Lately I’ve been thinking about the number of SLAIS students and fellow library people there are on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook recently hit the 350 million mark, and Farmville users have surpassed total Twitter users… But considering the fact Facebook has only been around since 2004, and Twitter even later, I am amazed at how social media has spread through the world of information organizations (although not surprised).

When at one of my last library school classes for this term, we had a guest presentation and a number of VPL library directors and HR people were invited to attend. I got in a discussion with one of the library directors discussing how library school has truly changed over the years. I mentioned I take an online course, and write papers and create presentations collaboratively with others, all without one face-to-face meeting. The director was amazed, a very different reality from her days in library school.

So what will all these tech-savvy, web literate, and curious new librarians bring to organizations? Hopefully a fresh way of doing things, creative new ideas, and passing on their social media knowledge to others.

So I have been up to my elbows in group projects and papers lately, and therefore snoozing in the blogosphere. The one thing I am feeling is that due to other time committments such as work and school, and the fact that there are just not enough hours in a day, blogging has become one of those things on my ‘to-do’ list that just hasen’t gotten done. I have had an article sitting on my desk waiting to be read and blogged about for almost 2 weeks now. I am actually having to force myself to take the time to read and comment on it, otherwise it is just not going to get done. I have always been a talker, and always seem to have something to say, but when you talk in real life you don’t necessarily have to make time for it, it just happens, whereas in the virtual world of the web, when talking and creating discussion you really do have to consciously make time.

So I was given a magazine recently, put out by the Globe & Mail called “Canadian University Report”. In it post-secondary institutions and trends are discussed. An article in the magazine titled “Classroom 3.0” caught my eye.

What really interested me in this article, is the fact that those students they are talking about…that’s me. I began my first year of university around the time of the birth of Web 2.0 and the time social networking, social bookmarking, and blogging sites, such as Facebook Delicious and Twitter were first being introduced. I went to the first university that aimed to use technology as a primary teaching tool.

The article discusses the “bag full of tech gear” students come to school with (I never left residence without my ipod, phone, or laptop), and a life shaped by the internet (if the article wasn’t in a full-text database it likely wouldn’t have been seen by me…), and the fact that “universities have to adopt the latest technologies in order to fit an education with the new generation’s life and learning style”. Well, I am that new generation, and I have to say, my educational institutions have done a fairly good job of meeting this new ‘learning style’ of mine.

My primary contact method as a student is by email, which I have access to all the time via my phone and computer. My assignments can be turned in digitally or by paper. I can download notes, discussions, class readings, and my research all online. I can receive school updates through my RSS feed and send them to my iGoogle. I think universities are adapting to students, they are providing them with new ways of learning that fit with the tasks they do everyday. Universities are still doing what they sought out to do, which is to help students learn and take what they have learned and apply it to the world when they leave school. Universities bringing in technology, introducing social media and web 2.0 tools, and incorporating these into the way lessons are taught, and the way students participate, is how they will continue to grow, develop, and remain relevant to current and future learners. As Web 3.0 looms closer and closer, universities need to start thinking now, and introducing concepts today, in order to be able to adapt to the students entering the Classroom 3.0 that is bound to develop.

I have discussed before my feelings of information overload. I constantly feel there are so many social media tools available, it is difficult to keep track of them all. I find it even more difficult when trying to keep track of different blogs, Twitter feeds, websites, and the list goes on…. I think the reason people aggregate, is not necessarily because they want to, but because they have to. In order to escape this feeling of information exhaustion, or to save time by going to one web page to see other web page updates, rather than each page specifically, we need to aggregate information in order to save time, and keep track of everything we want to follow regularly. As people, we keep day books and agendas to keep everything we need to remember to do in a day or a month all in one place, we wouldn’t tack up post-it notes all over our kitchens or cars, or maybe we would, but it likely wouldn’t be very efficient. The same goes for aggregators. They make our lives, and our pursuit for information, efficient.

