In a Web 2.0 world, it is vital that information professionals have a wide range of skills that
are up to date and relevant as “today’s teachers have the opportunity to use technology to support existing pedagogy and meet the needs of their students” (Diacopoulos, 2015, p. 139). Firstly, it is important that information professionals have an understanding of what social media and social networking is in order to connect with their clients and customers. Such a large number of people are using libraries online now therefore information professionals need to ensure they are providing their users with useful information which can even be as simple as how to use their website. The University of Arizona is an outstanding example of this as they have one minute videos keeping their clients up to date with the latest information about their library. They also have an excellent social media presence so it would be impossible for students to miss any important information.
Marketing is another skill librarians need to learn and embrace to ensure students are aware of what is on offer at their library and what they can gain from it. There are many students today who do not frequent the library as they do not need to because they believe everything they need is online. Therefore, information professionals need to market their library in a variety of ways, such as through social media, to reach online students and students who do visit the library so that they know what is on offer and how they can benefit from the resources.
It is important that information professionals are flexible, adaptable and always willing to learn. It is an ever changing industry which requires professionals to want and need to keep up to date with the latest changes, particularly technological, so that they can assist patrons in the best possible way with the most up to date and recent methods. The information world is continually changing and information professionals will not be able to relate to their clients and customers if they are not well informed of the latest and most up to date research and information technology advances and embrace change. They need to be able to provide clients with the information they need whether that is ‘face to face’ or online, therefore information professionals need to constantly be discovering what clients need and want when researching as well as watching the changes taking place and embrace them.
References
Diacopoulos, M.M. (2015). Untangling Web 2.0: Charting Web 2.0 tools, the NCSS guidelines for effective use of technology, and Bloom’s Taxonomy. The social studies, 106(4), 139-148.
doi: 10.1080/00377996.2015.1015711
ASU Libraries demonstrate that they are definitely making outstanding progress with 
providing information to the users of their library through a range of social media tools. “Once viewed as tools for young people, social networking sites are now mainstream tools of communication for individuals in all age groups” (Cardon & Marshall, 2015, p. 274).
The Library Minute videos are such a clever way to connect to people. Firstly, they are short so immediately one knows they can learn something very quickly. Secondly, they are quite humorous and quirky so they are entertaining to watch and thirdly they are keeping students and staff informed and connected in such an easily accessible platform.
When perusing the ASU Library Channel suite it was interesting to look at their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages. Once again these were extremely informative, the Facebook and Twitter pages obviously had similar content but the Instagram page was quite different. ASU Library is clearly reaching students and staff by using Web 2.0 tools and quite a few of them which in turn makes it easier to reach a wider group of people as I am sure they would be hoping that if someone isn’t using Twitter that they are using Facebook and they are then receiving the information in that format.
In all of these platforms, they allow for collaboration of thoughts and ideas, conversation regarding what has been posted, a sense of community as everyone can be involved and content creation as a result of Web 2.0. It is evident that there is a great sense of community however there was not a ‘large’ amount of conversation or co-content creation as the university provides such fabulous amounts of information however people were not responding to it with their thoughts and ideas. Many factors can contribute to this such as lack of time and wanting to see the information but not feeling the need to respond.
Overall, ASU Libraries are connecting with their clientele on such a great level. It is easy to see in The Library Minute videos that thousands of people of watched these and there are many people connected to their Twitter and Facebook feeds so even if people are not necessarily conversing in these forums they are still seeing them and receiving quality information.
References
Cardon, P. W. & Marshall, B. (2015). The hype and reality of social media use for work collaboration and team communication. International journal of business communication, 52(3), 273-293.
doi: 10.1177/2329488414525446
When perusing user reviews such as Tripadvisor, I believe the credibility and quality of these need to be looked at with a critical eye. I have used Tripadvisor and Urbanspoon on quite 
a few occasions and I believe they can contain extremely useful information and reviews. However, I never read just one or two comments, I read many to understand the overall idea as to what the ‘general consensus’ is. As long as one reads them with a critical mind, I believe they definitely have a place in the world we live in and I have had great success by choosing cafes or hotels based on these reviews.
I believe they could be used as evidence of the quality of services or products, however I do not believe this can be done alone as there needs to be other types of evidence to back this up. This may include a panel of people who review these hotels or restaurants based on particular checklists and you can then make comparisons and put them together to get a ‘general’ idea. It is like any review, people have different needs and wants as well as different opinions, some may agree with you and some may not.
It is difficult to believe that hotels would charge patrons who leave negative reviews and it is difficult to believe that this can even be legal in this day and age. However, I am sure it has happened which is very disheartening to think is possible and it is also concerning as patrons who are aware of this act will not write what they actually believe and then the ‘general’ pattern of reviews is not as evident, or it may be written in a way that does not necessarily reflect the service.
We are living in an age where anyone can have an opinion published and I strongly believe the most important thing is to have a critical mind and encourage others to do the same. Many of these reviews can be helpful as long as one keeps in mind how they may be filtered and what the reasons could be behind some of the comments.
It has been interesting to read and compare the information regarding Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 
as it prompts one to ponder the positive and negative aspects of this development.
Web 1.0 was the dissemination of information to users which was read in a passive fashion. Obviously, there was no room for discussion, collaboration, critiquing or praise of this information. Web 2.0 enables two-way dialogue between users. Social media and networking was created as a result of this. Interactions with individuals, groups, forums, discussions, blogs, wikis, networking, tags enabling information to be categorised and gaining a wealth of information from others are just some of what we are seeing today as a result of Web 2.0. We are not only consumers of information now but also producers.
This then leads to the need we have as a society to question the credibility of what we are reading and where the source actually comes from, as anyone can write an article and publish it on the internet. It is vital that society are taught critical thinking skills from an early age so people are questioning the legitimacy of information on the web and know how to check the credibility of the author if it is questionable.
Web 2.0 has enabled the world to become a ‘smaller place’ and it has had so many positive impacts for people of all backgrounds, even “educators can expand and diversify the learning environment , and thus increase student motivation and engagement” (Dumitrescu, 2015, p.149). It has enabled people to connect in positive ways to help each other through support, collaboration and sharing of information. However, with this, there are also negative impacts such as bullying, people collaborating for evil reasons and sharing and discussion of ‘fake news’ and misinformation. It is important that people of all ages are continuing to be educated on this and ways Web 2.0 can be used for ‘good’ and what should and can be done when becoming a victim or noticing someone becoming victimised.
In conclusion, we are extremely lucky to be part of this world where people can connect so easily with others for a variety of different reasons, whether it be personally or professionally. For many people it has made life much easier as it is so simple to connect with others and for many it has also created some problems. Overall, Web 2.0 has enabled the ‘spread’ of information to happen at a rapid and exciting rate which can be shared and discussed in a variety of ways.
References
Dumitrescu, V.M. (2015). One step ahead: From web 1.0 to web 2.0 technologies in higher education. eLearning and software for education, 2, 143-150.
doi: 10.12753/2066-026X-15-111
are up to date and relevant as “today’s teachers have the opportunity to use technology to support existing pedagogy and meet the needs of their students” (Diacopoulos, 2015, p. 139). Firstly, it is important that information professionals have an understanding of what social media and social networking is in order to connect with their clients and customers. Such a large number of people are using libraries online now therefore information professionals need to ensure they are providing their users with useful information which can even be as simple as how to use their website. The University of Arizona is an outstanding example of this as they have one minute videos keeping their clients up to date with the latest information about their library. They also have an excellent social media presence so it would be impossible for students to miss any important information.
