Evaluative and Reflective Statement
Evaluation
With billions of people linked to the internet and able to interact via social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, the networked world of today is a big reality. However, since the terms social media, social networks, and Web 2.0 have become commonplace, to provide some clarification in this challenging world, it is worth knowing about these terms (Canty, 2012).
Social networking platforms have there uses and there are multiple platforms available there are the professional sites like LinkedIn and ResearchGate, or blogging sites, Facebook, Twitter, Snap Chat, then theres Wikis, social news sites, YouTube, Instagram and so many more (Gerts, 2020, Module 3).
In a survey conducted by Taylor & Francis it was found that over 70% of libraries use social media resources/tools and at least 30 percent of librarians post on a regular basis. The most popular platforms are Facebook and Twitter, with a growing interest in visual channels such as YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat. Promoting and getting input on library programmes, facilities and services were the most common uses (Mccallum, 2015).
Nowadays, social media encompasses everything from the professional LinkedIn networking platform, the iconic Facebook app family, and newcomers such as the TikTok video sharing app.
The definition of social media in the workplace, as such, is more complex than it seems. It can be a benefit for individual workers and the company as a whole if channelled correctly (Boyd, 2020).
Every organisation today needs to exploit appropriate social media platforms in the best way possible. Not because it’s the “in thing” and not because it sounds easy, but because their target audience hangs around common social networks. And they’re interacting with and communicating with their favourite brands on various levels (Smith, 2019).
Yet we hear all the statistics that you should be on social media it will help your business but like every thing in life there are advantages as well as disadvantages or issues that need to be considered by information professionals.
In many ways, since there is absolutely no barrier between the librarian and the customer, this theoretically seamless service is the dream solution. Someone is already on Twitter, for instance, so they can easily ask the library a question: to do it, they don’t even have to go to another website (Public Library News, 2014).
Such benefits as building brand loyalty and awareness, enhancing two way communication, quick way to get updates to the community, increases library users by allowing isolated people access and marketing.
This course brings to light the need to know your audience so as to be able to choose the correct platform to gain maximum exposure, and the pros and cons of each platform. For example If your customer base or library users are predominantly seniors would it be conductive to use TicTok not really but why?
TicTok demographics according to Statista say that only 7.1 % of users are over 50. The largest user group were females aged 20 to 29, so you would not be getting information to your target audience by using TicTok (Clement, 2020).
This comes back to the module 4 statement that” social media implementation should be driven by the needs and goals of the organisation and should include an initial identification of your audience or stakeholders. By aligning your activities to the needs of your organisation and your clients, you can help to ensure that precious resources such as time and budget are not wasted on tools and strategies that are the wrong fit for your organisation” (Gerts, 2020).
The subject material also covered the need for a social media policy. Why?
If it comes to the policy on social media, the concept will be that it is a guideline document determined by an organisation about the things that their staff and members should say on the various social media sites. Employees of any specific company or agency would have to follow the Social Media Use Policies in order to insure that they do not say or post the wrong stuff that can shatter the reputation of the business. There is, therefore, no question that the policy on social media is very important for business organisations (Bhasin, 2019).
Some issues encountered with social media and supporting reasons are hackers, cyber bullying, security issues, there is the chance of exposure to misinformation/fake news, it can be time consuming, some users may be uncomfortable in using it, online identity -what to share, and it needs to be constantly updated.
A study done by Chu & Meulemans, (2008, as cited in Collins & Quan-haase, 2014) showed that, for academic purposes, students were uncomfortable using social media platforms. Students reported that they were more inclined and more comfortable to communicate with academic staff, such as librarians and professors, via more professional means of communication such as e-mail (Collins & Quan-Haase, 2012).
On Twitter, news stories that contain inaccuracies spread six times more rapidly than articles containing the facts. False news reports are given more shares and retweets than real stories. It is up to each of us to check the details we exchange in order to prevent this drawback (Miller, 2013).
Another thing of concern is the need for staff skills to be updated or the need for the core skills to be extended. This was noted in the last two paragraphs of the post by Michelle Vinall called Thought for the Future stating that Librarians should challenge themselves to learn new skills to as to allow their patrons to access and learn new technologies (Vinall, 2020).
Reflections
As I go back and reflect on what we have covered in INF506 Social Networking for Information Professionals over the past session, I think firstly about my expectations coming into the subject, as my history is in technology, when I saw this subject I thought Social Media in business, a digitally orientated subject, that would be right up my alley.
What I expected, well I came in with an open mind not sure how the content would be presented, I knew from previous studies that Social Media is a step that all businesses should consider, and that there were benefits as well as the pitfalls to using Social Media, but what I had not considered was that every platform had its use and I was thinking Facebook, Twitter and maybe Instagram. I new there were other platforms but never really considered there use in business as beneficial.
