Monday 12 September 2011

CPD 23 - Thing 6 - Online Networking

Apologies for absence

I'd like to start by apologising to any regular readers for the long gap between posts. I got married in August, which was amazing but it meant that this was a pretty busy summer. I have managed to fall even further behind on the 'things' than I thought I was going to. I do intend to catch up so please bear with me.

On with the 'things'...

Thing 6 - Online networking

Twitter

There is some overlap between thing 6 and two of my earlier 'thing' posts. When discussing the use of twitter as a current awareness tool I explained that I started to tweet because my Library Science Msc lecturers told me to. As I said then cpd 23 has helped to cement my impression that twitter can be a very useful tool for professional networking. It removes barriers and gives us all a chance to be part of a million ongoing conversations about every aspect of our profession (or whatever else you want to talk about).

Facebook

There seems to be a developing understanding that facebook is primarily for the more 'social' side of social media. The informal, staying in touch with friends aspect of it all. I have 'library' friends on facebook but I draw a fuzzy distinction between staying in touch with old classmates or coworkers and seeing a site as a natural place for professional networking.

Linkedin

My impression of Linkedin is that it is primarily a job hunting tool. It wouldn't be my first choice if I was trying to exchange ideas or discuss experiences because I feel active users are primarily there to sell themselves as potential employees. Good luck to them obviously but doesn't that make the conversations less free than it is on sites where users have a less specific agenda? Is that unfair? It's arguably ill informed prejudice so please educate me if you're an enthusiastic Linkedin user. (Only if you use it for something other than job hunting though. I understand that it's useful for that. Thank you.)

Librarians as Teachers

I am a member of the Librarians as Teachers network. This 'thing' has reminded me that I really should be a more active user. As a former teacher who's now working in an FE college in a librarian role that involves teaching I'm pretty much exactly the kind of person that this site is designed for. I recommend this network if you are in a similar role.I have picked up some useful tips. I should try to contribute more.

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