Slides from the UKOLN workshop session delivered February 22nd 2011. Takes a look at some personal experiences with using social networking for personal and professional purposes.

1. Strong Words Softly SpokenEngaging the Crowds in the Clouds Gareth J Johnson Document Supply & Repository Manager David Wilson Library University of Leicester 22 February 2011

2. Disclaimer The following are all personal professional reflections and experiences. There may be some mild bias!

3. Social Presence 1995 BBSes (Arafel, PlanetSkaro) 2004 Live Journal, My Space 2005 Wikipedia contributor 2006 YouTube, Last.fm 2007 Facebook, Delicious, Linked in 2008 Twitter, WordPress, SlideShare, Kongragate 2009 WetPaint Wiki, Blip.fm 2010 Qik video, FriendFeed, HootSuite, PodBean Note: User & creator of content; not just end-user

4. Overview What I’ve used Personal, corporate & team experiences The lessons learned The next (practical) steps

6. 1500 User spaces

7. 38km shelving

8. 1M+ volumes on shelves

9. 350 PCs + wireless network

10. 13 Group study rooms

11. Graduate Media Zoo

12. 2 IT training suites

13. Also houses Careers, Accessibility & Student Learning Deptswww.le.ac.uk/li/about/building/factsandfigures.htm

14. Responses to Social Networking

15. What we’ve Learned “I think we do reporting/reflecting on events quite well & sometimes provoke a response.” Selina Lock “…one strength is the building of networks within the institutions, and how it can bring people to work together that may not have done otherwise - in particular when they find out they have common interests.” Sarah Whittaker “I think our strength is definitely individuals promoting the library through social networking as 'personalities', rather than necessarily as one unified institutional identity…The major barrier is the way social networking is viewed by sceptics in the institution.” Katie Fraser

16. UoL Library Blog Initial efforts faltered some years previously 2008 complete restart New team of enthusiasts House rules for contributions Style & purpose Reflective, informal but professional tone Target audience of library and institution Started quietly to gain voice & proof of concept Went “public” after a month All staff invited to contribute

17. UoL Library Blog External cloud based platform (WordPress) High customisability & low technical requirements Avoids UoL branding issues by external hosting Knowledge based information resource Referenced in official memos Included in staff induction pack references Team keeps a watching brief on items of interest Prompts each other for articles Encourages involvement of new staff members Project blogs My Leicester DA, ScienceLeicester

19. Blogging Lessons Start small and walk before you run Keep some rainy day posts in your back pocket Draft some mutually agreed house rules Always reply to comments but purge spam Reflect, share, celebrate and advocate your service Share progress, success and failures equally

20. Twittering Joined e.2008 (just after start at UoL) An alternative & effective communication channel Links with local academics & students easier to forge Engaging with a self-selected group of enthusiasts Resultant involvement in projects, teaching and information sharing Linking with the wider community Enquiry resolution, crowdsourcing, feedback & cross-pollination

21. Service Impressions

24. Twitter Lessons The professional with or without the personal? Think about locking your posts until you feel comfortable Use a web based client (like HootSuite) to get around installation issues Find the signal to noise level with followers you can cope with Remember it’s a conversation, always engage with @Replies

25. DWL Facebook An attempt to reach into users’ social spaces Comment engagement quite low Library page to promote services Maintained by Information Librarians Over 1,600 fans currently Rolls out and links to official news Houses some HQ images of the library Replies to the occasional comment

29. Facebook Lessons Easier to be static and less engaged Needs promotion and interaction to succeed A bit old hat these days? A qualified success or just Web 2.0 box ticking? Do the users want us in “their” social space?

30. Wikis PM.Wiki Enquiry team manual, locally installed WetPaint Cloud computing service with live linkage Two team manuals on it now Locked as private resource Team empowerment & ownership Allows easy editing by all, although in reality… Allows rapid record of S.O.P. Allows easy access globally 24/7

32. Lessons from Wikis Easy to use and easy to learn Some techno-terror is possible Make sure you back up if using a hosted site Needs top down support as well as peer buy in

33. What’s in it for Our Service? Justifying it to senior management can be tricky “It isn’t suitable for US!”, “Isn’t email good enough?” Concerns over loss of control, clarity of message Helps break down corporate façade Humanises and personifies the service Recognition for awards and achievements Celebrate and highlight best practice Marketing and monitoring

34. What’s been in it for Me? Personal & professional recognition Engagement with a broader community Emotional and professional support Crowdsourcing an answer rather than repeating errors Although stalkers and hidden followers can be an issue…

35. Final Thoughts Social networking is about cultural change, and playing a proactive part You have to experiment to find the perfect fit – one size does not fit all It is a powerful community marketing, advocacy and engagement tool Go where the community is - don’t expect them to come to where you are? A lot depends on prevailing ethos and personalities

36. Not all failure is FAILURE! (A.J.Cann) Do or do not do. There is no try (Yoda) Someone, somewhere, sometime’s going to shout at you for something. So you may as well do it anyway (Me)

37. Gareth J Johnson, DS&R Manager Email: gjj6@le.ac.uk Tel: 0116-252-2039 Web 2: llordllama Web 1: http://tinyurl.com/cfuhdz Contact & Questions

38. Further Reading 5 Excuses for using Twitter at Work, http://twittown.com/social-networks/twitter/twitter-blog/five-excuses-using-twitter-work Bleeting definition, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleeting Boudreaux, C. (2010) Online Database of Social Media Policies, socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php Bradley, P. (2009) What is twitter? Twitter for librarians, www.philb.com/twitter.htm Briggs, D. (2010) Learning Pool’s Free Twitter Guide, http://bit.ly/lptwitter Contrasting Blogs, Twitter & Library News Pages (video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1nJQKsLgM0 Explaining twitter Simply (video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4__htJ-IdU&hd=1 Johnson, Gareth (2009) The unspoken rules of blogging, CILIP Gazette, 14th August Kelly, B. (2011). Institutional Use of Twitter by Russell Group Universities, ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/institutional-use-of-twitter-by-russell-group-universities/ Leicester UoL Web 2.0 Community, http://tinyurl.com/yjznum2 Pettey & Tudor (2010) Gartner reveals five social software predictions for 2010 and beyond: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1293114 UoL Library Blog, http://uollibraryblog.wordpress.com/