Ryan Doble INF206 Online Learning Journal

Introduction

During this semester, I’ve had the opportunity to actively develop my skills as a social networker through studying INF206, focusing on both personal development of my skills by working through the online learning journals, and the application of social networking in a professional setting in the development of assessment 1.

How have my views on social media and social networking changed?

While I already understood the value of social networking in a professional setting through my work, I was sceptical of the role of social media in information organisations. I saw libraries, archives, and museums as a sanctuary from the growing involvement of technology. I believed the contribution of social networking would be purely for marketing.

Through my studies in this subject, I’m now more aware of the many practical applications of social media and networking within the information profession. I became aware of the extent of global social media use through the Digital 2021 report (We are social, 2021) showing me the importance of considering the use of social networking tools. I now appreciate the applications of web and mobile social applications for information delivery services, allowing remote access to catalogues and reference services, allowing the organisation to build relationships with their users remotely, and opening up interesting possibilities such as patron driven acquisitions for a collection through social media interactions, which was outlined in Forcier et al. (2013). I’ve also been able to consider the future for social networking, with Web 3.0 philosophy creating a more collaborative internet, where all content on a platform may be user-generated, from news articles to opinion pieces. An example of this philosophy can be seen in the Substack platform.

Developing a broader perspective on the role of social networking will allow me to utilise it effectively when I enter the information profession. I hope to continue reflecting on my understanding of social networking, and practice implementing my knowledge by continuing to create and share OLJ posts for future subjects to discuss concepts I’m learning with my peers.

I have also been able to view platforms I had not previously viewed as social networks through a new lens, such as YouTube. This has given me new ideas for the future on which platforms I would like to integrate into my work and how they can provide positive outcomes.

What tools and platforms have I engaged with and what is their relevance to me as an information professional?

During this subject, I engaged with my classmates online learning journals and the subject Facebook page. This was valuable for two reasons. First, it improved my ability to learn and understand concepts being discussed, and articulate my own thoughts on the topics. Having tasks to approach and complete based on the content we were learning, and being able to reference others journals if I was lost, made it easier to stay on track during a condensed session and gave me context for what I was learning. Second, these platforms allowed me to interact with my classmates, many of whom are already working as information professionals full time, some with decades of experience, and who come from all walks of life.

Not being in the information profession myself, the chance to read posts and engage in discussions with these classmates gave me an invaluable chance to understand how the material being studied was being applied to their real world scenarios, as seen in the post and discussion in Warren (2024), with the comments offering further insight on how others were finding the content useful in practice.

By engaging with these platforms, I’ve been able to gain practical knowledge and experience by studying the work of others, which will help me adapt when I do enter the information profession. It has also shown me the value of using social networking for professional development and connection. I can continue using these new skills of social networking throughout my education to maximise my learning and create potential professional relationships. These platforms are also similar to the platforms I will be interacting with professionally in the future, so using them now has better prepared me for then.

How has my understanding of online social issues changed?

I’ve always understood that using the internet and social media sites can be dangerous. There are scams attempting to steal your information, the risk of harassment and bullying, alongside privacy concerns such as data mining. With my background in tech education, I’m aware of requirements around protecting your users both in-person and online through internet safety education and cybersecurity protections. This subject gave me a chance to apply and refine my existing skills through research and discussion. Reading articles like Dunmade & Tella (2023) has given me a new perspective on the role libraries can play in keeping their users safe online. When considering vulnerable users, I need to stay up to date on the platforms they are engaging with to be able to properly educate and help them.

Libraries are becoming a common point of internet access for those who don’t have personal computers and internet connections, and so questions about staying safe online will become more common. In academic spaces, questions about machine learning and AI, and digital copyright, will be areas I need to stay current on. I can apply this knowledge by adding sources of information to my personal learning network to support my continuous development with social networking.

What was the process of constructing and contributing to my OLJ? What was the impact of the social networking aspect?

The online learning journal has made my learning journey fun, engaging and all round enjoyable. It’s inclusion in the final assessment made me feel like I was always working towards a meaningful outcome with my coursework, and made it easier to keep up and stay consistent. I enjoyed connecting with others in my course, and reading their opinions and experiences on the learning modules. The social networking aspect of the online learning journal allowed me to write my own, and then browse others that had been shared, looking for similar points, perspectives I hadn’t considered, and potentially even conflicting ideas. This social networking component made the learning easier, as I could see others progress, and when I started to fall behind it encouraged me to catch up and stay on track, and if I was stuck I could see how others had approached their tasks, and use it to inform my own research and study.

Maintaining a blog allowed me to revisit the topics later while preparing for this task, and review them with fresh eyes and knowledge, updating them as I went. This meant I could reflect on how my perspective had changed since I first wrote it, as well as see changes in my writing and research focus.

