The first assignment of this course asked me to list what social networking technologies and sites I had already used. I was able to put on the list just one – creating a Weblog from a previous course. The rest such as Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Flickr, and others are all in theories. Although I was quite adamant, I enrolled this course based on what I had observed as becoming a necessary requirement of an information professional - to be knowledgeable in Web 2.0 technologies. This is due to the fact that social networking technologies have a dominant presence in the Web arena (Jacobson, 2011) and the library community has adopted them as part of their outreach strategy. INF506 has provided me with a greater understanding through exploration of the concept, theory, and practice of social networking technologies.
From being a hesitant participant of social networking sites, this course has turned me into an owner of six social networking accounts (seven
including the Weblog for this course) -Facebook, Flicker, Twitter,
Delicious, and LinkedIn, Second Life. At first, I felt slightly uncomfortable
giving out information to so many sites. However, as Steckerl (2007) stated,
the basic concept of social networking involves a little trust - I scratch your
back, you scratch mine. People who are very guarded about their privacy may not
get great results from using these networks (Steckerl, 2007).
Facebook
Facebook has given me the chance to re-establish connections with
my friends and relatives locally and overseas. I use to search their names on
the Web and just be contented on whatever Google displays about them. This
time, because Facebook is the mostly used social media by my connections, it is usually the first application I run every time I open my computer.
Twitter
My professional accounting organisation has configured their
Twitter account as news feed instead of a conversational channel. Instead of
browsing from the organisational website for the latest updates, timely
information is now delivered directly to me by just following my organisation.
LinkedIn
My LinkedIn profile is my online resume and highlights my skills,
experience and recommendations. Every time I visit my LinkedIn account, my
first attention goes to the posted jobs that I may interested in and updates
from my organisational connections. LinkedIn is a great way to connect with
professional peers.
Delicious
Following the accounts of our INF506 coordinator and chartered
accountants Australia provides me links to different topics in both worlds of
information studies and accounting.
Flickr
I use my Flickr account mostly for sharing and embedding some
personal photos.
Second
Life (SL)
With a proper hardware, it should have been a good opportunity for
me to explore this social media with several events and learning sessions
available in the course.Unfortunately, SL’s graphical requirements (which my
computer cannot properly handle) had made me unable to explore much about it
after creating my account. I intend to explore more of this social media in the
future.
As a social networker, I am aware of what can I share and what I should retain as private to the online world. The bottom line is, if you
believe that the personal information you want to share will not compromise you
in the future, share it, otherwise, keep it to yourself. Once that information
goes into circulation, there is no way of retrieving it back.
Through INF506, I was also able to take a close look at how social
networking is applied to organisations. Although it
took some time, it appears that the idea of organisations as parts of social
networks is one that the public is now comfortable with (Griffey, 2010). The case study requirement
of the course has revealed how professional accounting organisations use
Facebook page to support and build relationships with their
members, how Twitter is used by accountants to source their clients and
customised by their professional organisations as news feed rather than as
a conversational channel to adapt to its very busy members, how LinkedIn is
used for deeper discussions on industry policy and other issues, and how
YouTube gives members the option to replay seminars and lectures at
their own time and place. In other words, social media can be customised by
organisations according to their patrons' needs.
The same case study has also given me the chance to set up and experiment organisational pages (accounts) using some of the above mentioned social media. I am now more confident of being able to link them to a webpage that I built in a previous course. Way back then, I did not have any exposure at all to any social networking technologies except Weblog. I can say that INF506 has allowed me to continue this unfinished work.
I intend to specialise in Information Architecture as an information professional in the future. My experience as a social networker in this course has given me a wider outlook of not only the personal application of social media but its adoption in the library community and in other organisations. Steckler (2007) emphasises that “effective utilisation of your personal network is no longer a competitive advantage, it is a survival tool”. Becoming a social networker has given me the opportunity to get a closer look at social media as a survival tool.
The same case study has also given me the chance to set up and experiment organisational pages (accounts) using some of the above mentioned social media. I am now more confident of being able to link them to a webpage that I built in a previous course. Way back then, I did not have any exposure at all to any social networking technologies except Weblog. I can say that INF506 has allowed me to continue this unfinished work.
I intend to specialise in Information Architecture as an information professional in the future. My experience as a social networker in this course has given me a wider outlook of not only the personal application of social media but its adoption in the library community and in other organisations. Steckler (2007) emphasises that “effective utilisation of your personal network is no longer a competitive advantage, it is a survival tool”. Becoming a social networker has given me the opportunity to get a closer look at social media as a survival tool.
References
Griffey, J. (2010). Social Networking and the Library. Library Technology Reports, 46(8),
34-37.
Jacobson, T. B. (2011). Facebook as a library tool: Perceived vs
actual use. College & Research
Libraries, 72(1), 79-90.
Steckerl, S. (2007). Survival guide: Online social networking. FUMSI, (September).
Retrieved from http://web.fumsi.com/go/article/use/2346
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