sociaLISe

Thoughts this week:

The 1:9:90 rule

I’m not sure if it applies to all online communities* but I think it applies to blogging communities. And I know that it applies to me – I’m a lurker at heart. I wouldn’t say that I have a fear of commenting but my initial reactions to a post are often, “Right on!” or “Whatever!” and since these ‘comments’ lack any substance I don’t bother with posting them. So what does it take to get me to comment and participate? Ask me a question. I’m more likely to contribute when the interaction has some semblance to a conversation. “Stirring the pot,” as Dreyer and Grant suggest, isn’t always the best method because if it’s out of character or controversial for the sake of being controversial then I’m often turned off and I’ll ditch a blog that seems to be trying too hard. I can’t speak for all users but if 90% of users are lurkers, and I’m a lurker, then…

*Contributions can be made in communities in a more passive way now – click ‘like’ in Facebook and you’ve contributed without having to type a word or compose a semi-coherent thought.  Add a page, accept a request – these are ways of contributing through mere clicks.

Blog Success

I’ll be honest – I’ve judged books by their covers, and I still do. The same goes for blogs. If your blog isn’t pretty/cute/tidy then chances are that I won’t be sucked in even if you are charming and witty. Of course content matters (too) but I think that aesthetics shouldn’t be overlooked.

Of the blogs listed as case studies for the week I liked MADreads and Shelf Talk* the most. Both blogs have THE look of the moment (the soft coloured background, simple banner, centred text box, links on the right look). Simply put, they don’t look dated like some of the other blogs did. These blogs also incorporated images into most posts and helped liven up each entry – if they had a few relevant video clips to throw in it’d round out the multimedia experience.

(* Hello! It’s Seattle Public Library’s blog – of course it’s a winner.)

Put On a Happy Face

I hadn’t considered the act of blogging as ‘performance’ until reading Jill Walker’s article. But she has a point, we’re often writing for an audience (or a perceived audience). So what effect does this have on your blog’s “voice?” We’re supposed to be honest but still portray the organization in a positive light; not sound like a corporate robot but still remain professional; have a unique voice but still represent the organization. I’m not sure what sort of relationship this writer is supposed to cultivate with his/her readers but I’d be a little wary of someone who is able to perform so well.

Writing a corporate blog is sounding more and more like a chore and less like a fun and creative outlet. But, hey, it’s a job so I guess it can’t be all fun and candy floss.

Dear Blog,

Having read the articles for this week I’m feeling a little shameful and guilty – I haven’t been a very good blog parent.

People have kindly taken the time to comment on my posts and I have yet to respond. And I know that I’ve got to listen to Dreyer and Grant and be more active on here.

I think about you often, honestly, I do. I promise that I’m not like Steven Krause’s or Jill Walker’s students: I would just write, if given the opportunity (read: time). Time just manages to get away from me and that chore known as my job is quite the time-stealer as well.

I can’t promise that things will change immediately, but I can promise to try and take better care of you.

Love,

Amena

I’ll admit that the terms Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 were not a part of my vocabulary until October of 2009. When Rosanne (Greene) asked me, ‘Why is there no mention of Web 2.0 on your resume?’ all I could do was furrow my brow and look like I’d forgotten to turn off my flat iron. Two point what now?

So of course I looked it up and felt silly for not knowing the latest buzzwords. And to some extent that’s what they are: buzzwords. Until recently some of us were likely throwing the terms around without a complete understanding of the origins of definitions. I used it as my safety net during co-op interviews – when in doubt my stock response was, “Web 2.0 technologies” and that got me the smiles and nods.

Enter LIS9763.

Having read a few of the articles for this week (and skimming through the rest), I’ve chosen Sarah Houghton’s defintion, quoted in Blyberg’s post, as my favourite because it’s straightforward, resonates with my idea of Library 2.0, and addresses the physical space:

“Library 2.0 simply means making your library’s space (virtual and physical) more interactive, collaborative, and driven by community needs. Examples of where to start include blogs, gaming nights for teens, and collaborative photo sites. The basic drive is to get people back into the library by making the library relevant to what they want and need in their daily lives…to make the library a destination and not an afterthought.”

This definition and Blyberg’s posting both speak to the fact that 2.0 is a shift towards a more user-based and user-friendly system – and this does not necessarily mean that we’ve got to turn into tech wizards overnight to keep up. Yes, technology plays a significant role but our responsibility is still towards the user/community and this means being aware of the trends but placing the needs of our users over the desire to jump on the social media bandwagon.

“L2 is not about technology, but technology is an important component of it…Remember, L2 is about being relevant. If your constituents, by and large, do not have PCs at home, then maybe a major goal should be to provide access at your facilities.” - Blyberg

While reading “10 ways library schools should be teaching social media” I found myself focusing on the author’s promotion of Twitter. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: tweeting isn’t for me. Hooker mentions the number one complaint against Twitter a number of times – “the signal-to-noise ratio.” For whatever reason, most people who care to micro-blog are updating us on the minutiae of day-to-day life or just letting it all hang out (figuratively, thankfully) and have us screaming, “TMI!” I’m well aware, however, that there are organizations, prominent bloggers/authors and other parties who do attempt to use Twitter in a more productive way but my question is: why Twitter? Why use this particular forum to spread the news or your gospel when it’s criticized for its (lack of) content? Social media continues to evolve and in some instances carves out niches as well – consider social networking… MySpace was open to everyone and their uncles; enter Facebook, a social networking site that was initially only available to university/college students. Now there are social networking sites for professionals (LinkedIn, Qapacity), Internet wizards (Pingsta – ok, it’s more of a collaborative tool but I’m not splitting hairs), and work colleagues (Yammer) – even atmospheric scientists have their own social network (AtmosPeer). Where is the grown-up version of Twitter? Surely there’s room on the interweb for another micro-blogging platform that prizes quality over quantity.

Came across this article in The Globe and Mail yesterday.

Apparently micro-donations, donations made via text (SMS) or online, are significantly contributing to relief efforts for the Haiti earthquake victims.

Due to some oddness with the sound quality on my laptop when I tried doing a video post I had to abandon that idea and settle for this:

My experiences with social media/software have been generally limited to tools that promote communication (blogs, social networking) or multimedia (photo sharing and video sharing).  I’ve been through the oh-so-emo phase of blogging on LJ (Livejournal) daily but old habits die hard and I do still lurk about some communities.  I’ve recently overcome a FB (Facebook) addiction and no longer feel the need to check out what’s going on every spare minute I have.  I have yet to be won over by microblogging but maybe this class will change that.  I’m also hoping to learn about and play around with collaborative tools over the coming weeks.  Most importantly, I hope to get (back) into the swing of working everyday and doing coursework so I can crank out some quality posts.