LindsayLand

(school assignment post)

Confession: I have a love/hate relationship with social networking.  I love the possibilities, exploring new networks, and reading content... but I dislike the "timesuck," the loss of reciprocity, and the invasion of corporate marketing.

I participate in several social networks, including but not limited to: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Diigo, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Wordpress.  I tend to explore and digest content more than I create it, all the while trying to balance real life connections and reflection. Social networking tools are a great way to keep abreast of current trends and issues facing libraries, but it's very easy to experience "timesuck," in which the minutes of your day seem to disappear.

Exploring new social networks has always been an interest of mine.  I like comparing the options, exploring different possibilities for interaction, and gaining an understanding of how each one works differently or has unique applications.  Having said that, I tend to limit my focus to a handful that I find useful on a day-to-day basis.  For example, I have a Flickr account but use Instagram for generating photo content because it's simple, creative, and it's also where most of my friends are generating content.  If there's one thing I've learned from exploring new social networks, it's that you don't have to be in ALL the places.  Focus on the ones that you find interesting or important.  If you've registered for a network and you're not generating content on a regular or semi-regular basis, drop it and focus on the communities that are engaging you.

In order to efficiently manage my social networks, I find that my favourite tool is IFTTT.  Instead of posting a photo to Instagram and using the IG app to share on Twitter and Facebook, I simply post the photo in IG and IFTTT takes care of the rest.  What's the difference?  As one example, if you use the IG app to share on Twitter, it simply posts a link.  If you let an IFTTT "recipe" to manage the sharing, it embeds the photo in Twitter as native content.  IFTTT also makes it easy to manage and monitor all your sharing activity in one convenient location!

The loss of reciprocity is something I see more and more with the increase of technology.  Technology simply does not have the ability to mimic or provide a genuine replacement for human reciprocity.  "Liking" or "Plus 1ing" simply doesn't have the same effect or bonding connection that real life appreciation and acknowledgement offers.  Our virtual "busyness" (maintaining a wide and thin range of relationships) can easily occupy us, affecting the small real-life network of concrete relationship we have with close friends and family.

Finally, I want to reflect upon the invasion of corporate marketing within social media.  Imbedded and promoted advertising is becoming part of the normal online experience.  I find it just as invasive and aggressive as I once found television commercials.  Only now it's becoming increasingly difficult to identify from native content.  It's incredibly disruptive and counterintuitive to what I consider to be a "social" experience!  Imagine sitting down to a cup of tea and good conversation with a friend when someone appears in the middle of your living room, blocking your view, and yelling YOU NEED TO BUY THIS CAR.  This would be completely unacceptable, which is why I am apprehensive about the normalization of intrusive marketing.  It's unsettling how much I now appreciate creative advertising because if I can't control it I might as well be entertained.

Having said that, the ability to use social networking as a tool to engage the public can be great for organizations such as public libraries!  Advertising budgets are rarely sufficient to promote programs and events on a wide scale, but social networking on Facebook and/or Twitter can really help to spread the word.  There is no cost (except staff time) to create content and share it with followers near and far.

Social networking can also provides an additional line of communication between your organization and your users.  A few years ago, I was working in a public library running programs and services for teens.  Having a Facebook page was an easy way for participants, volunteers, and co-op students to communicate with me (and vice-versa).  In my opinion, it actually removed some communication barriers that teens often experience when engaging in face-to-face or voice-to-voice (telephone) interaction.  Teens are incredibly self conscious and appeared much more comfortable when they could communicate in a form they were experienced in (SMS).

Another post for school!  This one's all about augmented reality... queue dream sequence fingers:

To be honest, the first things that come to mind when I think about augmented reality are Tron (original 1982 film) and Nintendo Virtual Boy (1995).  Truthfully, these are examples of virtual reality.  Augmented reality is more about "layering" virtual elements on top of reality, not immersing yourself completely in a virtual world.  The best example of AR is the use of virtually inserted graphics that is use in sports broadcasting.  Whether it's logos, player stats, or ball tracking, AR technology has become a staple of sports broadcasting.  But AR has come a long way, and is becoming increasingly accessible to anyone who has (or can borrow) a smartphone or tablet.  In the past few years, public/school/academic libraries have started using AR to engage and interact with users and students and the results have been exciting and successful.