I also had to make considerations for the design of my online learning journal. I used the Thinkspace blogging tool, due to its convenience for adding content and moderating comments, its simple customisation, and the ease of access through my CSU account. I chose to go with a dark theme, with a black background and white text, shifting the colours to match this. I stuck with a basic theme, to make sure it was easy to find and read the journal entries. I based my decisions on relevant professional articles, including recommendations by Bufe (2023).  My improved understanding of how site layout and design can improve user experience for social networks will be important for any blogs or social media sites I establish for professional use.

I enjoyed interacting with others OLJs, and felt engaged when others used the comments to provide context to my own posts. This provides a test to the ideas I’m presenting, opening them up to criticism. This application of

Task 9 introduced me to a new concept, personal learning networks (PLN), a topic I had not interacted with before. I was hesitant approaching the subject, and a little off put by the intensity its proponents addressed the topic with. But exploring the concept through the task allowed me to grasp the positive effect a well formed PLN could have. A PLN can allow me to build my professional knowledge and create connections with other professionals who interact with social network spaces. It also allows me to stay up to date on relevant news in the information sector. My PLN is valuable for my ongoing development as an information professional by providing me with more resources that will improve my education and prepare me for the future (Gutierrez, n.d.).

A challenge I’ve faced throughout this course has been my style of writing, and breaking from my habits. I’ve struggled to write with my own perspective, instead relying on sources that support my opinion, and presenting them instead. While reviewing and reflecting for this final assessment, I have relied on other OLJs for examples on where my writing is falling short, alongside reading professional blogs online. As I continue to develop as a social networker, I aim to transition from observing to engaging more actively and building connections that when I enter my professional life, I will be able to draw upon for criticism and feedback on my professional practice as outlined in Trust (2012). My reflection on this topic has allowed me to go back and reword my writing to more clearly express my personal opinion. This has allowed me to gain a better understanding of my own perspective on social networking and its role.

Reflection on the research and writing of assessment 1. How did it contribute to my understanding of working in a social environment?

Writing Assessment 1 gave me an understanding of how social networks support information professionals. The most informative section was researching the use of social networks for internal management, a function I would not have considered. Sites like LinkedIn and Workplace from Meta provide functionality to coordinate with co-workers, manage projects and remotely share resources and collaborate (Graham-Smith, 2023). Creating a proposal for the use of these platforms will allow me to explain their purpose and use in the future, and manage them effectively on both a personal and organisational level. It also gave me the opportunity to understand why libraries not only benefit from the adoption of social networking, but why it is necessary for them to do so, and which social media sites are best suited for adoption by libraries. This opens up future opportunities in managing social media accounts within the information profession.

Conclusion

This subject has given me a new perspective on the role of social networking in the information profession, and has provided the opportunity to develop my knowledge, skills, and understanding. This will benefit me both in my further studies, and once I’ve become an information professional. I have a much more positive perspective finishing the subject on the use of social networking, and feel better equipped to utilise it myself.

References

Dunmade, A. O., & Tella, A. (2023). Libraries and librarians’ roles in ensuring cyberethical behaviour. Library Hi Tech News, 40(7), 7-11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-04-2023-0068

Forcier, E., Rathi, D., & Given, L. (2013). Knowledge management and social media: A case study of two public libraries in Canada. Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, 12(4), 10. https://lisagiven.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/s0219649213500391.pdf

Graham-Smith, D. (2023). What is Workplace from Meta and how can it help your business? https://www.techfinitive.com/explainers/what-is-workplace-from-meta/

Gutierrez, K. (n.d.). What are personal learning networks? SH!FT. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/personal-learning-networks#:~:text=Provide%20a%20continuous%20stream%20of,the%20technology%20involved%20in%20PLNs.

Trust, T. (2012). Professional learning networks designed for teacher learning. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 38(4), 133-138. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ972454.pdf

Warren, M. (2024). Defining “Information Professional” in the digital era. The Lamplight Library. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/moth/2024/01/05/defining-information-professional-in-the-digital-era/?fbclid=IwAR2ZQJPB4oigT4A7YWl6ZnJSNWrvQEnVWJRakh5G37XgYoylSds4CKdBRLg

We are social. (2023). Digital 2023 october global statshot report. https://wearesocial.com/uk/blog/2021/01/digital-2021-uk/?mc_cid=ed509b472e&mc_eid=632bbf90f7

What is the potential for the future of an organisation you are familiar with?

What impact might the future have on us as information professionals?

The article by Minja Axelsson (2019) is a great view of how robotics and assistive machines could be placed into the context of information organisations, in a way that doesn’t need to interfere with the work of information professionals, instead freeing them up to conduct more important work. These technologies can be used to enhance our abilities and improve our organisations.

Martinez-Martin et al. (2019)  shows the implementation of robotics into libraries has a large scope. Their robot can collect books from shelves using RFID scanning. The National Library of Australia implemented their own robot, Isaac, which helps with sorting and transporting books. These are both examples of work that professional librarians don’t need to be conducting on a daily basis, saving time to prioritise tasks that use their skills to improve the library, rather then constantly maintaining it (Black, 2018). Organisations need to learn to focus on how technology can help them improve their services and how they deliver them, and how they can use them as a multiplier to their own abilities (Vijayakumar & Vijayan, 2011).

