What Does This Mean to Me, Laura?

(In case you missed the memo, a lot of folks have replace the label “Web 2.0′ with “social media.” Probably a better, more descriptive label in my opinion. )

I’ve been around the social media block a few times. I was using Twitter long before it hit the mainstream. I’ve experimented with bunches of obscure social applications. I’ve done a lot of presentations about social media and libraries. I’ve talked about the cool end of this stuff, and occasionally I’ve even gotten to talk about what’s not so cool. Today, I’m going to share a few things I’ve learned along the way. (And I bet you already know most or all of these, too.)

Social media is WORK. Yes, it can be fun and productive and useful. Some days, all of those flowery adjectives are the frosting, not the cake. Even I get tired of social apps! You will, too. It takes time and effort to get to the point where social media pays off.
Social media makes you BETTER at work. Anyone who looks at you funny while you’re twittering, updating your Facebook status, editing a YouTube video or attending a meeting in Second Life needs to catch a ride on the Clue Bus. People who can function effectively in the social media arena are likely to be inherently more flexible and productive than your average employee. These things left the geek world long ago and have integrated themselves into the mainstream.
Consistency counts. Everyone knows of the library or person who started a blog, only to have it fizzle and die within a few months or so. Once you make the decision to dive in start blogging, tweeting, etc., remember that the return on your investment is far off and you have to earn readers and followers. When you take a few weeks off, so do your readers….permanently, usually.
Social media is not for everyone. There is a tendency to evangelize about the wonders of various social media apps. Somehow, all of us got along without them a decade ago, and some folks are still doing just fine. However, if you work in a library, all bets are off. It used to be common practice for librarians to read newspapers, to keep current for their patrons. (Maybe it still is?) This isn’t different. In what other profession is it acceptable not to keep up?*
Not everyone needs every social app. My mother-in-law uses IM and Skype. But she doesn’t use Facebook or Twitter or anything else. She uses what works for her. Same goes for libraries. Invest time and effort into those things that work for your library. Your library doesn’t have videos on YouTube? It’s OK. Really.
Social media is ephemeral. This one in particular can drive all of us nuts. This stuff changes all the time. Today, it’s Twitter. Next month, who knows? (Just don’t forget the Hype Curve. ) This is part of the reason that social media can make for better employees–people who use these things know that they can change/go down/be redesigned from minute to minute and therefore, have to be very adaptable. Who doesn’t want adaptable employees? But it still can make us crazy. We complain, we move on and keep using it.
Sometimes, it’s too much. The amount of user-generated content coming from the various apps and services can be absolutely overwhelming. Learn to weed followers, friends, even services, just like you might weed any other collection.

What other “truths” about social media can you think of? Share in the comments!

*I didn’t make up that last sentence, I read it somewhere recently, but I couldn’t remember where. If YOU know, please let me know so I can attribute it appropriately!

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I count among my good Internet friends a certain Eric Jordan, who can not only outpun anyone I know, but has a talent for taking a humorous approach to making his thoughts known. Although Eric is not a web developer by trade, he shows in his vignette, below, that he well understands the pitfalls of designing without having a clue who the audience truly is. Thanks to Eric for allowing me to reprint this here. Share and enjoy.

___________________________________________________________________

They call themselves Web “Master”, but they have not Mastered.

The Programmer went to the Web Master, and said, “Master, I wish to create a Web Site.”

The Web Master nodded. “Let us see what you can do! I will prepare a site, and you will prepare yours. When we are both through, we shall exchange, and see how they compare.”

So, both took up their Editors, and they began to work. Finally, the Programmer turned to the Web Master. “Master, I am finished.”

“I have only the beginning of my own, but let us see what you have done!”

“Master, I have decided to use Flash for an introduction, and PHP for the main pages. I included an SQL database with an interface for the client, and made liberal use of JavaScript to enhance the look and feel of the site. When you mouseover the important links, it makes a sound that evokes a sense of what lies beyond. The graphics are colorful and animated, the links are orderly and logical, the templates are divine.”

The Master hmmed. “An interesting choice of a starting point. Here is what I have done so far.” He turned his screen so the Programmer could see.

The Programmer read three times, disbelief on his face. Finally, “But…but there is no Code! This is only plain Text! Mere data, no more! How can you call this the beginning of a web site?”

The Web Master smiled. “You are like the poor carpenter who shined and sharpened his tools, but never gave thought to the wood. Remember that the World Wide Web is about information! These other things are fine in their place, but they are only tools. You cannot build a house until you know who will be living in it!”

And the Programmer was Enlightened.

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(Thanks to Don Yarman for suggesting this topic–I’m always on the lookout for new fodder. Send your ideas to meanlaura@oplin.org.)

I have to assume that, by now, your library has finally jumped on the Twitter wagon. (See here for additional info about Twitter for libraries.) If your library is doing Twitter correctly, then you are courteously following (most of) your followers back. (And if it’s not, you should be and I think I’ll chat a bit about that in a future Mean Laura post.) You may have noticed some followers using words in their tweets preceeded by the pound (#) sign. These are called hashtags.

Why use a hashtag?

Hashtags are used as an easy way to designate certain topics when using the Twitter search. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I attended the Computers in Library conference in Washington D.C. The official hashtag for the conference was #cil2009. If you use(d) Twitter search with that hashtag, you would be able to get a fascinating real-time picture of what people were saying about the various sessions, and even conversations being held asynchronously via Twitter.

Do they have any effect?

The past several days, we’ve seen the true power of the hashtag with the AmazonFAIL fiasco. Customers have found all kinds of ways to use social media to demonstrate their disapproval of Amazon.com’s move to make all LBGT literature “adult.” (Read the last link to see the gory details.) But on Twitter, the #amazonFAIL hashtag not only identified people’s contributions to this large-scale conversation, but as of this blog post, the topic is actually the most talked-about on Twitter. Clearly, people are very unhappy with Amazon.com and they are not only making it known on an unprecedented scale, but they are doing so at an incredible speed.