As I am an avid Google user, as well as all of the tools Google has created (Google Docs, Google Groups, etc.), I have created an iGoogle page that I use multiple times a day. I have to admit I love my iGoogle. It is all the best things gathered in one place, perfectly customized to my liking. It is a mashup of knowledge, both useless and useful, perfected. It is such a great utilization of all the Web 2.0 tools I use on a daily basis. Before I really started using these tools (RSS feeds, YouTube, wikis, etc.) I never had the need for something like iGoogle. But the more I use these tools, the more room I have to make on my page. It is just easier to have all the sites I visit, and all the tools I use, all in one convenient place. I was actually late jumping on the iGoogle bandwagon, I know I was for the Gmail one that went by (I used to be an avid Hotmail user, and would never go back). I found out about iGoogle when I got to SLAIS in January. I was shocked I hadn’t known about it sooner. I also found out about Google scholar and other tools Google has to offer. I guess I was hanging out somewhere under a rock during my Undergrad? Anyways, the more I used these tools the more I realized how useful it is having one ‘go-to’ place to find all my information needs and wants. I think it just may be the best thing since sliced bread… And now that I have actually learned about RSS feeds and how they work, my iGoogle page just isn’t big enough!

And iGoogle is not just for personal use. The library I work at uses iGoogle to organize its favourite links, most visited websites, and as a short-cut for Gmail. It’s a great tool when you need to do a quick search, or need to flip back and forth from the e-mail inbox and library catalogue while on the reference desk.

The more I learn about other tools available, the more curious I am. However, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the number of aggregators and RSS readers available today. I am usually all for change, and learning new things, but I can’t help but have a little resistance to switching to a new tool altogether. I do see the value in some of these other tools, but I just don’t feel I have the time… Maybe when my schedule as a student calms down a bit I can dive into the deep end and move out of my comfort zone.

While reading through some of my RSS feeds recently I came across two feeds with very similar subject headings. Both read something like “Cameron Diaz and Mike Myers banned from Twitter?“. Now, I don’t follow either of these so called A-listers, but I thought it was interesting that these stars were being banned from using a service they either enjoyed using or viewed as a good marketing ploy, because of a clause in their contract. Now, in my opinion that goes against one’s right to free speach, actors should be able to tweet about what ever they like, they are people too, and from what I have seen, most people have opinions and enjoy sharing them.

What was also quite interesting about this incident though, was how quickly different variations of the same story arose. Even in the online world of social media, gossip arises and spreads even faster than gossip in the physical world.

I first noticed this around the time when I began using Twitter. I am sure many people remember the #AmazonFail fiasco. Amazon quickly had to come up with a response to a so called “technical glitch” in the system that removed certain adult titles from its sales rankings. Twitter experienced a surge in rumours over why Amazon had removed certain titles, what an outrage it was, how people knew Amazon was run by no-good-judgemental-bafoons, etc etc. And then Amazon came out with the truth shortly after. People that became valued users of Amazon over a number of years, went from Amazon lovers, to haters, to lovers, in less than 24 hours.

And we all just witnessed the most recent example of the rapid transmission of gossip via social media with the “Baloon boy” incident. Evgeny Morozov actually described the amount of energy put into incident as “enough to prevent at least a few dozen African genocides”. He then goes on to discuss slacktivism. But I also believe that these tools are strongly related to the way we as people socialize, and therefore they are also means of gossip. With these tools being freely available, and widely viewable, the opportunity for gossip is much greater than one’s high school…or is it?

Has the creation of social media tools brought bullying to a whole new level? Although we hope that the creation occurring on social media websites is for purposes to enhance our society, provide valuable opinions, and pass on important information, the content that can be created using these tools can also do harm.

In Paul Sheehan’s collumn back in May he wrote about an incident at an elite girls school, where social media tools were means used to “cyber-bully” one of their classmates. I have a feeling that as social media use increases, so to will incidences such as these.

The nature of many, if not most, social media sites revolve around gossip. Whether it is Facebook, where one can comment on someone else’s photo or status, or blogs, where opinions are freely expressed, these sites are unfiltered and bursting with gossip.

On the site Jezebel, an arguably gossip focused website on its own, she discusses this online incidence of bullying. However she puts a different spin on it, saying, “high school kids have always been cruel: the internet has just provided them with a new platform for spewing their hatred.” Maybe this is true, but I still can’t help but feel that the fact social media sites are for the most part unfiltered, easily accessable, and available outside of the walls of a high school, make it all too easy to spread gossip at a rate faster than many can keep up with.

I do have to say that with social media, like any type of social activity, comes the ability to use humor to touch on important issues. As professionals, a lot of the time we think about creating,  discussing and participating in a serious and professional manner. However, it is good to remember to throw some fun in there every once in awhile…

Here is a clip from CBC’s This Hour has 22 Minutes on Candian copyright reforms, a very hot topic these days.

