Anne,
Yes, I would absolutely agree with all of those comments. If you are
looking to consult or engage with a community of interest or practice
then social media is only ever part of the picture. Email is important
and face to face is certainly still essential for some types of engagement.
What can be quite interesting in social media spaces, and more broadly
online, is that the louder and quieter voices are not always the same
people - some of those who will be quite dominant in face to face spaces
can be quiet or absent online whilst some of those who feel least
confident about speaking up in person find they can be far more vocal
online, particularly in social media presences where anonimity is an
option. I think generally being able to engage in a variety of offline
and online spaces that have been chosen to fit the
user/audience/community needs, and doing that in a consistent way tends
to be the best approach.
- Nicola.
On 28/03/2012 15:01, Welsh, Anne wrote:
> Hi Nicola
>
> I know the studies for UK general usage of twitter. I think it's important
> to see that where we are talking about communities of practice the figures
> may be higher or lower, and, at the moment, we simply do not know (a) how
> many cataloguers there are in the UK or (b) how many of them use twitter
> professionally. However, the cozy feel of twitter and of email lists can
> make us feel that we know what "the community" thinks. I hate the term,
> but it's part of the echo chamber effect.
>
> It was really striking to me that when Celine noted that most people who
> had actively commented on this forum were also active tweeters, it was at
> that point that non-tweeters raised their voices.
>
> When Celine, Helen and I were writing our paper on the RDA e-forum for the
> upcoming Journal of Library Metadata, it was noticeable that the forum
> received more than the standard rate of community response.
>
> I think it's important to remain aware that there are always, in any forum
> (real-world or virtual), more silent participants than outspoken ones,
> otherwise we can shrink our own world.
>
> As someone who has given lots of presentations on how to "do" social
> media, it always surprises people to find out that I agree with Heather -
> it's not worth doing just for its own sake! Twitter, Pinterest, Google+,
> facebook, are all just tools to help us achieve stuff. Sometimes the
> offline way *is* best!
>
> So, I would say, only get involved with Twitter if you feel you are out of
> the loop with something and / or if you feel the need to broadcast
> something institutionally. Ditto for blogging, facebooking and linkedin.
> The two best networked people I know in librarianship have never, to my
> knowledge, touched a social network site - they get their news direct from
> the many people who value them enough not to leave them out of the
> conversation!
>
>
> Anne
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 28/03/2012 14:14, "Nicola Osborne"<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> A few comments to add here:
>>
>> Firstly Twitter lists are a really great tip, a really good way to
>> organise and filter out the streams of tweets in sensible ways that work
>> for you. Thanks for that Anne!
>>
>> Secondly in terms of representation the credible estimates on how many
>> people in the UK use Twitter put it at about 10-12%, and you can
>> probably assume that that is a percentage of those who use the web. It
>> has wide use but is very niche compared to the percentages using
>> Facebook or accessing blogs.
>>
>> - Nicola.
>>
>>
>> On 28/03/2012 13:32, Welsh, Anne wrote:
>>> One thing got me into twitter: RDA - specifically the way that US
>>> national libraries have taken the lead. I picked up so much stuff so
>>> much earlier via twitter (even than on RDA-L) that it was invaluable
>>> when I was writing the book and continues to be so for teaching.
>>>
>>> There is a lot of recycling, that's true, but as well as following
>>> people you can create lists, and I have a few of these it's of them
>>> private so no-one feels excluded) that I use to filter down to people
>>> that I feel keep me informed.
>>>
>>> I do see twitter as exactly the same (to me) as list servs, but I can
>>> filter it in more ways than list servs.
>>>
>>> Also, like all social media, and as Celine has described, over time
>>> personal details creep in, so twitter is also a bit like a staff common
>>> room (to me). I've gotten to know some more colleagues which is great.
>>>
>>> One thing that I do wonder though is how representative twitter is (and
>>> listservs are) of the community as a whole: just as there are some
>>> people who don't like the common room, there will always be some folks
>>> who don't like twitter etc., and it's important we don't start to see
>>> such arenas as more representative than they are.
>>>
>>> I also think a twitter marathon specifically sharing items catalogued
>>> would be great. It would showcase different LMS too, and that's
>>> something worth capturing. (In teaching the hardest thing to find is
>>> examples of records in situ on OPACs from the time before I was
>>> teaching, yet often these are the most useful things in showing how
>>> users accessed materials). Perhaps we could set up an HVcats pool on
>>> Flickr for this, Celine?
>>>
>>> Anne
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 28 Mar 2012, at 13:17, "Jardine,
>>> Heather"<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello, I'm another late arrival at the party - Heather Jardine, City of
>>>> London Libraries. I've blogged recently on hvcats about our excursions
>>>> into the world of blogs and videos and our (so far slightly tentative)
>>>> engagement with social media.
