosharing site. See AJL Group.
Google+ : A guide to Google Plus by Ben Parr. Mashable: The Social Media Guide. June 28, 2011
LinkedIn: Professional network service. See Association of Jewish Libraries Group
Posterous: Microblog, primarily for mobile computing. See AJL Convention 2009 blog.
Mashable: Blog specializing in social media & IT.
Retaggr: Digital social media card. See Stephanie’s card.
Scribd: Scribd is a social publishing site, where tens of millions of people share original writings and documents. "Scribd's vision is to liberate the written word."
SecondLife : A free 3D virtual world where users can socialize, connect and create using free voice and text chat.
Skype: Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. For a free tutorial, see: http://www.edtechteacher.org/skypetutorial.html
Slideshare.net [PowerPoint, simulcasts, and PDF portfolios] (see presentation by Stephanie (Sara Leah) Gross on social networking for librarians). See also AuthorSTREAM (A platform for sharing PowerPoint presentations on the Internet. Allows users to download presentations as video.)
Squidoo is the popular publishing platform and community for creating guides ("lenses") on topics of interest. Recommended for libraries.
YouTube: YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos.
Zemanta Content suggestion engine for blogging (pictures, tags, & links). Zemanta is available as a Firefox and Internet Explorer extension and plugins for Wordpress, Blogger, TypePad, Ning, MySpace, LiveJournal, MovableType, Tumblr, Drupal and Joomla. (Wikipedia).
Cool picks, current literature, and helpful hints [A work in progress]:
8 Easy Twitter Monitoring Ideas by Cindy King. The Social Media Examiner March 8, 2010.
10 Technology ideas your library can implement next week by Ellyssa Kroski. American Libraries Magazine. February 17, 2010.
3 Ways Educators are embracing social technology by Greg Ferenstein. Mashable: The Social Media Guide. January 10, 2010.
4 Steps for Managing Social Media Attention by Soren Gordhamer. Mashable: The Social Media Guide. February 17, 2010.
5 Easy Steps to Creating Reusable Social Content by Jay Baer. Social Media Examiner March 18, 2010.
After frustrations in Second life, colleges look to new virtual worlds by Jeffrey R. Young The Chronicle of Higher Education: Technology. February 14, 2010.
The Basics of Social Media Policies and Guidelines by Amber Naslund. Radian6. Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Facebook Apps for Education by Interactyx.com
A framework for social learning in the enterprise by Harold Jarche, Internet Time Alliance.
HOW TO: Deal With Negative Feedback in Social Media by Josh Catone. Mashable: The Social Media Guide. February 21, 2010.
HOW TO: Integrate Facebook, Twitter and Buzz into your Gmail by Ben Parr. Mashable: The Social Media Guide. February 12, 2010.
How Twitter in the Classroom is Boosting Student Engagement by Greg Ferenstein. Mashable: The Social Media Guide. March 1, 2010. [Read comments in trackback, especially those with practical suggestions.]
Learning Tools Directory by Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies (C4LPT)
Professional Social Networking by Nicholas Lamphere October 4, 2010 on Prezi.com. (Also an excellent introduction to Prezi as open-sourceware alternative to Microsoft's PowerPoint.)
Social Learning Handbook by Jane Hart. See also her site: Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies
Social Media Parenting: Raising the digital generation by Matt Silverman. Mashable: The Social Media Guide. March 13, 2010.
The CMO’s Guide to the Social Landscape by Drew McLellan. Ranks 10 top social media sites according to customer communication, brand exposure, traffic to your site and search engine optimization (SEO).
Teaching with Web 2.0 by the EdTech Teacher (Tom Daccord). This website has excellent sources for teaching with technology.
The Science of Building Trust With Social Media by Greg Ferenstein. Mashable: The Social Media Guide. February 24, 2010.
The State of Social Learning Today and Some Thoughts for the Future of L&D in 2010 by Jane Hart, Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies and Internet Time Alliance. Released: 1 January 2010, Updated: 16 August 2010.
The Twitter Experiment - UT Dallas by Dr. Monica Rankin. Educators find that Twitter is an effective way to broaden participation in lecture. See also : Dr. Rankin's Twitter Experiment - Intro video. [Read trackback for feedback. Google Wave & Google Buzz are discussed.]
Treasuring Twitter By Marieke Guy September 2010. Includes great tips for archiving Tweets and getting the most out of this service. [via FUMSI]
Why banning social media often backfires by Greg Ferenstein. Mashable: The Social Media Guide. April 13, 2010.
YU (Yeshiva University) Social Media Hub: "A resource that explains how the University is utilizing all the new social media channels to broadcast [their] news, events, academic excellence and other accomplishments." Visitors to the site can familiarize themselves with sites like Twitter and Facebook, view photos and videos from YU's current events and subscribe to their news alerts.
Mark your calendars: Conference and Conventions about Social Media
[Author's note: Past events are left visible, as many may reoccur in 2011. Moreover, past proceedings are often available on demand, e.g. Educause.]
March 2010
Web 2.0, Social Networking & Libraries Conference 2010 [Third Annual Conference]
When: Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 8:15AM - 4:00PM
Where: School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Kellogg Center, 15th Floor, 420 West 118th Street,
between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive, New York City.
How Libraries Are Exploiting Web 2.0 and Social Networking
to Improve Service to Library Users —and What It Means for Libraries, Library Users, and You Including Ways to Better Serve Your Own Library Users with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Web 2.0, OPAC and Web Site Enhancements, and more
Sponsored by:
ILIAC
(The International Library Information and Analytic Center;
Offices in Moscow and Washington D.C.);
The Harriman Institute and Columbia University Libraries; and
The U*N*A*B*A*S*H*E*DTM Librarian,
the 'how I run my library good'SM letter
(Sponsor & Conference Organizer)
April-May 2010
Wisdom 2.0 Summit
The event brings together executives from Google, Facebook, and Twitter, along with Zen teachers and others, for a unique gathering to discover how we can both find greater balance with, and more successfully use, the great technologies of our age.
Hosted by Soren Gordhamer
When: April 30-May 1, 2010
Where: Computer History Museum, Silicone Valley, CA
July 2010
Association of Jewish Libraries Annual Conference,
When: July 4th-7th, 2010
Where: Seattle, WA
(See esp. Monday, July 5th)
Session 1 (8:30-10:00) AJL and Social Media [Heidi Estrin & Diane Romm]
Session 3 (1:45-3:15) Hands on Social Web [Sheryl Stahl @Seattle Public Library]
Upcoming: Marriott Montréal Château Champlain in Montréal, Québec, from June 19 to 22, 2011.
October 2010
Internet Librarian International 2010
When: October 14th & 15th 2010
Workshops October 13th
Where: Novotel London West, London, UK
EDUCAUSE 2010 Annual Conference (EDUCAUSE10) October 12–15, 2010. Anaheim, California. EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.
Internet Librarian 2010
When: October 25 – 27, 2010
Where: Monterey Conference Center, Monterey, CA
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