Thing 12: Reflecting on Social Media

Thing 12 provides an opportunity to reflect on social media. As I never really had an online presence before taking part in cpd23 I thought this would be a good opportunity to access how things are going so far.

The positives

Meeting people - there's a LISNPN meet up planned for later in August which will give me a chance to meet people who I wouldn't have come across if it weren't for LISNPN. My intro post on LISNPN also lead someone who works in the same sector as me to get in contact.

More in the loop - thanks to Twitter I now feel I have a better understanding of what's going on elsewhere in the library profession. LinkedIn has also alerted me to some useful resources. I've spent time this week adding more blogs to my Blogger reading list which has proved to be time well spent.

Blogging - whilst my posts aren't really of interest to others, thanks to cpd23 I am getting into the habit of posting regularly which will help when I get going with Chartership.

The negatives

I feel like a stalker - especially with Twitter. Whilst I'm finding some of the conversations interesting I don't feel I've much to add and I'm fed up of eves dropping. I'm slowing coming to the realisation that I just haven't found the right people to follow. Next week's task will therefore be to find some new Tweeters to get into conversation with.

Time - I noted in one of my earlier posts that you only get out what you put in, to build your online reputation you need to tweet, respond and comment. At the moment I'm struggling to find time to do this effectively. I'm wondering whether the solution is to take a more structured approach to when I check into different sites?

Will I continue using social networking sites?

Definitely. Working in a commercial library in the South West makes it more challenging to network face-to-face. Whilst I don't feel what I'm currently doing constitutes online networking I can already see the benefits. It doesn't replace face-to-face networking but is helpful.

Does social media foster a sense of community?

This was the final question thing 12 posed. I think it's a bit early for me to answer this with any authority. I can see that the prolific tweeters of the library world have a strong online network which is both encouraging and a bit daunting for a newbie. Whether I'll ever find the time to truly feel I belong to this particular community I'm not sure.

Thing 6: Connecting the Disconnected Librarian (Online Networks)

As I'm just getting to grips with blogging and Twitter I'm keen not to overdo it this week with Thing 6 of cpd23 which is about social networking sites. Whilst having a presence on more sites promises to up your profile and help you become better connected, I believe it's more beneficial to concentrate on a couple of sites that you maintain, rather than crop up on several sites with out-of-date information, old postings etc.

Here are my thoughts on the some on the sites that were suggested we look at:

LISNPN

I come across the LIS New Professionals website several months ago, however never ended up registering. Having just signed up and found some example Chartership portfolios and a mention of a Bristol LISNPN meet up this is definitely a site I'll be revisiting - thank you cpd23!

CILIP Communities

Again this is something I've browsed in the past; however I've only found things of passing interest. I've just taken a quick look and whilst there aren't that many recent posts there is some interesting advice and information. It's worth keeping an eye on, but I won't be checking in regularly.

Facebook

I set up an account several years ago and whilst my friends were prodding each other I never really bought in. Back then I was really only using it for socialising and whilst I'm sure it could help with professional networking, logging back in today has not made me want to rekindle my Facebook affair.

My initial dislike of Twitter was its immediacy, however I've grown rather fond of it and enjoy taking a peak at what's going on right now. I also like that you can connect with anyone. In comparison Facebook seems clunky and a bit cliquey. Coupled with it's dubious privacy policy, I think I'll give it a miss.

LinkedIn

If there's one thing surveyors are good at it's networking, therefore I've come across LinkedIn in my professional capacity several times. I tried to set up an account some time ago, but back then you needed to add a photo before you could complete your registration - being in work this wasn't possible and I never ended up registering.

I've just registered, added some basic info to my profile and joined a couple of groups. Some of the discussions I've stumbled across seem interesting and relevant; however I'm not really sure where to go with it from here. I guess I'll have to play with it more and see where it leads.

The Connected Librarian?

No, and I'm a long way off, but I do feel more in the loop and have a better understanding of how online networking sites can help. LISNPN will definitely become part of my information diet, I need to spend more time getting to know LinkedIn and will continue to check in on the CILIP Communities pages every now and again, however will be giving Facebook a miss. I need to throw more time at Twitter and am still not commenting on other people's blogs at much as I'd like, both of which I think are just as important, if not more in building an online network.

PS. I can see that people from far and wide are viewing my blog. Hello there! Feel free to say hi, it would be really nice to know who you are.