Information Center Connections

Social media and you

I've been catching up on my professional reading, and I picked up the July 2009 FUMSI Report on social media in the enterprise.  The issue includes the results of a survey on how social media is used in organizations, integration of social media with business processes, and the culture surrounding social media in the workplace.

Respondents indicated that internal blogs were the most popular "official" social application (external blogs were rated second most popular).  However, LinkedIn proved the most-used tool when both "official" and "unofficial" uses are included.  Least popular overall?  MySpace and Second Life...not a surprise. 

What is distressing are the results related to social media integration.  Overall satisfaction with how social media is at work in the organization was rated an average of 1.91 out of 4.00.  That's pretty low.  Seems that, in general, some staff "get" it (2.24 out of 4.00), but the marks for senior management are lower (2.07 out of 4.00).  And 53% of respondents indicated that the atmosphere surrounding social media is "very restrictive" or "somewhat restrictive."  And respondents are frustrated.

Here at SLA we use blogs regularly to communicate with members (and non-members) and have also incorporated Twitter (me, too), Facebook, and LinkedIn (here and here) in our arsenal of devices.

How are social media (blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) taking off in your organization?  Do you feel free to use these tools?  Are you encouraged to use them?  Most importantly, have strategies been developed to maximize their power? 

Worth a click

People still use instant messaging, right? Check out Meebo, which is IM central for all your accounts.

Seesmic is a web-based alternative to TweetDeck (desktop and iPhone versions also available) that allows you to view both Twitter feeds and Facebook updates in one place...kind of a like a command center.

Resources on writing from Purdue University.  OWL, the Online Writing Lab.

Portals and KM, an intelligent blog from Bill Ives, covers several topics of interest to members...knowledge management, 2.0 (enterprise and Web), and blogs.

Worth a click

If you aren't wholly satisfied with your Twitter experience, you might need a tool or two to make your life complete.  Take a look at the Ultimate List of Twitter Tools from the Social Media Guide.

Fifty Best Blogs for Law Librarians.  You be the judge.

What is Web 3.0 exactly?  Here are a few explanations.

GovFresh is a mega-feed of U.S. government updates from various 2.0 tools.

Stuff...need some?  Need to get rid of some?  Try takemeimfree.com or Freecycle.

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams

Well, maybe not champagne and caviar, but your name will be in lights in the blogosphere*!

We're looking for people who would like to post on SLA Blog about SLA 2009.  Write about your conversations, observations, the unconference experience, your impressions of D.C., what you ate at that fab reception last night.  And, of course, the sessions!  There are more details on SLA Blog.

So, if you've ever wanted to blog and didn't have the opportunity, now's your chance!  Contact me at csosnowski (at) sla (dot) org to get signed up.  One post or ten, we'd love for you to contribute.

*Pick up your Blogger ribbon at the Information Booth, and I'll be sure to ask for your autograph.

Worth a click: conference edition

Here are a few resources that will help you make the most of your conference experience.  Even if you can't make it to D.C., you can still feel a part of the action.

Conference wiki
Created by the D.C. Chapter, this site is where you'll find the inside scoop on restaurants, local attractions, and wi-fi hotspots. And, take virtual tours of area libraries, including those of the Smithsonian Institution and the National Library of Medicine.  It's searchable!

Conference handouts
Handouts will be posted here before and after the conference. 

Unconference wiki
There will be seven unconference sessions during SLA 2009, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at various points throughout those days.  Some have assigned topics, and some are "free for all." Check the wiki before, during, and after the conference for materials.

SLA Blog
Shamless plug for our own SLA Blog, where staff and members will be posting about their favorite sessions, conversations, and social activities. Contact me at csosnowski (at) sla (dot) org to blog on SLA Blog!

Twitter
If you haven't heard, @sla2009 is the Twitter account for the conference. If you tweet, don't forget to include the hashtag #sla2009 so that followers of @sla2009 will see your updates.

See you there!