Even local libraries should be looking at the success of integrated electronics, and understand what it could mean for their organisations. What makes Oodi’s robot so useful is that it has a personality assigned to it. The innocent, approachable nature of the robot, it’s ability to express emotion, can all help create a sense of ease and friendliness in a library, which can often feel like stuffy, outdated institutions. Information organisations can use integrated technology to make their environments more approachable (Axelsson, 2019; Peterson, 2023).

Library anxiety, feeling “intimidated, embarrassed, and overwhelmed by libraries and librarians”, can effect people’s ability to access library resources. If you walk into a new library, that you don’t know, and you’re not used to using library services, you can feel ill-equipped and may even leave before accessing the resources you need (Morton, 2016). A robot, by comparison, might feel more approachable. The same principles used at Oodi can be applied to any technology implemented at the library. Adding recognisable traits to a machine can encourage interaction with it, if only out of curiosity (Axelsson, 2019).

This can relate to social media and networking by applying these same principles to library websites, forums and social pages. Consider the use of a mascot at your library, a friendly face users can associate with, encouraging them to relax, build trust and create a relatable point of reference (Bennett & Thompson, 2016).

These automating technologies extend to social media. Automated responses to let users know their virtual reference question has been received, post scheduling, and monitoring for user queries and mentions by other organisations can all be automated, allowing the adoption of social media by information organisations without requiring a large budget or time commitment by information professionals (Newberry, 2022). Professionals are going to have to become familiar and comfortable with these tools to be prepared for the future (Burton, 2019).

References

Axelsson, M. (2019). The little robot that lived at the library. https://towardsdatascience.com/the-little-robot-that-lived-at-the-library-90431f34ae2c

Bennnett, D. E., & Thompson, P. (2016). Use of anthropomorphic brand mascots for student motivation and engagement: A promotional case study with Pablo the penguin at the University of Portsmouth library. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 22(2-3), 225-237. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2016.1162179

Black, M. (2018). High-tech robot couriers set efficiency in motion at the National Library of Australia. ABC Radio Canberra. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-17/robot-couriers-set-efficiency-in-motion-at-national-library/10118356

Burton, S. (2019). Future skills for the LIS profession. Online Searcher. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=016c2649-a634-4f96-a79a-219456b055bf%40redis

Martinez-Martin, E., Recatala, G., & Pobil, A. P. d. (2019). Transforming library operation with robotics IFLA World Library and Information Congress, Athens. https://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/2696/1/s08-2019-martinez-martin-en.pdf

Morton, E. (2016). The strange affliction of ‘library anxiety’ and what librarians do to help. Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-strange-affliction-of-library-anxiety-and-what-librarians-do-to-help

Newberry, C. (2022). What is social media automation? [FAQs & Time-Saving Tools]. Hootsuite. https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-automation/

Peterson, M. (2023). Libraries as felt spaces: Atmospheres, public space and feelings of dis/comfort. Emotion, Space and Society, 49. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2023.100986

Vijayakumar, A., & Vijayan, S. S. (2011). Application of information technology in libraries: an overview. International journal of digital library services, 1(2). http://www.ijodls.in/uploads/3/6/0/3/3603729/vijaya12_144-152.pdf

Think about online identity in relation to both individuals and organisations: What is important in terms of how we present and manage those identities online? What can we share with the online world and what should we keep private?

It’s important to maintain a clear distinction between your online and offline identities. When you’re online, you are exposed to a much larger group of people then in your offline life, and you need to take precautions to avoid any risks to your identity such as identity theft, avoiding sharing private information and suspicious links (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, n.d.; Kaspersky, 2024; Feher, 2019). In addition to this, you also need to be aware of how your online identity relates to your professional life (Linder & Pasquini, 2018), and how you as a person will be perceived through your online presence, and how the risk to security might extend to your clients, customers and users that interact with you in an online space (Luo, 2010).

Linder and Pasquini (2018) provide a comprehensive resource on how to create and manage a professional identity personally. The benefits of being online are building networks, sharing ideas, building a reputation as an expert, and having more access to information (Linder & Pasquini, 2018, Digital Confusion, para. 03). In Chapter 4, they suggest focusing on creating a ‘brand’, an image that other people who interact with you online will perceive you as embodying. Some of the questions they suggest asking yourself when establishing your brand is are:

• When people talk about me when I am not present, what kinds of things do I want them to say?
• If I had to be known as an expert in just one area, what would it be?
• What kinds of professional values are most important for me to demonstrate on a consistent basis?

