South & Mid Wales Partnership Conference 290710 1

www.swansea.ac.uk/lis

making a tweet of yourself

a personal view on why I use social

networking – for work

Mark HughesHead of Collections@mark_h_swansea


So what’s my poison?

I separate my “social work” (?!) & purely social stuff

I use variety of social media ‘when the tool fits the job’

Twitter is for “social work” & Facebook is just social... Slideshare, LibraryThing,

LinkedIn, blogs.. where they suit


So today I’ll....

Tell you about my motivations (the benefits)

Discuss some of the risks

& consider if we should all be “doing it”


So what’s my motivation?

staying in touch



Get to things I can’t

afford to go to (time or

money)...



Keep up with

professional (&

other) news and

issues



Use other peoples great

ideas..

http://prezi.com/if9wccvvunup/escaping-the-echo-chamber/



getting funding &

ideas for funding



giving some staff an easy

way to talk to me



Proving that I’m doing

stuff – like today



warning people of what’s

getting me interested...


So what’s my motivation?Finding out

more about

someone


Managing the risks...

Technology changes far faster than people’s attitudes to it & abilities to use it fully...

Being inappropriate Showing “favouritism” Looking dumb


Martin Bean, VC of the Open University .... digital divide is no longer about haves and have nots in terms of access to IT and ownership of devices....

"In my mind now the digital divide is much more about those that actually understand how to use and apply technology in their lives and their work as a necessity, rather than simply getting access to the technology...” http://www.kable.co.uk/ou-head-says-digital-divide-has-shifted-13apr10


Do we, as information professionals...

“understand how to use and apply technology in our lives

and our work as a necessity, rather than simply getting

access to the technology...”

Do we need to understand the necessity of using social

networking in our work?


It’s not just “understand” – it’s in our job description ...

“As a library and information professional you will develop the

ability to design, create, identify, locate, retrieve and

exploit information in all formats”

http://www.cilip.org.uk/jobs-careers/careers-gateway/pages/

startingalibraryandinformationcareer.aspx


How will you...(if you don’t use social networking?)

stay in touch

get to things you can’t afford to go to...

keep up with professional news & issues

use other peoples ideas

get funding

give some staff an easy way to talk to you

prove that you’re doing stuff – like today

warn folks of what’s getting you interested...

find out more about someone...


Plus.. it’s time to talk to each other & our customers...

But they aren't queuing at the desk or sat

in the library, they’re:

– sitting in their office

– on the bus,

– sat in the park for lunch,

– relaxing at home,

– feeling bewildered by these new

phone things

– studying in their bedrooms.....


Twitter

done well!

Build it..and they will come...(in their 1,000's)


Thanks for listening!Mark HughesHead of Collections

@mark_h_swansea

[email protected]

•http://www.slideshare.net/mark_h_swansea

•http://blog.swansea.ac.uk/blog/lshughmj/

http://twitter.com/