When we discuss social media in its broadest definition, I have engaged with it since the days of Bulletin Boards, when all communication was text based, and the only graphics were ASCII art…ASCII Artist

I became involved in online swaps, and participated in meet-ups, and contribute to discussions. However, I made a decision when Facebook was first beginning to be widely used to not join in. I was working in hospitality, and I didn’t want our guests to be able to contact me outside of work. This set the pattern for me consuming rather than engaging in social media. Even when I regularly followed my favourite blogs I rarely commented, continuing this pattern. I currently use WhatsApp frequently, including for groups, and consume YouTube and Instagram content.

With hindsight, I do regret this to a degree, as I don’t find it as natural to use Facebook as I would if I had used it more consistently, however I still think my original decision was the right one for the time.  As I commented on Rene’s blog – I watch with some trepidation the amount of information people openly post about their lives, and their children, on Facebook and also YouTube. Some young people haven’t had, or won’t have, the option of deciding for themselves how much of their lives are available on social media.

I am doing this paper in my last session of my MIS and looking back over the 2 ½ years of study I wonder whether I would have been better served by enrolling in it earlier in my degree. Being more adept in the use and evaluation of social media may have meant I engaged with the opportunities it presents more successfully during my studies, and with the possibilities it presents professionally and personally.

During the course of my Master of Information Studies I have had to develop a website for two other papers, INF406 Information Sources and Services, and INF459 Designing and Creating Usable Websites. For both the structure of the information was important. However, in first case the main focus was on presentation of information, and in the second accessibility and how the customer of the website would interact with the information were also important. INF459 certainly feed into the development of this blog, for example a primary consideration in selecting the theme for this site was whether it would display successfully on mobile devices. And the general considerations of design for easy use of websites, as well as  mobile accessibility, influenced my comparisons of the different sites in the OLJ 2 task.

INF435 Collections and INF415 Management of Information Agencies discuss management and policy, which informed my understanding of the need for robust policies around all library activities, including social media. These can both guide the development of a library’s online presence and persona, and provide staff parameters within which they can operate with a degree of freedom. They also are important for the protection of staff from the negative consequences of social media. Policies for how to deal with abuse, trolls and controversy should be included (Corsillo, 2019, June 28). And where we are part of larger organisations, our policies should be aligned. Additionally we should take the security of our social media accounts seriously, both professionally and personally, in contentious situations we need to be sure that malicious actions are prevented. As we have seen with the experience of Stan Grant a controversial presence exposes us to the risk of abusive behaviour on social media (Meade, 2023, May 21). In the lead up to the Voice to Parliament referendum, it is possible that libraries too could be vulnerable to attack, as sources of information and spaces for community events. Currently libraries and librarians in the US are experiencing attacks on their collections and librarians are being doxed and harassed in person over their support for challenged books (American Library Association, 2023, p. 4). As we are seeing other cultural issues from the US such as opposition to Drag Queen story hours be imported into Australia and directly affect libraries, we should be aware of this too. Preparing robust policies in all areas is vital in protecting the library’s presence in our communities. This leads to the question of whether I need to think through in a deliberate manner how I present on social media and what topics I choose to engage in, what social media persona I want to cultivate.

Unfortunately, I didn’t keep up with my Online Journal effectively during the course of the session, though I have enjoyed the process and the opportunity to read others’ thoughts on the topics we are discussing and reading about. The challenge of distilling my reading and exploration into words for others to read helped me to clarify my understanding of topics and has been valuable in consolidating what I’ve learnt (Rossingh, 2020, Aug 31). Social media is a two-edged sword, refusing to participate as an organisation is no longer a realistic option, especially when considering outreach to those who are unable to be present in our physical spaces for whatever reason. It is important to skill ourselves to make the best use of social media, as well as prepare to deal with the negatives arising from both personal and institutional engagement. Creating a positive and inclusive social media presence is a powerful protection for the future.

In light of this I am making a commitment to myself to contribute more frequently on the social media platforms that I use. And I am also going to decide whether it is wise to brave the increasingly challenging climate on Twitter, or should I commit to an alternative such as Mastodon?

References

American Library Association. (2023). The state of America’s libraries 2023: A report from the American Library Association (The state of America’s libraries, Issue. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2023

Corsillo, G. K. (2019, June 28). Staying social: Why your library needs social media policies. Public Library Association. https://publiclibrariesonline.org/2019/06/staying-social-why-your-library-needs-social-media-policies/

Meade, A. (2023, May 21). ABC boss apologises to Stan Grant after host left Q+A over racist abuse. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/21/abc-boss-apologises-to-stan-grant-after-host-said-he-felt-unsupported-in-face-of-racist-attacks

Rossingh, H. (2020, Aug 31). Note-taking by hand: A powerful tool to support memory. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/note-taking-by-hand-a-powerful-tool-to-support-memory-144049