An important note is what to do when you encounter hostility online. How you respond to conflict can say a lot about you personally. Maintaining a professional demeanour when faced with online conflict is important, as others might judge you if you’re perceived to ‘overreact’ (Linder & Pasquini, 2018, Chapter 11).

Organisations can benefit from many of the same strategies, but you also need to consider the privacy of your users. Any data you collect online should be anonymised and not distributed beyond your organisation (Gstrein & Beaulieu, 2022). Organisations adopting online presences also need to consider local legalisation regarding privacy, and the role their websites have in protecting digital privacy (Bubukayr & Frikha, 2023).

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(24). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239994

Bubukayr, M., & Frikha, M. (2023). Effective techniques for protecting the privacy of web users. Applied Sciences, 15(5). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/app13053191

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

Gstrein, O. J., & Beaulieu, A. (2022). How to protect privacy in a datafied society? A presentation of multiple legal and conceptual approaches. Springer Nature, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-022-00497-4

Kaspersky. (2024). Top 15 internet safety rules and what not to do online. https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/top-10-preemptive-safety-rules-and-what-not-to-do-online

Linder, K. E., & Pasquini, L. (2018). Managing your professional identity online: A guide for faculty, staff, and administrators. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/reader.action?docID=5583974

Luo, J. S. (2010). Managing your digital identity. Primary Psychiatry, 17(8), 29-31. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=72fe92c1-038e-43ef-b826-5daf761b907c%40redis

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. (n.d.). Identity fraud
https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/data-breaches/Identity-fraud#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20identity%20fraud%20can,that%20contains%20information%20about%20you.

How do these platforms help you improve the relevance of the articles recommended to you? How could these sites be used in a professional sense? What issues could you identify when using them?

I’m comparing the two platforms of Hacker News and Reddit. These platforms are both forum style websites, which rely entirely on contributions by the community for the sites content, with moderators only curating inappropriate content and behaviour, rather then providing direct contributions, and users supporting content with upvotes and comments. This makes them social networks, where users are interacting with each other through posting content and replying with comments (Aichner et al, 2021; Martin, 2022; Hacker News, n.d.a).

The comparison is interesting, because Hacker News is a direct response to Reddit, aiming to provide “deeply interesting” articles, news, posts, and comments. It describes on-topic and off-topic posts as follows:

On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one’s intellectual curiosity.

Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, or celebrities, unless they’re evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they’d cover it on TV news, it’s probably off-topic.

(Hacker News, n.d.b)

Reddit focuses on multiple community forums that are separate but equally accessible by all users. This means you get a lot of content being posted on the site, from many communities, and the quality across each may vary greatly, and moderation is more relaxed (Reddit, 2024).

Stoian (2018) outlines the key parts of forum design. Let’s examine how Reddit and Hacker News align with these principals when improving the relevance of articles recommended to users.

Are things easy to find?

Both platforms approach searching for information separately. Reddit uses two methods of discovering content. You can use the search bar at the top of the page, which will provide options of subreddits to visit, or you can explore an algorithmically determined set of posts from both subreddits you’ve followed and recommended content from popular subreddits. The algorithm can be tailored for categories like Best, New, and Hot.

Conversely, Hacker News provides very little search functionality. There’s no direct search. Posts are text-only with links to more content, and are sorted based on upvotes. You can also sort by ‘new’, ‘threads’ (your own posts and comments), ‘past’ (which provides the ability to move back in time in jumps of a day, a month, or a year, but no way to navigate to a particular date directly) and others, like ‘jobs’.

These are two effective but opposed approaches. Reddit provides a dearth of information, while Hacker News focuses on a minimal approach, promoting social interaction and discussion over information sharing.

In a professional environment, Reddit lends itself more to marketing via social media, while Hacker News would be better for professional development, obtaining useful resources, asking questions and finding job listings, none of which Reddit is particularly suited for (Merzel & Goodman, 2016; Smith, 2019).

The issue with Reddit is it’s generality and depth of UI, while the issue with Hacker News is it’s specificity and simple UI (Demirtaş, 2023). In other words, each platform benefits a different category of users seeking social news in their own unique ways.

References

Aichner, T., Grunfelder, M., Maurer, O., & Jegeni, D. (2021). Twenty-Five years of social media: A review of social media applications and definitions from 1994 to 2019. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 24(4), 215-222. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0134

Demirtaş, F. (2023). The dance of design: minimalism vs maximalism in UX. Medium. https://bootcamp.uxdesign.cc/the-dance-of-design-minimalism-vs-maximalism-in-ux-39039f1b32ba

Hacker News. (n.d.). Hacker News guidelines. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#comments

Hacker News. (n.d.). Welcome to Hacker News. https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html

Martin, M. (2022). What is reddit, and should your brand be using it? Hootsuite. https://blog.hootsuite.com/what-is-reddit/

Merzel, C., & Goodman, A. (2016). Becoming a professional: Online discussion boards as a tool for developing professionalism among MPH students. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2373379916656639

Reddit. (2024). Reddit content policy. https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy

Smith, T. W. (2019). Making the most of online discussion: A retrospective analysis. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 31(1), 21-31. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1206981.pdf

Stoian, F. (2018). 4 steps to designing good forums. Medium. https://medium.com/@flaviastoian_99743/4-steps-to-designing-good-forums-67b35c28f5da

Defining Information Professionals in the Digital Era

Define what you believe to be the essential knowledge, skills, and attributes of an information professional in the digital era.

