Social Media: an overview

Flickr image Matt Hamm

Getting to grips…

1. Introduction to Social Media

2. Tools, technologies and platforms

3. What libraries are currently doing

4. Useful links and resources

5. Developing a plan

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3

“Yes, it is important for libraries and librarians to be on

social networks... it is equally important to remember why

we are doing all of these things. We are providing a new

medium for things we have always done.

…we all need to be working together and not undermining

the traditional work we still do, that is still overwhelmingly

appreciated by the people we serve. There can be a

balance to using new technology to promote, support and

enhance traditional, as well as new, programming and

resources Karen Klapperstock (2009)

)

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“Many of the technologies we deal with are

residential platforms, meaning that it’s hard

to see their real benefits until you’ve lived there

for a while…

It’s simple to sign up for a new tool, but it takes

time and effort to make good use of it.”

JISC Web2Practice

Introduction

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5

Social Media

A collection of Tools, Technologies

and Platforms for sharing,

networking, updating, connecting,

researching and creating content

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Opportunities

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Challenges (some of them)

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Always connected…

The technologies we use are increasingly

cloud-based

consumerised

decentralised

Storage in the cloud

Access from any device

… and any location… at any time

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Trends

People expect to be able to work, learn and study whenever and wherever they want to

The world of work is increasingly collaborative

Source: Horizon Report 2011

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Change and more change

New skills and competencies

New scholarly models of communication are developing

Publishing is decentralising

Keeping pace with new devices, software and information sources is increasingly difficult

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Years to adoption

11 eBooks and Mobiles

2-32-3 Augmented Reality

Game Based Learning

4-54-5 Gesture Based Computing

Learning Analytics

Horizon Report 201112

“There is a greater need than ever

for effective tools and filters

for finding, interpreting,

organising and retrieving the

data that is important to us.”

Source: Horizon Report 2011

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Barriers include…

Management

concerns about

inappropriate use

Technical issues

around capacity

and security

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Public and private

Social media can blur blur distinctions distinctions between public and private

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Perceptions

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Hype

Time wasting…http://www.twitpic.com/19792p

Banal….

Some content is banal and inappropriate (just like other media)

But some of it is really, really useful (just like other media)

Flickr image Jeremy Brooks18

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“The purpose … is not to argue that social

media are an absolute good, but rather that

they offer tools which, if used carefully,

are likely to be beneficial … and to

facilitate positive connections with other

communities e.g. the industrial research and

development and policy communities.”

Social Media guide for researchers

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“…using social media to bridge disciplinary

boundaries, to engage in knowledge

exchange with industry and policy makers,

and to provide a channel for the public

communication of their research”

Social Media: a guide for researchers

Tools, technologies and platforms

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Social Media guide for researchers

Key characteristics

Access to content updated in real time

Access at a convenient time

Access to contacts in real time

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Top 10 tools for learning

1. Twitter – micro-updating tool

2. YouTube – video hosting and sharing tool

3. GoogleDocs - online collaboration tool

4. Delicious – social bookmarking tool

5. Slideshare – presentation hosting and sharing tool

6. Google Reader – RSS feed reader

7. Wordpress – blogging tool

8. Skype – instant messaging and VoIP call tool

9. Moodle – course management system

10.Facebook – social networking site

Source: C4LPT24

RSS feeds

A format for regularly updating web content

Users stay current by subscribing to feeds

Updates are automatically delivered without having to visit websites.

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Feeds …

Content providers deliver content to feed subscribers by incorporating a feed burner into the web page

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Managing feeds

Many sites offer the option to subscribe by e-mail

or via a free aggregator like Google Reader

increasingly Twitter is used as a feed

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Connections to…

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Connections to …

RSS feeds

Aggregators

Bookmarks

Slideshare

YouTube

Podcasts

Wikis

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Twitter

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Used for…

Service updates Links

News Alerts

Marketing Promotion

Research Disseminating

Following people and organisations

Following trends and events

Finding information

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An alternative to Twitter?

Yammer is a social network that operates within an organisation’s secure network.

It’s Twitter for internal use

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Social Networks

principally a personal network but used by organisations to reach a target audience

used by many professionals for networking and discussion

Groups can be closed or open

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Used for…

Status updates Service updates

News Alerts

Marketing Promotion

Sharing Links Disseminating

Discussions Campaigns

Events Networking

Discussions

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Blogs

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Blogs are created by individuals,

groups, organisations, institutions.