Worth a click

DeepDyve, a new "research engine" that hits the deep Web.  Enter your complex search here.

Analyze the flow of news with Media Cloud, from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard. 

Get blog and other Web site updates in your e-mail inbox.  FeedMyInbox...no feed reader required! (Thanks to member Brandy King for this tip.)

Need resumé help?  Mashable presents ten tools that help you create and refine your resumé using the social Web.

Recommended reading

The April issue of The Information Advisor (edited by Robert Berkman, of the Intelligent Agent blog) makes some suggestions for "insightful" books that information professionals should read.  Here are two to get you inspired:

Content Nation by John Blossom, president and senior analyst at Shore Communications, a consulting and research firm. The book is about the impact of social media, and is available as a "live" book (what a great use for a wiki).  Read more from Blossom on ContentBlogger and Twitter (@jblossom).  And don't forget the Shorelines e-newsletter.

Social technologies are also the focus of Groundswell, which was written by two former Forrester analysts (Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff).  Here, it's how blogs and their social friends can be used by business.  Lots of case studies.  Subscribe to the blog, too.

How have *you* changed your services to clients or your information-gathering because of social technologies?  Are your tasks easier, or more overwhelming?

Exploring all your options

I just received the new edition of Mary Ellen Bates's monthly InfoTip ("When You Come to a Fork in the Search, Take It!"), which is available via e-mail subscription, RSS, or on her site at this address.  In it, she talks about letting the research take you where it takes you and to use a variety of sources.  The topic of the research is important in leading you to certain source types, and she makes suggestions for some beyond just a general search engine. 

The process of her research is methodical, and one of her steps is using association websites to gather information.  From my own experience, I know that association sites are great sources of research, data, and news.  And, some of it may even be free and open to non-members.  No matter the topic of your research, there's likely an organization for it.  (And, don't forget about the resources on SLA's own website!)

Mary Ellen also says that she uses Web 2.0 tools in almost every project.  Do you do this, too?  What are people saying?  Very often, blog posts link to other sources.  You never know what you'll find.  Give it a try.  Where to start?  How about Technorati, a blog search tool.  Or delicious, which can help you find collections of sites on one topic.

Worth a click

Ding It's Up tells you (via text, Twitter, or email) when a site is back up (or when it goes down).

The Green Library blog.  There's even a Facebook group.

The SMR International site has many reports, white papers, and profiles on the various aspects of knowledge services. 

Did you know SLA has a presence (and plenty of activity) in Second Life?  Visit the SLA in Second Life blog to find out more.

23 Things

Did you participate in the 23 Things learning initiative?  The goal was to complete all 23 Things by December 15th, but if you didn't, that's okay...23 Things is not going away.  Over 1,500 members have registered so far for this free, self-paced Web 2.0 tutorial.

I had several very busy days exploring the applications and tools in the program.  There were some suggestions out there to do a little bit every day or so, but I didn't want to lose momentum, and instead spent the better part of some days completing the activities and then blogging about my experiences and thoughts.  (That was a "thing"...to create a blog.  Here's mine:  http://triviachick.blogspot.com/.)

I most enjoyed working with Flickr and adding some photos to my blog.  I already had a Flickr account, but had to make some of the photos public to complete the exercise.  But it was fun.  Besides posting pictures you can share with family and friends, Flickr is a good source of photos for other projects (you can search Creative Commons licensed photos).  And, from the creator side, Flickr is just one application with which you can make your organization's photo resources available to others.  The Library of Congress has a pretty neat project going on with Flickr.

Along the way during 23 Things, I made several notes about how to use the applications on SLA's website and as ways to provide information and services to members.  I hope to integrate several during the coming year.  Suggestions are always welcome.

Now, if you haven't taken a look at 23 Things, it's not too late.  It's a good first stop if you want to learn more about tools like Library Thing and delicious.  And, you can read the participant blogs for perspectives and hints and ideas.  Web 2.0 is a community after all.