As the global landscape changes, computer and digital literacy is emerging as a future key to the information profession. Information professionals will increasingly be working alongside emerging technologies in conducting their work, both directly in cases such as automated cataloguing, and  indirectly, such as analytical systems providing data on information usage (Burton, 2019).

Ayinde & Kirkwood (2020) break the use of assistive technologies down as Human-only activities, activities where humans complement machines, activities where machines give people ‘superpowers’, and activities that are machine only. Humans excel at leadership, empathy, creativity and making judgements, while machines are better for transactions, as well as data prediction and analysis. Information professionals need to redevelop their skills to focus on the human-only activities, as well as the ‘hybrid’ activities, including training, explanations and interactions, to remain relevant in the information profession. Activities that are best done by machines should be left to them, freeing up librarians to pursue more important and productive tasks. Axelsson (2019) talks about this use of expertise and the adoption of robotics to help alleviate mundane requests.

“Their expertise is better used in in-depth service, helping visitors find specific books that fit their needs best. This type of work can take 30–40 minutes. In comparison, “Where is the psychology section?” takes 1–3 minutes to answer. Stacked together, a whole day of 1–3 minute tasks becomes tedious, and a waste of skills.” (Axelsson, 2019, para. 4)

The adoption of emerging technologies, such as Web 2.0 including Social Media, and Machine Learning assistive technologies, requires library staff that have positive reactions to these technologies, or they’re likely to be passed over by information institutions. Information professionals need to have a depth of understanding so they can make the right decisions about which technologies will best aid their organisations mission (Akwang, 2021).

The adoption of new technologies is critical to the on-going success of information organisations in achieving their goals. With increasingly tight budgeting and new emerging demographics, and the increasing digital literacy of patrons, information organisations can’t afford to be left behind.

 Technology provides the chance for librarians to innovate, boost quality, measure success, and align services with the priorities of their organizations. With technology, librarians can reintroduce themselves as visible, valuable, and essential partners in achieving common goals. (Journal of the Medical Library Association, 2015).

Information professionals of the future must be leaders and creators, ready to embrace technological innovation to meet the needs of their library, and move beyond the core skills of the past. In the digital era, they must possess digital skills, up-to-date and informed knowledge on emerging technologies, and fully embrace the human attributes that can’t be replicated by machines.

References

Akwang, N. E. (2021). A study of librarians’ perceptions and adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in academic libraries in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(2). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102299

Axelsson, M. (2019). The Little Robot that Lived at the Library. https://towardsdatascience.com/the-little-robot-that-lived-at-the-library-90431f34ae2c

Ayinde, L., & Kirkwood, H. (2020). Rethinking the roles and skills of information professionals in the 4th Industrial Revolution. Sage Journals, 37(4). https://doi.org/https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1177/02663821209680

Burton, S. (2019). Future Skills for the LIS Profession. Online Searcher. https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=016c2649-a634-4f96-a79a-219456b055bf%40redis

Journal of the Medical Library Assocation. (2015). Enhancing library impact through technology. Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA, 103(4), 222-231. https://doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.103.4.015

 

Based on Utecht’s 5 stages on personal learning network adoption, I believe I am still firmly in the immersion phase. My personal learning network is currently limited to my university subjects, online blogs that contain information I’m searching for, and professional contacts. Most of my personal learning comes from interacting with other professionals either online or in person, with connections made through my professional work.

In this regard, I’m missing the benefits of a PLN, and I want to make a conscious effort throughout the rest of this course to begin to build my PLN. A challenge I’ve found with developing a PLN is finding the motivation to consistently engage with specific online blogs and resources. I find non-committal discussion resources more to my liking then following a specific blog. Rather, I find it easier to engage with topics that are currently gaining traction on sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, and easy access forums such as Hacker News. Hacker News acts as an aggregator for content, often related to computer security, but not exclusively.

To begin building a PLN, and exploring the concept in earnest, I’ve installed the “RSS Feed Reader” for Chrome, which allows you to see all of the blogs you’re subscribed too in a single feed. I’ve also started a Substack account, and tracked down some blogs there relating to the Information Studies profession. I can actually put the Substack mailing list into my RSS feed, which is useful. Two resources I’ve followed that I find interesting are the Internet Archive Blog Feed (https://blog.archive.org/feed/?format=xml) and the AI School Librarian’s Newsletter on Substack (https://elissamalespina.substack.com/).