I am sure everyone gets the urge from time to time to hide out from people and the world in general. Sometimes I get the urge to do the same, but with the online world. Checking my inbox seems like a never ending task, and updated information on sites like Facebook and Twitter never stops. Lately I have just had to take a step back from my computer and reconnect with the real world outside of my broadband connection.

This ‘information overload‘, as coined by Alvin Toffler, is contributing to the sense of fatigue and burnout that I think causes many people to start with a social media tool and then abandon it shortly after.  There are so many blogs, websites, Twiteer feeds, Facebook profiles, and RSS feeds it is dizzying. There is information coming at you from all different sources, how could a person not feel overwhelmed!?

In the workplace, we as librarians have a choice as to what social media tools we choose to use, and our choice will likely depend on our needs. Tools that support collaboration, input, and participation are all likely to be valued. However, with the rapidly changing face of technology, it is difficult to predict what tools will be viewed as valuable down the road.

So as I was thinking about being exhausted from staring at my computer non-stop lately, I began thinking, how could we in libraries, not get too overwhelmed with these technologies, and yet still participate with the ones we love? And what I have come up with is the concept of sharing, or partnering with other service providers or institutions. In recent LIBR 559M discussions we have been talking about the relationship between libraries and archives, and libraries and museums. Maybe libraries and archives want to create partnerships in order to promote their services. For example, if a local museum has a show coming up, they may want to use their blog and Facebook page as promotional tools. If there is a partnership between the museum and the local library, the library may pick up on the theme of the show at the museum, and create a display with items in the library to promote the museum’s show, while also promoting what materials the library has to offer. The library may then use their Twitter feed to notify patrons of this new display and how it ties in with the show put on by the museum. Not only does this take the pressure off of the museum to feel the need to promote their show with every social media tool out there, but it also encourages customers using one service, to utilize the service of another institution. If the library and museum were to share the promotion of events with these tools, it means the museum may not have to update their Facebook page every day, as the library may have already done enough promotion to last for another few days.

Of course, sharing the use of these tools and partnering between organizations is assuming the users of both organizations are the same. However, hopefully those that are not users of one institutions or another, will see the promotion of other organizations through the ones they do use, and they will then be inclined to join and utilize other organizations.

I am sure there are other ways partnering between institutions and service providers could make social media tools less daunting. But by sharing these tools, and delegating the task of sharing and participating in the spread of information, the task that may seem overwhelming to some may become more manageable.

Recently, I jazzed up my Firefox. I downloaded an ‘add-on’ for my tool bar. It allows me to share any address in my address bar, and therefore web page, with over 10 social networking, online  bookmarking, and online collaboration tools, in just two clicks.

Ease of access has been demonstrated across the literature as being a prime factor of whether a user will use a service, technology, or system, and therefore, it is a pre-curser to any collaboration or participation in the Web 2.0 and social media world.

Personally, I don’t want to have to go to my Delicious page and have to log-in every single time I find a good link. I also don’t want to have to navigate to three different pages if I want to share a link via Twitter, Facebook, and Delicious. Although,  I do hope whoever invented the tab feature got a nice bonus.

A small, colourful green box now sits in the top right hand side of my screen, allowing me to easily share a site, or collaborate with others on a topic, with the click of a button. I customized this tool to not have an icon in my address bar, as my RSS feed button was making things a little crowded.

I must admit, I am much more likely to share a great website or link with others with my sharing tool so readily available. Previously I may have only shared a link on one social networking site, but now I usually share to a number because of the little amount it takes.

As I have discussed in other posts, people have less time in their daily lives, therefore these sharing tools that are just a click away make it more likely they will take the minimal amount of time it requires to share often incredibly useful information.

I cannot count the number of times I have heard the comment, “Oh you’re a librarian, you must love books.” Well yes, I do like books, but to be quite honest, I probably do not like them nearly as much as some people. So when people then stare at me awkwardly when I respond, half heartedly that I do enjoy reading in my spare time, as well as doing other activities (horseback riding, listening to music, walking), I usually promptly go on to explain that I love information. I love the search for information, I love that information is what people learn from, and it is information that libraries and librarians disseminate. Therefore, information and knowledge go hand in hand.

When posed with the question, “What role do libraries play in the global world?” I think the answer is the same across the world. Libraries strive to disseminate knowledge, in hopes of enriching people’s lives. Whether the knowledge is fact or fiction, the information is housed in an incredibly large library or a small community reading room, libraries are all in it for the same reason: to provide their users with access to information of all types, and in all formats.

