Thing 12 - Putting the social into social media

I have to say that I'm not certain that I like social media. When I was younger, I would spend hours texting and chatting on the phone to my friends....Facebook has diluted this massively. Everyone assumes that you've seen what they're up to so they don't tell you again unless it is a really important development.

I don't think that the same issue is a problem for professional networking but there are definitely issues there too. For example some people clearly do not have what I consider to be appropriate filters in place for someone dealing with colleagues. I do not appreciate seeing the C word at 3pm, or, actually, ever, nor do I need to hear about your sex life. It clearly works both ways though - I realised today that someone blocked me on Twitter. I'm ow wondering what it was that I said or did that caused that.

These are clearly age old problems (see also misuse of mailing lists) but I think are exacerbated by the fact that you can't see the person becoming uncomfortable or rolling their eyes at the other end.

The other issues with social networking involve the sites. This week LinkedIn decided to use me in adverts and Facebook sucked all my email contacts without my permission. This lack of control is clearly an issue.

I would say, though, that although I might prefer a world without social networks, I don't want to be without them in this world. It is almost obligatory in order to not feel completely left out. For me, the main advantage of social networks (excluding Facebook where my reason for being there is so I do get invited to parties etc) is to amplify the connections I have - I go to events and meet people and then add them on LinkedIn, I follow them on Twitter and get t know them a little better. I also hear about things a little quicker than I would otherwise and I have come to sort of know some people I haven't physically met. Not sure how I feel about that bit though - feels a little odd to feel as if I know someone when I really don't!
 
CPD 23 has lead to me reading a law blog which I really enjoy and hadn't previously seen as well as making contact with someone who works in my sector which is nice! There are a few other blogs that I will probably add after the things end and some that I don't think I will.

I have been using LinkedIn for ages and think it is really good although I want to make more effort to engage with the groups. I lurk a lot but rarely comment so I think that is a good way of continuing. Lately I have been too busy to be very professional on Twitter but I intend to go back to how I was a few months ago - sharing more links and retweeting interesting stuff. I feel that weeding out my feeds really helped with the feeling of information overload so I intend to do that every so often. I'm definitely going to keep blogging. I will readily admit that I wasn't keen when I started this. I felt that it was a bit egotistical to assume that anyone cares what I think but I have now decided that is the wrong way to look at this. It is for record keeping - maybe even for reflection - I'm not trying to be particularly informative or to change the mind of my reader(s) so why worry!

The final question is whether social media fosters a sense of community. The short answer is that I don't know. Certainly, it makes it very obvious how nice most librarians are and how small a world it is but I already knew that before using social media. I think perhaps it is a little more present and obvious in social media but then equally it is, perhaps, easier to feel excluded. There are times when I look at a conversation on a social network and wonder if the participants are entirely sane and it is easy to seem like there is an in crowd to break into. 

So, in conclusion: dunno! I think social media has benefits but I'm not a massive fan especially as it is hard to make sure it doesn't take over your life. Previously, I had a rule that as I left work on a Friday evening the networks were disconnected and they got turned back on when I left home Monday morning. This has slipped a lot and in some ways I am pleased to find people tweeting about rugby and F1 and stuff but equally it is a distraction from the real world. I think perhaps I just need to be more disciplined myself!