While I’m only just starting my PLN journey, I believe it will have a positive effect on my understanding of the profession, and give me a chance to see the thoughts and perspective’s of information professionals on contemporary topics. With university study, my perspective is often focused on the past or the future, where we’ve been and where we’re going. Developing a PLN will hopefully allow me to get in touch with the current issues and news of the information world. I’m also hoping it will help me find solutions to questions that arise in my continuing study, a benefit outlined in Gutierrez (n.d.).

References

Gutierrez, K. (n.d.). What are personal learning networks? SH!FT. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/personal-learning-networks#:~:text=Provide%20a%20continuous%20stream%20of,the%20technology%20involved%20in%20PLNs.

Internet Archive Blogs. (2024). Internet Archive blogs RSS feed. https://blog.archive.org/feed/?format=xml

Malespina, E. (2024). AI School Librarian’s Newsletter. https://elissamalespina.substack.com/

 

	Powerhouse Museum	National Library of Australia	New York Public Library
Interaction	The powerhouse museum uses a Facebook page to interact with their users. This is the peak method for user interaction, as the organisation is able to instantly engage with their users through the comments, and users can directly message the organisation, asking questions and seeking clarification.	National Library of Australia uses multiple social media platforms to connect with their audience, with a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and an Email link provided, as well as a phone number. This allows users to approach interaction with their own preference. The site also provides readily available tabs to find information from the navigation bar, allowing users to quickly find relevant information, an improvement over the Powerhouse Museums pages.	The New York Public Library has the Big 4 of social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube), providing the ability to personally connect with their users. The main feature missing is the lack of a readily available online reference service, with the Get Help tab feeling more like an FAQ then an offer of personal assistance.
User Experience	The Powerhouse Museum’s website utilises a more modern approach. An expandable menu reveals all menus and submenus on the screen, allowing users to see the full site map all at once. This can be effective at allowing users to quickly find what they’re looking for without searching through menus. The site appears to have prioritised an aesthetic goal over strict functionality, reflecting it’s role as a cultural entity rather then strictly an information organisation.	The National Library of Australia uses a website layout that follows the usual rules and styles. Each part of the navigation leads to a clear submenu that covers different areas of user engagement. Some parts of the navigation are not immediately obvious, such as Stories, which includes news, upcoming events, podcasts etc. It also has a comprehensive search function.	The New York Public Library feels like a website stuck in time. It lacks the sleek, minimalist feeling of the other two sites, almost an expectation in modern UX. While the site may have felt very natural a decade ago, now it borders on feeling cluttered and hard to scan, with divided sections that stop the eye from quickly gliding across the page. The headings dividing the page are not immediately focused. Instead of a catalogue submenu, it’s called “Books/Music/Movies”, a different approach to most sites of this nature, suggesting a more public facing style of design. The menu’s are more clearly marked in this respect for the average person then the National Library site.
Active Functionality	The Powerhouse Museums Facebook and Website both have shopping functionalities. You can get directions through the Facebook page to the museum, linking in with map apps. The Powerhouse website has an extensive virtual archive, with more then 500,000 objects which can all be viewed online.	The National Library site contains a catalogue search, eResources, and an Ask a Librarian area that provides instructions for Online, Phone, In Person and Mail reference services. It also has embedded videos.	The active functionality of New York Public Library focuses more heavily on links to third party services, rather than having inbuilt collection access online, and much functionality appears to be focused on their app rather than their web presence.

The Powerhouse Museum and National Library of Australia are generally of a high quality and contain all the necessary elements of modern web design. The New York Public Library site lacks many of the common elements of modern web design and is in need of a revision (Garett et al., 2016; Friedman, 2021). Improvements could be achieved by using online tools (Web Accessibility Initiative, 2014) or referring to academic literature to create an internal evaluation system (Vargas et al., 2023).

References

Friedman, V. (2021). 10 Principles of Good Web Design. Smashing Magazine. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/10-principles-of-effective-web-design/

Garett, R., Chiu, J., Zhang, L., & Young, S. D. (2016). A Literature Review: Website Design and User Engagement. Online journal of communication and media technologies, 6(3), 1-14.

Morales-Vargas, A., Pedraza-Jimenez, R., & Codina, L. (2023). Website quality evaluation: a model for developing comprehensive assessment instruments based on key quality factors. Journal of Documentation, 79(7), 95-114. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-11-2022-0246

National Library of Australia. (2023). Landing Page. https://www.nla.gov.au/

New York Public Library. (2023). Homepage. https://www.nypl.org/

Powerhouse Museum. (2023). Homepage. https://powerhouse.com.au/?fbclid=IwAR3BmVybp2jssxs86zHGDd12tZTI3tnVdt1N0Yw1Cvd8_tuA_aThyy0Q0TY

Web Accessibility Initiative. (2014). Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools List. W3C. https://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/

One of my careers involved  working as an educator, teaching programming and game design, as part of a company that contracted to the University of Wollongong. I’ve grown up the internet age, with social media always present, so I’m focusing on it’s current applications and continuing development.

