Welcome to the social media learning adventure.
This blog has been established to fulfil a course assignment for LIBR 559M: Social Media for Information Professionals within the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, for the MLIS degree at the University of British Columbia.
As a MLIS candidate and future librarian it is my intention to not only succeeding in this course by fulfilling the requirements but to chronicle the joys (and possibly the frustrations) of the steep learning curve of embracing or at least becoming competent in the social media technologies of today. Libraries are incorporating social media technologies for a variety of purposes and I hope to soon participate in these initiatives in a meaningful way.
Social Media refers to the digital technologies that have become interactive and collaborative.
As the saying goes, “the only constant in life is change”. I believe that this has never been truer than during the past 25 years. During this time technology has revolutionized how a large part of the global population lives. Our society includes a combination of Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. Digital natives are people born during this time of digital technology, internet, email, online journals, document sharing, texting, social media etc. Digital Immigrants are people born before this technology era who needed to learn as it developed or on a need to know basis. Digital immigrants may also be people who simply have not been exposed to these digital innovations due to other reasons such as social, economic, political challenges.
It is relevant to consider that not all people we interact with as library professionals will be digital natives and we must interpret the comfort levels of our customers. The technology rich environment that libraries provide create incredible advantages to services for some but at the same time may be difficult for others to navigate.
My current journey is taking me into the world of social media. I am hoping this blog is a knowledge building exercise for us all as well as fun and entertaining.
References
Digital Natives / Digital Immigrants Definition. Retrieved on July 16th 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_natives
Prensky, M. 2001. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon 9 (5). Retrieved on July 16th 2011 from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital
%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
Social Media Definition. Retrievec on July 16th 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media
The perspectives of relative newcomers to social media like yourself (you’re not the only one in this class by far!) are proving to be very informative and refreshing.