Showing posts with label Social Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Media. Show all posts

Sunday, 19 August 2012

Thing 12 - Putting the Social Into Social Media

Just a quickie as I continue to play catch up...

Reflecting on my progress with social media over the last couple of months, its been mixed.  I still haven't gotten round to signing up for LinkedIn - a combination of time constrainsts and it seems like the least pertinent of the 'new media' I've looked at.  I am, however, fairly addicted to Twitter.  I am trying to lurk less and contribute more - grasping the fact that someone out there just might be interested in my mild ramblings.  This is good timing as one of my objectives is to set up and run a twitter account for the LRC when I go back in September.  With that in mind I have been following a number of school library accounts (rather than simply librarians as I usually do) to see what is tweeted.  It is very interesting to see what different libraries retweet and push towards their students.  But I my main aim is to strike the note between pertinent and fun.  Watch this space to see how it goes...

Sunday, 27 May 2012

Thing 3: Branding

So 2 weeks in and I'm already playing catch up.  Still branding is an interesting topic which gave me lots to read and lots to consider.  Like many other participants, I hate the idea of googling myself, but I did it.  Most of what came up related to my previous incarnation as a community librarian in Kent Libraries & Archives.  I moved on from there nearly four years ago, but the life of a school librarian is by it's very nature more insular so there was next to nothing online about me.

As for social media, I joined Facebook and Twitter a couple of years ago.  I have kept up with facebook as it has been incredibly useful in keeping in contact with (and recontacting) friends - definitely a resource for the personal side of my life only.  Interestingly, I recently returned to Twitter.  But I use it almost exclusively for following interesting blogs in the library/information world - so a professional development/keeping up with best practice thing. 

What I have yet try is LinkedIn.  My husband uses it a lot both for contacts and job leads - both with some success.  So far, however, I have not been convinced that I need LinkedIn, given the field I work in (I can see from the cpd23 schedule that I may have to reflect further on that in week 5).

So I think I have the personal and professional fairly delineated.  But the process of checking and considering these applications and their use has once again made me ponder a bit further.  What image do I aim to portray?  How well do I achieve that aim?  I recently went through some fairly major physical changes and I had a very clearly idea of how I wanted to style myself afterwards.  I think that was in part fed by the stereotype of librarians.  I wanted to dispel the myth.  Not throw out the twinset and pearls, but vamp it up! 

I can see that I need to make simailar decisions about my professional image as well.  Ultimately, I hope I portray, the image of an up to date, skilled professional who can be taken seriously.  I'd like to think that I can help dispel the public notions of librarians as old ladies who push trolleys and stamp books.  I don't think I'm there yet with my online branding, but I'm making a start and I think I know where I'm going, which is surely half the battle?