Social media (SM) has changed how we communicate, both with clients, the university, and each other. When recruiting students in the past invitations and information was given directly to the schools, relying on them to encourage and direct their students. Now we’re able to pass along a virtual invite which gives parents and students direct access to information for our programs and communicate directly (Peate, 2015).

Public facing SM accounts are used to promote the workshops, and how these accounts portray themselves and interact with internet users can directly impact people’s perceptions of the programs. SM literacy is becoming a requirement for marketing and connecting with potential participants. A poor social media presence, or none at all, can now be seen as unprofessional and turn people away (Si, 2016; Vinerean, 2017).

Internally we use the SM platform Discord to coordinate for the workshops, plan, and share resources to be used during the classes. My co-workers are in different cities, and SM is necessary for effective planning and collaboration between us (Ohara, 2023).

For the future, we’re aiming to develop a social platform for students that have participated in our programs and workshops, to share further course content, follow up on questions from their personal learning after the workshop and connect students, particularly from regional areas, to collaborative learning, in line with current trends (Sivakumar, 2023).

SM has also changed how education professionals engage with their profession. The skills being taught in classrooms are much more focused around internet use and connectivity. Students are turning to Google and SM like Reddit to answer questions. How will social media be integrated into education in the future? There’s already educational SM used at schools to promote collaborative learning, and students are becoming comfortable with these sites as part of their education. Educators will need to include social media skills into their curriculums and classes, and utilise these new technologies to aid their classroom learning (Ansari & Khan, 2020; Arshavskiy, 2021).

Professional connections are being built more often through SM apps. These workshops often provide a chance for professional presenters and educators to connect with each other and arrange for opportunities to work together in the past. These connections often require the use of social media, as it becomes a primary point of contact, supported by data from Iqbal (2024) and research by Donelan (2015).

References

Ansari, J. A. N., Nawab, & Khan, A. (2020). Exploring the role of social media in collaborative learning the new domain of learning. Smart Learning Environments, 7. https://slejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40561-020-00118-7

Arshavskiy, M. (2021). Social media For eLearning. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/social-media-for-elearning

Donelan, H. (2015). Social media for professional development and networking opportunities in academia. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 706-729. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2015.1014321

Iqbal, M. (2024). LinkedIn usage and revenue statistics. https://www.businessofapps.com/data/linkedin-statistics/

Ohara, M. R. (2023). The role of social media in educational communication management. Journal of Contemporary Administration and Management, 1(2), 70-76. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.61100/adman.v1i2.25

Peate, I. (2015). The professional use of social media. British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, 9(7). https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=ab8df956-1bf9-4100-a8e6-1102c0549069%40redis

Si, S. (2016). Social media and its role in marketing. Business and Economics Journal, 7(1). http://41.89.240.73/bitstream/handle/123456789/810/social-media-and-its-role-in-marketing.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Sivakumar, A. (2023). Social media influence on students’ knowledge sharing and learning: An Empirical Study. Education Sciences, 13(7). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13070745

Vinerean, S. (2017). Importance of strategic social media marketing. Expert journal of marketing, 5(1), 28-35. https://www.zbw.eu/econis-archiv/bitstream/11159/1381/1/1009506463.pdf

I’ve decided to compare Instagram, Facebook, and Wikipedia. I’m going to be focusing on their mobile User Experience (UX), particularly as it applies to functionality and how it creates social interaction. UX has a strong connection to overall user satisfaction, more then quality of content on the site (Nakamura et al., 2022).

Instagram uses a streamlined interface. You have access to 5 basic options: Your home feed, your explore feed, the posting interface, a selection of reels, and your profile. On the top of the screen in the corner is the option for your notifications and your messages, both hidden in small, integrated icons. Instagram is a great UX design, with sleek icons, that don’t clutter your view, and actions are placed in other pages, so you’re not given access to options before you need them. There’s also profile bubbles at the top of the page showing users icons, letting you know they’ve posted to their story.

Facebook provides a greater selection of options. You have your feed, friend requests, messenger, videos, notifications and the marketplace. In the top corner you have a search option and an expandable list of more options. There’s also the option to make a post, and another button to add an image post, and go to your profile. Worst of all, none of it comes with you when you scroll. If you want to access any of it later, you need to either refresh the page or go back to the top of the page, both of which lose your spot. This is clunky and bad UX. Having the basics scroll with the user lets them quickly navigate to the pages they want. Finally, Facebook also has user profiles at the top of the page for their stories. But unlike Instagram, Facebook displays a preview of the story, meaning their story UI takes up much more space, displays less stories, and once again it does not scroll. Facebook provides strong access to social tools, but this is undermined by the clutter. It can be easy for users to feel overwhelmed and lost. Instagram doesn’t provide the variety of services that Facebook does, but it’s focus is a strength, ensuring only social interactions are provided by it’s UX, unlike Facebook which tries to be a marketplace, a social network, a chat service and more all at once, with little distinction.

