I have already admitted that I am a bad ‘digital native’ but that doesn’t mean I’m incapable of learning quickly. I have finally decided to listen to the multiple speakers that have spoken to our Social Media for Information Professionals course about the benefits of LinkedIn. I used to be under the impression that LinkedIn was redundant for employers, but I have switched gears into thinking that LinkedIn’s potential lies in its ability to cultivate a network for open communication.

I decided it was time to swallow my negative outlooks on LinkedIn and make an account. Many of you who know me will have noticed within seconds of me signing up. I even got a “welcome to the dark side” message within ten minutes, but for those of you who haven’t noticed because you don’t have LinkedIn, I have some explaining to do.

For one, the number of social networking sites (SNSs) is almost endless (Boyd, 2007). Hootsuite currently supports thirty-five social SNSs (Swanson, 2016) and brings potential to librarians. So which platform do we sign up for? I have noticed that from the readings and speakers for the course, four main platforms have been continually cited: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. As librarians we have an obligation to keep up and stay in tune with rapidly changing technology and SNSs. In Walt Crawford’s article Successful Social Networking in Public Libraries he states, “Libraries need to stay in touch with all aspects of their communities, be welcome to new users and new ideas, and serve the local needs of local users.” I agree that good libraries stay in touch with their communities and many of these communities are online. For this reason, I am signing up for the only SNS mentioned in class that I have yet to sign up for: LinkedIn.

If you are like me, and for some strange reason STILL haven’t jumped on the LinkedIn bandwagon, I have compiled some best practices for building a LinkedIn account to help you out.

One article was particularly helpful for the basics of signing up. Bernard Marr in How To Create A Killer LinkedIn Profile That Will Get You Noticed discusses ten practices to help individuals get started:

“Start with a professional photo

Make your headline stand out

Fill out the “summary” field with 5-6 of your biggest achievements

Add images or documents to your experience

Fill out as much of the profile as possible (I have yet to do this, but it’s important that I have gotten started)

Keep your work history relevant

Add links to relevant sites

Ask for recommendations

Use status updates to share industry-relevant content” (Marr, 2015).

Although some of these tips seem obvious, for those who have never used LinkedIn, it can be helpful in getting started and if you follow these basic steps, you can almost ensure that your profile will be viewed as competitive. Lists may vary depending on who is being targeted, but as an introduction to the LinkedIn world, these steps helped me get started.

Again, as librarians we have an obligation to our communities to stay relevant, and this means staying up-to-date with SNSs and other relevant library systems. As for me, I have to get beyond step two of Marr’s article if I will be able to able thrive on LinkedIn.

Resources

Boyd, Danah M., and Nicole B. Ellison. “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship.” Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication 13.1 (2007): 210-30. Web.

Swanson, Tori. “Intro to Social Media Strategy.” Social Media for Information Professionals. Vancouver. 8 Mar. 2016. Lecture.

Crawford, Walt, and Ebrary Academic Complete (Canada) Subscription Collection. Successful Social Networking in Public Libraries. Chicago: ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association, 2014. Web.

Marr, Bernard. “How To Create A Killer LinkedIn Profile That Will Get You Noticed.” Pulse (2015) Accessed 20 March 2016. Blog. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-create-killer-linkedin-profile-get-you-noticed-bernard-marr.

“Would you consider yourself to be a digital native or a digital immigrant? Does your experience reflect the digital native/digital immigrant discourse?”

I recently read an article outlining the discourse on the validity of the digital native and digital immigrant divide. Published by Oxford University Press, Digital Natives: Fact or Fiction? asked its readers whether their experiences reflect the current narrative.

Prensky (2001) was the first to describe the ‘digital divide’ as a gap developing between “the young who have grown up with technology and older people who have become acquainted with technology later in life.” Later on, however, Prensky (2009) acknowledged, “Older people may be digital natives.” Despite these claims, Oxford University press is highlighting that the assumption that young people are good with technology is perpetuated (2001).

So, what if my experience doesn’t reflect the current discourse?

After listening to Tori Swanson, a Hootsuite Corporate Solutions Consultant, speak to my Social Media for Information Professionals course two weeks ago, I realized that I am not entirely on my social media game. During her presentation she mentioned four key social media platforms that—in her opinion—we (as future librarians) should utilize: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

As a “digital native,” I do not possess all the confidence it takes to operate at the highest level of a digital marketing or communications professional like Tori does. Many positions that I have interviewed for this semester, however, have assumed that I can operate on this plane, despite this information gap on my resume. My technological skills (or, rather, my lack thereof) are in fact barriers to me as a young person. Not only do I not possess many of these skills, but I don’t even have a LinkedIn account. It was this realization that prompted me to blog about my inexperiences of technology skills as a ‘digital native.’ Last week I was told by a young public librarian that most interviewers look at young librarians in training as a vault of technological skills and knowledge even when most of the time we are not. So, do my experiences reflect the digital native/digital immigrant discourse?—No.

It is just something we are going to have to deal with.

Anyone (including me) can learn to use technology, but as ‘digital natives’ we must learn it to survive amongst those who are good with technology. It may not be fair, but that is the reality that we (as future information professionals) are going to have to come to grips with. There is an assumption that we are proficient with tech, and we will be judged on these assumptions. I am a highly trainable individual and sharp when it comes to learning new things, however, to my surprise, it has been difficult to find these opportunities in a place that supports future information professionals. If I am being honest, my social media course has been my biggest connection to the tech world.

My first step is to follow Tori’s advice and to get a LinkedIn account. My future strategies include signing up for “Group Training Sessions for all things social media strategy, Instagram, and Mobile for iOS, from our expert Hootsuite Social Media Coaches” (Swanson, 2016). I also plan on asking one of the PhDs here at SLAIS to run an extra HTML training session for students who have classes during the current sessions. It’s true that the iSchool has in many ways let down its students on the tech front, but I have heard these comments echoed across different North American information institutions. For now, it seems like for many of us who have not found our technology grounding, we will have to search it out ourselves. As future librarians we must see the value in gaining the skills that we are assumed to have. The bottom line is that as young information professionals we are expected to have mastered technology, whatever that means.

I am a digital native and I suck with technology.

Resources

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9:1-6

Prensky, M. (2009). H. sapiens digital: from digital immigrants and digital natives to digital wisdom. Innovate Journal of Online Education, 5

Swanson, Tori. “Intro to Social Media Strategy.” Social Media for Information Professionals. Vancouver. 8 Mar. 2016. Lecture.