Gary Vaynerchuk has some good things to say about social media. Here’s one example (embedded above) discussing how to “make friends” – watch it, then let’s discuss.
In this video, Gary talks about how to participate in social networks and how to friend people – this is essential for libraries! Some big points from his video:
- think of the internet as a big conference or room or a mixer – in those settings, you find a group to talk to and jump right in
- in social networks, you do the very same thing – you walk in, and you start saying hello (it’s not stalking)
- if people are putting stuff out there, they know that people can see it (so it’s really ok to friend them)
Take-aways? Don’t be scared to friend people. Set up a library twitter account, facebook or myspace account, etc… then search for people using those tools who live in your community, and say hello by friending them.
Then start participating in their conversations.
OK – someone will say “but David, that’s weird.” No it’s not – it’s how the emerging online world works. Businesses are already doing this successfully (ie., Gary’s doing just this thing for his Wine business).
Has anyone discussed the consequences of the blend of personal and professional in these social networks? Example– at my library, we all have been drills not to talk to the media and to refer them to our library spokesperson, but Facebook is full of quoteable quotes by staff about our library board’s recent actions tonight and I’m sure I’m already friends with enough customers that my opinion (which I would conscienciouslu never give from the reference desk) is being broadcast through my status now. Had anyone else had and experience with this issue?
Has anyone discussed the consequences of the blend of personal and professional in these social networks? Example– at my library, we all have been drills not to talk to the media and to refer them to our library spokesperson, but Facebook is full of quoteable quotes by staff about our library board’s recent actions tonight and I’m sure I’m already friends with enough customers that my opinion (which I would conscienciouslu never give from the reference desk) is being broadcast through my status now. Had anyone else had and experience with this issue?
Lissa–Wherever you are, you represent the library–we are a very public face, in a world where your opinion on your employer matters to those around you, online and in person. And in the library world, a very small world when it was only the physical, keep in mind that the person with whom you commune today could be the person who hires or fires you tomorrow. My answer? Love my library all the time! (or find one I can or as my mama said, “If you can’t say something nice, then say nothing at all.”)
Lissa–Wherever you are, you represent the library–we are a very public face, in a world where your opinion on your employer matters to those around you, online and in person. And in the library world, a very small world when it was only the physical, keep in mind that the person with whom you commune today could be the person who hires or fires you tomorrow. My answer? Love my library all the time! (or find one I can or as my mama said, “If you can’t say something nice, then say nothing at all.”)
Dana Boyd, a Sociologist, does a not of research into this area of of collapsing contexts suddenly in Facebook, your kids and your colleagues and your boss and your friend from childhood are all intermingling. Things we might do and say and “who we are” in one context might differ in another but this is flattenned or collapsed. Dana gave a keynote at Internet Librarian 2008 and there’s several good summaries of her talk posted – worth taking a look as she discussed several other issues too.
Your Facebook photos and comments on friend’s walls can become part of the record that now spills into your next job interview.
Keeping contexts separate is nearly impossible online but some of the advice below on blogging I think is relevant to all social neworking activities.
But the degree to how much your contexts collapse in the “real” world does vary depending on the size of community and how tightly knit it is. In a small enough town, many of your contexts are collapsed already – your role as parent is know, or as soccer mom, or leader of local organization X trying to reform city council bylaws on recycling or pesticide, or they’ll know that you’re the marathon runner, or the blues musician or the bellydancer. People know you wear hat x, y, z when the community is really small. Not all contexts may be collapsed but many will be.
Some companies have developed simple but effective guidelines for corporate blogging like Sun Microsystems’ guidelines and advice:
http://www.sun.com/communities/guidelines.jsp
Tim Bray at ongoing worked on promoting blogs at SUN and published a version in 2004.
-don’t share company secrets
-don’t talk about legal matters
-consider the consequences
But what is absolutely critical is that your library’s management team understands social media and collapsing consequences.
Dana Boyd, a Sociologist, does a not of research into this area of of collapsing contexts suddenly in Facebook, your kids and your colleagues and your boss and your friend from childhood are all intermingling. Things we might do and say and “who we are” in one context might differ in another but this is flattenned or collapsed. Dana gave a keynote at Internet Librarian 2008 and there’s several good summaries of her talk posted – worth taking a look as she discussed several other issues too.
Your Facebook photos and comments on friend’s walls can become part of the record that now spills into your next job interview.
Keeping contexts separate is nearly impossible online but some of the advice below on blogging I think is relevant to all social neworking activities.
But the degree to how much your contexts collapse in the “real” world does vary depending on the size of community and how tightly knit it is. In a small enough town, many of your contexts are collapsed already – your role as parent is know, or as soccer mom, or leader of local organization X trying to reform city council bylaws on recycling or pesticide, or they’ll know that you’re the marathon runner, or the blues musician or the bellydancer. People know you wear hat x, y, z when the community is really small. Not all contexts may be collapsed but many will be.
Some companies have developed simple but effective guidelines for corporate blogging like Sun Microsystems’ guidelines and advice:
http://www.sun.com/communities/guidelines.jsp
Tim Bray at ongoing worked on promoting blogs at SUN and published a version in 2004.
-don’t share company secrets
-don’t talk about legal matters
-consider the consequences
But what is absolutely critical is that your library’s management team understands social media and collapsing consequences.