Libraries provide equal learning opportunities for every individual with access to a library, either physically or remotely. What better service are we providing to our population, and each other, by giving individuals the chance to learn about anything and everything? The role libraries have across the globe is to better our society by helping to create an informed and educated population. It is through information that people learn how to change the world for the better, how they learn to save people’s lives, how they learn to live healthier lifestyles, or how they learn to live ‘greener’ lives. Libraries provide an even playing field for any person, young or old, to take in information and do something positive with it.

The world is a different place depending on what continent you are on, or what country you are in. But a magical thing happens when you enter a library. It is almost as if you walk in the front doors (or walk through a curtain if that happens to be your local library), and all guards are dropped. It is a safe place, where a CEO is equal to homeless person, and both individuals have the same opportunity to learn the same piece of information.

I suppose to prevent myself from rambling about a topic I could go on for pages about, I could summarize, that the role libraries play in the global world is that libraries are equalizers. Yes, they are also disseminators of all the information and knowledge readily available, but they make this information accessible to every human being, and therefore allow for any individual to acquire knowledge. They allow anyone to learn,  in any place where a library or reading room is available. Libraries take the role of opportunity for individuals who were not born with it, or who need a second chance. As the global economy spirals out of control, and people continue on with their busy and always ‘important’ lives, I think it is important to remember the global role libraries have in people’s lives. All too often we get caught up in budget cuts, funding crises, and the likes, and we forget that what we are supplying to our society is greater than what money can buy.

In a couple of days I will be going under the knife. Yep, they are cutting me open. Well, actually they are just cutting my gums open and breaking my upper jaw…ah the pleasures of oral surgery. So I am on a mad race to finish all school work prior to my surgery, in order to provide myself with the maximum amount of time possible to sleep on a couch and dream about nothing of any real importance. Now, as a result of this pleasant occasion I will be left with a nice gap between my two front teeth for a good couple of months, or until my teeth decide to mozy on over to their rightful position. Now what in the world does oral surgery have to do with social media you ask? Well more than one would think.

When I posted to my Facebook page about my exciting upcoming event, I was wished well by all my friends. The support one can get from others during stressful times is no longer just a hug from a close friend, it is now support from your whole circle of friends.

One thing I am very thankful for with this upcoming event is the fact that as I lie on a couch for a week recovering with a large gap between my teeth, I do not have to be cut off from the world. The physical world most likely, but the world of social media will be as easily accessible from my couch as it would be from the SLAIS computer lab. And best of all, the huge gap between my teeth with be completelty irrelevent when talking to someone on Facebook, posting to Twitter, or logging on to my class wikis. The fact that I can remain physically anonymous while participating in discussions at least gives me confidence that any physical reprocussions from my surgery do not need to be apparent when using social media tools. And in a few days I will be very thankful for that!

As related to my posting from Sunday, maybe those that participate a lot in social media are those that prefer to remain physically anonymous on the web, or those that are quite shy when it comes to living their day to day lives, and they only ‘come out’ when they have logged in. Remaining anonymous in the social media world definitely has its advantages, whether you have a giant gap between your teeth, or you are just shy in person, either way, social media allows you to be your ultimate, anonymous, self.

The idea of lurking sounds quite nice to me. Visiting your favourite sites, reading the latest stories or editorials, and only thinking to yourself your thoughts about it all. Unfortunately for me I always seem to have something to say, and that something just always seems necessary to share. Of course, I don’t participate in every single blog post that I read, or respond to every Twitter message that runs through my feed, but a good number of the concepts touched upon or my responses to the discussions, I share. I find that my most common sharing technique is through real-life discussion, either with my coworkers, my fellow students, or my friends. It is often the result of these discussions that sparks a good blog post, or sends me on a mad search of the internet to answer some of the questions we have discussed.

On social networking sites such as Facebook, I find myself lurking through people’s wall posts to see what is going on in their lives, but I am definitely one to post a comment when something is out of the ordinary, has made me laugh, or is a discussion I just must participate in.

With Twitter I find myself further disseminating links to others from what I have found through those I follow (always giving credit where it is due of course). Personally, my attitude is that if I found something interesting it is quite likely others will as well. I just can’t seem to fight the urge to read information and not pass it along to others.

Maybe it is because I have never been shy. I have never been one of those people to have a dying question and choose not ask it in fear of being judged. If I have a question, chances are I am going to ask it. I find the challenging thing for myself is sitting back and listening. Other people always have valuable things to contribute, and as much as I always want to get my two cents in, sometimes sitting back and lurking is just as valuable as racing to get your opinion or information heard.