A friend of mine who helps with social media in her company sent me this link from Credo Reference with a list of Tweets/posts libraries could use for the month of March. They seem to have something listed for almost every day of the month and most of them are eye-catching enough while only using a few words.

The page mentions that libraries can often get busy and may not have time to think of something creative to post so Credo Reference has offered to help. However, I also think that this could be a nice starting point for libraries – they can browse through this page for some ideas, such as posting a tweet about someone famous born on March 10, or an International Holiday that is celebrated on March 21, or a random fun fact, and the list goes on. They can also provide a link to their collections if they have anything that relates to Tweet/post or promote another service they offer.

Since today is St. Patrick’s Day, the tweet they have is:

Kiss this Topic Page, It’s Irish http://bit.ly/17ZVwkF

I searched for other social media content libraries could use and Forbes had a list of 100 ideas. They may not be as specific as Credo’s list, but they offer some good advice – fill in the blank, link to a guest post, behind the scenes photos, asking questions, etc.

Can you think of other ideas in staying creative on social media or find other links?

—

Reference:

“100 Killer Ideas For Your Social Media Content” by Jason deMers. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/06/25/100-killer-ideas-for-your-social-media-content/

“March Social Media Content for Libraries.” http://blog.credoreference.com/2015/02/march-social-media-content-for-libraries/

I found this article on Pew Research, concerning the demographics of social media users and I started to think of how these demographics could play a role for libraries using social media. Another article from a blog gave some advice on which businesses should use which social media platforms. Although a library is not necessarily a business, I think this article still offers good advice for libraries searching for a start into using social media.

• Facebook – This is still the most popular social media tool with users ranging from 18-65 years old. Asking questions can create discussion and promoting events accompanied by a picture will keep their followers aware. There is an ‘About’ tab at the top of the page where libraries can write a quick blurb about who they are, their services, and hours. There is also an ‘Events’ tab that people can browse through which events their library will be hosting.
• Twitter – The most frequent users are under 50 years old and college-educated. Wishpond mentions that Twitter is about “in-the-moment developments” and I would have to agree with that. A person only has 140 characters to convey their message. A library could quickly tweet their hours for the day, an event that will be taking place, a quick sentence with a link to a blog post. A person could also take a look at the ‘Trending Hashtags’ and participate. Retweeting and responding to other Twitter users is also a great way to remain engaged to their audience.
• Instagram – This seems to  be the most popular tool for 18-29 year olds. Many undergraduates and graduate students entering college might turn to Instagram as a way to learn more about their campus. Photographing something eye-catching with a caption explaining the picture will get the library on an Instagram user’s radar. The use of hashtags can also play a role, causing it to appear in their ‘Search’ tab. Instagram has also started to tailor this tab based on the people you follow.

I think exploring these three options could be a good idea for any library. Facebook can provide a sufficient amount of information while posting, Twitter can give out quick facts, and Instagram provides a visual aspect. Libraries can start off with one social media and explore which one would best suit their needs and audience.

—

References:

“Demographics of Key Social Networking Platforms” by Maeve Duggan, Nicole B. Ellison, Cliff Lampe, Amanda Lenhart, and Mary Madden. Pew Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/frequency-of-social-media-use-2/

“Social Media Marketing: Which Platform is Right for your Business” Wishpond. http://blog.wishpond.com/post/72672192941/social-media-marketing-which-platform-is-right-for

Group collaboration is a great way to share ideas with co-workers and this can often be done with people within the same building and/or people in various places. However, it can often be tricky if people aren’t in the same room to discuss ideas, and it gets even more difficult if the collaborators are in different states/countries/time zones. Thankfully, there have been tools created that can allow group collaboration to occur, despite the distance of its members. These are some of the tools I have used and these are the two questions I am hoping to answer:

• What are some of the tools that enable collaboration in information organizations?
• What have you used? What are your favourites?

I am a part of two student organizations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – the SLA Student Chapter and GSLIS Connections. I am an officer in both organizations so I am always contacting people, sending out information, collaborating on events, etc. Any way, these are some of the tools we have used.