They are chronologically organised

and frequently updated

Platforms include Blogger and

Wordpress and can be hosted on

organisational websites.

Used for…

Sharing news and content

Publishing

Forums for discussion, reflection

Delivering training

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Wikis

wiki |ˈwikē| WIKee

noun

a Web site that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by its users.

ORIGIN coined by programmer Ward Cunningham (1949- ), from Hawaiian wiki-wiki ‘quick-quick.’

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Wikipedia

Used for…

Sharing knowledge

Aggregating content

Peer review

Supporting best practice

Team working

Reference queries

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LibraryThing

A networking site for readers with additional functionality for libraries

Offering catalogue enhancement, new books content and other services

Mobile access via the LibraryAnywhere app.

CIG (Bowker, ProQuest etc) is a commercial partner

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Photo Sharing

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Used for…

Sharing images

Sourcing images

Publicity

Marketing

Providing access to archives

Event amplification

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Slideshare

Presentations from workshops and courses from around the world

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Used for…

Archiving training

Accessing training

Event amplification

Accessing content

Search engine

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Bookmarks

Diigo Delicious

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Used for…

Archiving content

Accessing content

Finding content

Organising and

sharing content

Promoting

resources45

Video content

Lectures, courses,

tutorials, conferences,

events from universities,

organisations and

individuals

Biggest search engine

after Google

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Podcasts

Audio and video to

download - radio

programmes from the

archives, lectures,

language courses,

interviews…

Via iTunes or other feeds

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Personal Home Pages

Everything in one place when you logon

Netvibes and iGoogle

Used for…

Bookmarking

Accessing and organising content

Aggregating content

Remote access to home page

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Library Apps

“Mobile devices today can run

increasingly complex

software, interact with cloud

services, play rich multimedia

content, and allow for

advanced user interactivity”

There's an App for that! Libraries and mo

bile technology

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Used for…

Access to catalogues

Service information

Content delivery

Library induction

Access to databases

Ask a Librarian

Library notifications

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Costs and hidden costsThere are no expensive licenses, set up is easy and many accounts are free to start with

BUT

There will be costs for staff time, technical support, evaluation and design

and charges can kick in eventually

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What libraries are currently doing

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Desktop library

Digital Library, Rijkswaterstaat

Directorate of Public Works and Water Management (The Netherlands) has moved from a network of satellite libraries to a desktop library service.

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Supporting users

Fire Resources

The Fire Sciences Library of the Office of the Fire Marshall (U.S.) has developed a Wiki to support staff studying for the Master of Engineering in Fire Safety

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Connecting via social media

Bodleian Libraries Social Media Directory

University of Oxford libraries communicate with their users through a variety of social media including blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LibraryThing

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Connecting 2

Follow, fan and connect with NLM

The US National Library of Medicine provides access via Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds and e-mail lists. Based at the US National Institutes of Health, it is the world’s largest medical library.

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Aggregating content

Team Knowledge Update

Information services from Shrewsbury and Telford Health Libraries via Netvibes

Knowledge Source

Regular blog with news, links and access to content

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Aggregating content 2

HL Wiki Canada

An open, freely-accessible wiki with entries about health librarianship, social media and current information technology topics relevant to the provision of health information.

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Library Apps

MIT Libraries Betas and Widgets

Libraries at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are experimenting with apps to improve access for their users to content and services

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Library Apps 2

Library Tools

A guide to Cambridge University’s apps and other online tools for library users

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Library portal

Dublin PL portal

Comprehensive access to library and other resources provided by Dublin City Public Libraries for people living and working in Dublin via Netvibes

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Sharing research

Research Information Network

disseminates information on resources, events and news via its feeds

and also uses Facebook, Twitter and Delicious

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Accessing resources

Cochrane Social Media Workshop

Health Librarians in Canada can access workshop content via blog and Slideshare.

Resources are available to participants and to a wider audience.

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Useful links and resources

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Bookmarks

Government Libraries March 2011

A list of bookmarks on Diigo for this workshop

Guides, articles, research, good practice, toolkits, advice, tutorials and other useful stuff

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Planning for Social Media

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Research

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Implementation

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Flickr image Matt Hamm

Finally…

Try things out

Make use of it yourself

Use what’s useful

Dump what’s not

Take it seriously

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Attribution – Share Alike License

This presentation is available to reuse or adapt as long as credit is given to the author.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/