One of the most recent articles I've read about using augmented reality in a library setting is from the Not Your Mama's Library blog, called "Using Aurasma in the Library."

As the article mentions, Aurasma "is a virtual reality app which overlays images or video on top of a trigger image."  Aurasma is just one of many (yes, many) ways you can bring augmented reality into a library setting, whether it's to support programming, readers' advisories, or promote services.

One of my biggest take-aways from the NYML blog was the use of Aurasma spine labels.  I think this would make an excellent project for any library wanting to experiment with augmented reality.  For example, you could start by overlaying fan-created YouTube book trailers for books you want to highlight.  What a fun, interactive discovery tool!  The second step could be to have kids/teens create their own book trailers and/or book reviews.  Imagine the possibilities!

Despite the fact that AR has been around for a while, the application has only recently started becoming a trend in libraries.  I expect this is due to the fact that it is becoming increasingly accessible to create and use.  As more and more libraries embrace and adapt to technology trends, I think we'll start seeing more and more creative uses for enhancing user experience within the library, and enticing physical visits.

Just another little post for school.  This assignment was about image editing and students were asked to use Photoshop Express Editor to alter an image.  Actually, we were allowed to use any image editing software, but it's been a while since I've used PSXE so I decided to check it and see if there were any new features.  Here are my before and after shots:

This NY Times article from 2011 explores the apparent decline of blogging, as Internet users migrate to more convenient or efficient social platforms.  For example, with the “rise of sites like Facebook,” Twitter, and Tumblr, traditional blogging platforms such Blogger or LiveJournal are reporting fewer and fewer unique visitors.  To support its opinion, the article refers to the findings of a Pew Research Center study that shows a significant decline in blogging among youths ages 12-17.  However, blog defenders believe they are still the “home of more meaty discussions,” “analysis,” and still have an important complementary role to in social media cross-promotion.

From a 2014 perspective, it was interesting to read this 3-year-old article about blogging.  Survey results from the PEW study seem to support the author's view, but I think providing more details about how the study was conducted would have been interesting to read.  For example, who participated and from where?  Were all demographics provided with clear definitions of blogging/micro-blogging?  What questions were asked?  Understanding a survey's methods are just as important as the results.  Looking at more that one survey is also valuable, in terms of perspective.  I think the article would have been stronger if it had included the results of another survey conducted by a different organization.  For me, the anecdotal comments outweighed the research.

Further thoughts: I think it's always helpful to ask "why is this important?" or "why should I care?" after reading an article or opinion piece.  So... why should we care about the waning of blogging?  Well, it suggests that our attention spans are shrinking like wrinkled apples and that media is evolving to meet the needs and efficient demands of its users.  We should care because there are a lot of important (good and bad) things that should to be analyzed and discussed in a way that is not limited by the micro-blogging format.  For example, it is a challenge to engage in a discussion that is meaningful and articulate on a platform that appears to facilitate miscommunication and misinterpretation by limiting posts to 140 characters.  Here's another example that's looking you right in the eyes: when you finish reading this post, you will have the option to post to facebook/twitter/etc, reblog, or like.  Notice anything missing?   There is no opportunity respond in a way that develops or reciprocates  conversation.

My every-day life experience tells me that traditional "long-form" blogging is indeed in decline, but this wasn't much of a surprise either.  Traditional print newspapers and magazines are also slowly disappearing.  While many continue to maintain an online presence, they too may feel market pressure to condense their content.  Will this have an effect on in-depth, analytical journalism?  If soceity doesn't take the time to read weighty analytical pieces, where will we find the time to be substantively critical of statements/facts streaming in “micro form?”

I think I'll go with "Murderous Librarian." Mwahaha!