On reading one of my fellow class mates blogs on information trends, I feel she hit the mark exactly in saying using social media in course of business is not a choice but a necessity, if you want your business to succeed (Patrice.Marchbank, 2021). Organisations especially those in the information services need to put themselves out there to succeed in this new technologically driven world.
The subject showed me, that users just do not just use social media for their personal fun but that more and more people are using it for information purposes, as the phrase used by Van Dijck,. (2018) and the book by the same name say, we are “The platform Society”.
The term ‘platform society’ does not simply move the emphasis from the economic to the social; the term can also refer to a profound conflict in a society where so many interactions are carried out through the Internet over private gain versus public profit. Although networks are alleged to maximise personalised advantages and economic gain, collective means and public resources are simultaneously placed under pressure (Van Dijck, 2018) .
I mean we all live with social media but not necessarily understanding the variety and benefit of its uses for organisations not just personal use.
This paragraph really made me think about the future for library professionals – In order to improve both the appeal and value of your library to customers, consider introducing customizable and participatory services. To complement and expand library resources, the Library 2.0 model aims to leverage the awareness of our customers. User comments, tags, and ratings feed back into these websites with user-created content. Ultimately, for later consumers, this provides a more insightful product. Clients in your library have favourite names, authors, and genres. Your catalogue can be enhanced by having them comment, write reviews, generate their own tags and ratings, and share them with others via a more flexible OPAC interface. Customers like to know what they are reading, listening to and watching from their neighbours. Hennepin County Library, MN, has taken this move by allowing users to comment on the catalogue (Casey & Savastinuk, 2006).
The other thing it really brought to light for me is the ever growing roles of todays librarians and what we need to know compared to librarians of the past. libraries are not just books and a physical place they are so much more thanks to technology and the digitalization of the 21st century. This subject has left me with a lot to think about and shows how much the world of businesses need to change to fully enable the users needs and wants of the future.
References
Bhasin, H. (2019, January 30). What is Social Media Policy? Importance, Advantage and Template. Marketing91. https://www.marketing91.com/social-media-policy/
Boyd, C. (2020, May 13). A Guide to the Successful Use of Social Media in the Workplace. The Blueprint; https://www.fool.com/the-blueprint/social-media-in-the-workplace/
Canty, N. (2012). Social Media in Libraries: It’s Like, Complicated. Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues, 23(2), 41–54. Sage Journals. https://doi.org/10.7227/alx.23.2.4
Casey, Micheal. E., & Savastinuk, Laura. C. (2006). Library 2.0 (cover story). Library Journal, 131(14), 40–42. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=713bb67e-b1e5-4e79-831a-b769cce06f57%40pdc-v-sessmgr04&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=22171693&db=bth
Clement, J. (2020, November 6). U.S. TikTok users by age 2020. Statista; Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1095186/tiktok-us-users-age/
Collins, G., & Quan-Haase, A. (2012). Social media and academic libraries: Current trends and future challenges. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 49(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1002/meet.14504901272
Gerts, C. (2020). Social media tools and platforms [Module 3]. INF506, Interact2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_49785_1&content_id=_3990618_1&mode=reset#
Mccallum, I. (2015). The Australian Library Journal Use of social media by the library: Current practices and future opportunities. A white paper from Taylor & Francis. The Australian Library Journal, 64(2), 161–162. TandFOnline. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2015.1040364
Miller, K. (2013). 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking | FutureofWorking.com. Futureofworking.com. https://futureofworking.com/10-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-social-networking/
Patrice.Marchbank. (2021, January 12). OLJ task 13: Information trends – Patrice’s Reflective Journal. Thinkspace.csu.edu.au. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/bibliotechhead/2021/01/12/olj-task-13-information-trends/comment-page-1/#comment-12
Public Library News. (2014, June 15). Public libraries and social media: as local and as useful as your fingers. Public Libraries News; Public Libraries News. https://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/practitioners/promotional-techniques-and-marketing/public-libraries-and-social-media-as-local-and-as-useful-as-your-fingers
Smith, K. (2019, August 1). The Importance of Social Media in Business. Lyfemarketing.com. https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/importance-social-media-business/
Van Dijck, J. (2018-11-29). Introduction. In The Platform Society. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 23 Jan. 2021, from https://oxford-universitypressscholarship-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/view/10.1093/oso/9780190889760.001.0001/oso-9780190889760-chapter-1.
Vinall, M. (2021, January 21). Thoughts for the future – INF506OnlineLearningJournal. Thinkspace.csu.edu.au. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/inf506onlinelearningjournalblog/2021/01/18/thoughts-for-the-future/