While this isn\u2019t the first blog that I\u2019ve kept (there have been others for classes I\u2019ve taken and taught), I\u2019m going to try to make it representative of my first actual, legitimate commitment to getting involved in the realm of social media. Part of the reason that I opted to take the course in social software course offered by the MLIS program is my lack of involvement in the area to date and a recognition of the catching up that I need to do. I\u2019ve avoided even the most common tools, thinking, perhaps, that they were fads and will ultimately vanish or morph into something entirely different. Now I\u2019ve come to the point that even my parents are using sites like Facebook for keeping in touch with others, and some of my old friends have even tried to access them in order to get to me (\u201cWhere\u2019s Scott\u2019s Facebook account\u2026 I can\u2019t find it? Can you tell him to add me?\u201d).<\/p>\n
Not being connected through Facebook, Twitter, etc. has now made me the \u2018difficult one\u2019 \u2013 when my friends are getting together and send out e-vites through their online networks, I still have to be phoned to be reminded that the party is, indeed, on Saturday at eight. More and more, involvement in social media and networking tools is taken as a given instead of an option, and a failure to realize this and create an appropriate avatar leaves you at the risk of potentially becoming anachronistic.<\/p>\n
Entering into a career as a librarian has made me realize that I can\u2019t be so\u2026 traditional? in the way that I choose to communicate with others. I\u2019m very interested in public librarianship as a profession, and I\u2019ve realized that in order to provide the best service possible, I need to develop the shared and continuously evolving aptitude of the online social forum \u2013 not having these skills might make having a degree in \u2018Information Science\u2019 feel a little hollow.<\/p>\n