I wanted to compare these two giants of social media with the mobile UX of Wikipedia. It’s not a traditional social platform, but it does contain forums. It’s homepage gives you a search bar, the option to go to articles in different languages, and a clickable list of Wikimedia resources at the bottom of the page. This is a very slim and simple design. It doesn’t try and feed you any unnecessary information. Mobile phones have less screen space then a computer, so giving the user the power to navigate ensures they’re not overwhelmed. It’s a great contrast for Facebook and Instagram, because it succeeds in both of the others strengths. It’s simple, like Instagram, yet has a wide variety of services like Facebook. The difference is that Wikipedia doesn’t try and direct your attention with a complex interface. It simply provides the options. Wikipedia does fail at making it easy to find it’s other areas. More of it’s services could be moved onto the sidebar, allowing users to directly move to them, rather then having to scroll through the homepage. It shows a lack of in-depth mobile optimisation, despite having achieved the basics well.

In all cases, the mobile content lacked major issues such as dead links or unusable interfaces. Overall, I found Instagram to have the strongest UX that focuses on connecting users directly to the content they’re most interested in, with minimal distraction or clutter (Bufe, 2023; Interaction Design Foundation, n.d.).

References

Bufe, A. (2023). Mobile UX Design: The Ultimate Guide 2024. UXcam. https://uxcam.com/blog/mobile-ux/

Interaction Design Foundation. (n.d.). Mobile user experience (UX) design. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/mobile-ux-design

Nakamura, W. T., Oliveira, E. C. D., Oliveira, E. H. T. d., Redmiles, D., & Conte, T. (2022). What factors affect the UX in mobile apps? A systematic mapping study on the analysis of app store reviews. Journal of Systems and Software, 193. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2022.111462

 

The world is struggling with the constant increase of technology over the last two or so decades. Moore’s Law, the idea that the number of transistors in computer chips doubles every 2 or so years, provides the basis for an exponential expansion of computing power. Every year, our computers can filter, compile and analyse more and more data. With more computing power, new programs like AI Machine Learning Algorithms have become commonplace. Alongside this, infrastructure is improving, and the Australian Human Rights Commission has declared internet access a human right (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.). The internet has become a permanent part of our everyday lives. It is simply impossible to exist in regular society without engaging with the internet, and the information profession is not exempt from this. Information Organisations are in the business of providing information access to people. To perform well as an information organisation, you need to maximise your users, and those users access to your information. Digital 2023 says people now spend over 2 and a half hours on social media everyday. Advertising used to be performed through newspaper adverts, then through having a visible website on search engines. Now, to connect with your actual and potential audiences, you need to have a modern social media presence, especially since more then half of the planet is now active on social media (We are social & Meltwater, 2023).

The Digital 2023 report clearly shows that technological is growing rapidly year on year in how it impacts our lives (We are social & Meltwater, 2023). And the main question that seems to come up again and again is “How do we stop technology from being unethical?”. It’s a question that often evokes a harsh reaction from both sides. AI is often seen as either a great force of good, expanding humanities horizons, or the enemy of the people, here to take our jobs. It seems inevitable that it’s here to stay, so organisations need to be forward thinking in their approach (Zhai et al., 2020). Education organisations are grappling with the ethics of AI created responses, while others are debating the ethics of using AI data to create profiles of their users (Kulkov, 2021; Schiff, 2021).

There’s almost an expectation that everything is available online. Education, health services, online shopping, entertainment. Social media is increasingly becoming a place not only for visibility, but to actually deliver content to users.

Information organisations need to understand that they are in some ways being superseded by technology. Resources are readily available online in many cases, either for free or at discount prices, and AI is able to provide basic reference services. Community events are being organised through social media. Cultural heritage is accessible without visiting a museum, art can be viewed in high definition online. The role of the information organisation needs to evolve with this new digital era. Already, libraries are maintaining relevance by providing internet access to those who may otherwise go without. But more will need to be done to ensure information institutes remain cultural cornerstones into the future.

References

Australian Human Rights Commission. (n.d.). 8 A right to access the internet. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/8-right-access-internet

Kulkov, I. (2021). The role of artificial intelligence in business transformation: A case of pharmaceutical companies. Technology in Society, 66. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2021.101629

Schiff, D. (2021). Education for AI, not AI for education: The role of education and ethics in national AI policy strategies. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 32, 527-563. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40593-021-00270-2

We are social, & Meltwater. (2023). Digital 2023 october global statshot report. Data Reportal. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-october-global-statshot

Zhai, Y., Yan, J., Zhang, H., & Lu, W. (2020). Tracing the evolution of AI: conceptualization of artificial intelligence in mass media discourse. Information Discovery and Delivery, 48(3). https://doi.org/10.1108/IDD-01-2020-0007