The INF506 Social Networking For Information Professionals course has helped me develop my skills and knowledge as a social networker not only professionally but personally. My friends and family would laugh at the thought of me calling myself a social networker, as I have hardly embraced or participated in online platforms in the past, besides through necessity. Through this course I have come to appreciate the importance of digital connections and engaging on social media platforms. This blog post will demonstrate my growth and ability to engage with my peers by highlighting some of the topics explored during my study of the INF506 Social Networking For Information Professionals course.

From the beginning I came face to face with the complex web of social networking in the Information and society module. I explored the information landscape, web 2.0 technologies, including social media and its impact on organisations, users experiences and societal interactions. Did you know that as of October 2023, over 65% of the world’s population were internet users (Statista, 2023)? Also, according to the We Are Social report findings for Australia (Kemp, 2021):

• 89% of the Australian population are internet users.
• 9% of the population are active social media users.
• 6% of 16- to 64-year-olds own mobile devices.

With statistics such as these, I understand why one of my fellow peers, Cassidy, described technology as the backbone of modern society in her blog post. It was here when I began to realise the complex relationship between society and technology as evident in my comment.

As I continued to work through the content, I explored Social media In Your Organisation, where I learnt about the Library 2.0 movement which emerged in 2005, due to the evolving information landscape. It brought to light the core principles including collaboration, conversation and content creation and the shift to a culture of individuals participating more in information organisations (Truong, 2023a). It was here when I explored the essential knowledge, skills and attributes of an information professional in the digital era, as evident in my OLJ task 8 blog post and was pleased to see several of my peers agreed with my response.

Next on the agenda, was Social Media Tools and Platforms where I explored social networking sites including, blogs and micro blogs, wiki based sites, social news sites, community media sites and virtual and augmented reality (Truong, 2023b). I was able to apply my knowledge and confidently create a mock Instagram page, something I had never achieved previously, and created a social media proposal. I found this task beneficial as I learnt skills I could apply to real life situation both personally and professionally.

I explored the Role of Social Media focusing on the areas of concern, including privacy, ethical issues and digital identity. In my OLJ task 15 blog post I emphasised the complexity of managing personal identities online, discussing the balancing act between privacy and sharing (Adjei et al., 2020), the impact of social media on professional identity, and the need for vigilance in protecting personal data. This led me to acknowledge the challenges including the evolving interactions in the digital landscape, promoting transparency, education, and awareness, especially concerning cybersecurity (Feher, 2019). I extended my understandings as evident on Wendy McDonald’s blog on online identity, as I commented on the issue of associating with people that you trust as it is not always possible to know who you are communicating with. This discussion led me to greater understandings on the importance of social media policies in reducing the possibility of issues arising.

Not only is it vital to understand that social media policies assist in minimising the risk of issues arising, but it is also imperative to ensure information organisations have a thorough policy in place.  My blog post for OLJ Task 16 demonstrates my understandings of the importance of developing a comprehensive social media policy for information organisations. It addresses a number of key points including:

• Clear communication of social media objectives.
• Proactive adherence to policy guidelines and risk management.
• Awareness of platform-specific protocols.
• Addressing privacy and security concerns.
• Ensuring employee responsibility in moderating content to align with organisational values and conduct.

Since writing the blog post I have completed further research and have found some critical details that should be included in a social media policy. One of these details is to include a clear outline of who is responsible for the social media strategy (Hursh, 2021). It is important for information organisations to have a social media strategy to effectively engage with their audience, grow followers and create meaningful content (Roach et al., 2021 and Clampitt, 2018).

The last section of this journey encouraged us to question ‘what comes next?’. Blog posts, such as Mariana’s, encouraged me to explore and the future of the technological landscape and the impact this may have on the information profession, such as the pros and cons of virtual and augmented realities. As per my comment on Mariana’s blog post, one of the cons that comes with new technology is the cost involved and the difficulty libraries have with managing budgets and acquiring the tools required for this. Virtual and augmented realities is just the tip of the iceberg for what is to come, so how do we ensure we stay on top of what comes next? It is important to stay up to date with latest trends and never stop learning in this ever-evolving information landscape (King, 2018).

I have always been a person who would prefer to communicate verbally rather than via text or social media, both personally and professionally, but after completing the course this has changed. I see the benefit of communicating through social media as it allows for flexibility and provides a platform where like-minded people can share thoughts and ideas. It is a powerful platform that allows for instant and widespread communication and it allows information to be shared to diverse audiences.

References

Adjei, J. K., Adams, S., Mensah, I. K., Tobbin, P. E., & Odei-Appiah, S. (2020). Digital identity management on social media: Exploring the factors that influence personal information disclosure on social media. Sustainability, 12(23), 9994. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/9994

Clampitt, P. G. (2018). Social media strategy : tools for professionals and organizations. SAGE Publications, Inc.

Feher, K. (2019). Digital identity and the online self: Footprint strategies – An exploratory and comparative research study. Journal of Information Science, 47(2), 192-205. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551519879702

Hursh, A. (2021, February, 8). How To Create a Library Social Media Policy for Your Staff and Your Community That Encourages Interaction and Keeps Everyone Safe. Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion. https://superlibrarymarketing.com/2021/02/08/socialmediapolicy/

Kemp, S. (2021, January 27). Digital 2021 global overview report. We Are Social. https://wearesocial.com/uk/blog/2021/01/digital-2021-uk/

King, D. L. (2018). Futureproofing Your Library: Stay on track with tech. American Libraries, 49(5), 55.

Roach, A., Rahe, M., & Reijmer, N. (2021). Harnessing social media to build your business. https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6229

Statista (2023). Number of internet and social media users worldwide as of October 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/

Truong, V. (2023a). Module 3- Social Media in your organisation [Lecture notes]. INF506, Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_68716_1&content_id=_6156668_1&mode=reset

Truong, V. (2023b). Module 4 – Social Media tools and platforms [Lecture notes]. INF506, https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_68716_1&content_id=_6156669_1&mode=reset