>>>>
>>>> But I personally don't have a Twitter account. I've been tempted
>>>> several
>>>> times but held back partly because of the volume of stuff everyone gets
>>>> stuck into (OK, so it's a river but I'm sure I'd be trying to empty
>>>> that
>>>> river with my bucket!), partly because I am much too prolix ever to
>>>> manage to say anything in a single tweet, partly because I don't want
>>>> to
>>>> see quirky stuff when I'm not in the mood for it, because I don't have
>>>> a
>>>> smartphone and don't have access to Twitter at work, but mostly because
>>>> I suspect (go on, tell me I'm wrong) that it is a relatively small
>>>> community all recycling the same things and generating huge amounts of
>>>> noise without too much substance (why tweet about a blog post instead
>>>> of
>>>> reading the blog in the first place?) - oh yes, and because I am a
>>>> grumpy old person...
>>>>
>>>> I love blogging though...!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Heather Jardine
>>>> Bibliographical Access Manager
>>>> City of London Libraries
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: CIG E-Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lee,
>>>> Deborah
>>>> Sent: 28 March 2012 12:39
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Subject: Re: [CIG-E-FORUM] anyone not on Twitter out there?
>>>>
>>>> I am on Twitter, but don't have time to check it nearly as much as I
>>>> would like to. I have found Twitter a really useful way of finding out
>>>> about events, especially events which have sold out very quickly (e.g.
>>>> the London librarian teachmeet), and like others, it is has been
>>>> invaluable for RDA updates - or at least being updated that there was
>>>> an
>>>> RDA update out! I have also found it really useful for garnering
>>>> opinions and advice from other cataloguer on specific cataloguing
>>>> issues, and find it more approachable than cataloguing mailing lists.
>>>>
>>>> I also worry/wonder about the professional/personal bit. For this
>>>> purpose, I try and keep Twitter entirely professional (though don't
>>>> mention my place of work, as it is professional-personal, rather than
>>>> my
>>>> "official" account), but have succumbed to following the odd orchestra
>>>> or choir! I keep my facebook account entirely private. However as
>>>> Helen said, the professional/personal do end up blurring as I meet
>>>> Twitter cataloguers in real life and have music librarian "friends" on
>>>> facebook.
>>>>
>>>> Debbie
>>>>
>>>> Deborah Lee
>>>> Senior cataloguer
>>>> Book Library
>>>> Courtauld Institute of Art
>>>> Somerset House
>>>> Strand
>>>> London WC2R 0RN
>>>>
>>>> Telephone: 020 7848 2905
>>>> Email: [log in to unmask]
>>>>
>>>> Now on at The Courtauld Gallery:
>>>>
>>>> Mondrian || Nicholson: In Parallel
>>>> 16 February - 20 May 2012
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: CIG E-Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
>>>> Linda
>>>> Gilbert
>>>> Sent: 28 March 2012 12:18
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Subject: Re: [CIG-E-FORUM] anyone not on Twitter out there?
>>>>
>>>> I don't use Twitter either, and have no idea how to. I do have a
>>>> facebook account but only for personal use. I originally signed up to
>>>> facebook after going to a cpd event where someone from the British
>>>> Library recommended using fb to keep up with BL developments. I could
>>>> never see why this was better than using their web pages. I feel as
>>>> though I am missing something but am not sure what it is! I hardly have
>>>> time to keep up with the media I do use (email and mail lists) let
>>>> alone
>>>> trying to work out what else I should be using. I do have a mobile
>>>> phone, but it isn't smart and I hardly ever use it (much to my
>>>> daughters
>>>> frustration).
>>>> I have a Linkedin account, but don't use that either.
>>>> Like Gordon, I am currently blissfully ignorant, but probably won't
>>>> stay
>>>> that way for much longer.
>>>>
>>>> Linda Gilbert
>>>> STFC
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: CIG E-Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sue
>>>> Lambert
>>>> Sent: 28 March 2012 11:56
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Subject: Re: [CIG-E-FORUM] anyone not on Twitter out there?
>>>>
>>>> I'll raise my head above the parapet and say I don't use Twitter. I
>>>> don't use Facebook. Though I do follow blogs via Google Reader. I don't
>>>> have a mobile phone let alone a smart one!
>>>>
>>>> Sue
>>>>
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>>
>> --
>> Nicola Osborne
>> Social Media Officer
>>
>> EDINA website:
>> http://www.edina.ac.uk/
>>
>> t: 0131 651 3873
>> e: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> a: EDINA, The University of Edinburgh, Causewayside House, 158-162
>> Causewayside, Edinburgh EH9 1PR
>>
>> The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland,
>> with registration number SC005336.
>>
>>
>
>
--
Nicola Osborne
Social Media Officer
EDINA website:
http://www.edina.ac.uk/
t: 0131 651 3873
e: [log in to unmask]
a: EDINA, The University of Edinburgh, Causewayside House, 158-162 Causewayside, Edinburgh EH9 1PR
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
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