• Email/Listserv – I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I get a lot of emails from the university, the university library, the library science program, library science student groups, the list goes on…  However, some of those emails have led to discussions about found books, or helping someone with their research, or sharing news/journal articles and asking for people’s opinions.
  http://www.lis.illinois.edu/helpdesk/forums_lists

• Google Docs – Between the 4 tools I have listed, this one is my favorite. Anyone can have access to it and can edit it if they have the link. The student groups have hosted a breakfast event and I sent out an email with an attached Google Doc so people can write down what they would like to contribute. It’s pretty convenient for all of us.
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v-Y-7xo4-oAXoLTvmgHK33R4KxXGd4k6FGiPPcbukhc/edit

• Wiki – I believe we can edit the GSLIS wiki if we wanted to and I think some people have, though I have only ever done it once. There is a lot of information that pertains to student, faculty, and staff but I’m not sure if it is heavily advertised. This is a tool that should be utilized more.
   https://apps.lis.illinois.edu/wiki/dashboard.action

• Doodle Easy Schedule – Planning an event/meeting with 5+ people can lead to confusion if we did it through email or text so sending a Doodle link where people can check their available times is wonderful. Sometimes the list can get large, but at least it tallies the participants at the bottom of the page so you can see when everyone is available.
   http://doodle.com/

I had recently suggested, for the current officers, putting together a binder filled with information that next year’s officers could refer to.  Each officer would write their own documentation or add on to whatever they were given before. So far, I have been met with a unanimous ‘yes’ with everyone liking this idea. A lot of our information can be found in various webpages so having it all one “space” would be helpful for everyone. Maybe one day they can put everything online in an easy to navigate webpage(s), but for now, it seems like the paper route is the best way to go.

–

Links to the resources mentioned:

Wiki Spaces: https://www.wikispaces.com/

Google Docs: http://www.google.com/docs/about/

Doodle: http://doodle.com/

In class this week, we read an article from E. Pearson titled, “All the World Wide Web’s a stage: The Performance of Identity in online social networks.” She refers to this concept of “identity-as-performance” (created by Goffman) where a person puts on a performance that is fitting to their setting. I think this is something we do every day – our ‘work performance’ may be different from our ‘friends performance’, which may be different from our ‘family performance.’ Pearson then points out that these performances may start to blend and your audience can now get a peek at your front-stage and back-stage persona, thanks to social media. This could then lead to a person to be cautious of how they present themselves, which leads to a new performance identity.

Some of the questions we were given to think over:

• What is your preferred role as a participant in social settings?
  In social settings with friends, I am the quiet one. I prefer to listen to my friends and will say a comment here and there. Though there are a few people I can talk endlessly to. In regards to my parents, I think there is an equal amount of talking that occurs between the three of us. 
• In social media do you like to “speak up” and participate? watch/observe/lurk?
  I think I am more of an observer in social settings, both online and physically. I like to read people’s statuses and thoughts on issues and every once in a while, I will ‘like’ or comment back. I have always been a shy and quiet person, which also reflects online.
  
• Are you a non-participator?
  I don’t consider myself a non-participator, but I observe more than I comment.
• What might be an optimum solution for you in your work as an information professional? (ie., it may depend on what your job title is; is there an official “code of conduct” or social media policy?)
  If I ever post anything regarding work on my personal social sites, I try to keep it positive because, in the back of my mind, what I say could go back to my supervisors, and I would not want to be a bad reflection to the institution. I also try to promote events and activities that my institution might be holding just so I can help them reach a wider audience.
  If I were given the task to be in charge of social media, I would also keep posts positive and/or informational. This would be an issue I would have to discuss with my supervisor and any other related parties since this social media will be representing all of us in the institution.

In the past, I have used MySpace and Friendster but I do not have those accounts anymore. I used MySpace more frequently and I think that is where I got started with expanding to different types of social media.

I started using Facebook and Twitter because my friends encouraged it and those seem to be the two tools I use the most. I mainly use Facebook to keep in touch with family from different parts of the world and it is a great way for me to stay connected to their usual activities. I use Twitter as a way of connecting with friends and I like that it is a quick snippet of the events that are happening in their lives. I also use Tumblr to get the latest news on television shows or movies that I am interested in.

I have never used social media management tools like HootSuite or Netvibes, but it is something I will consider using since it is not always easy to keep track of my classmates’ notes on my own. That is something I will have to explore as the class progresses.