This is an end of an era. My final Cam23 post. But it's not goodbye, as the title may suggest, it's just au revoir.
May 24th 2010 saw the launch of the Cam 23 programme. On May 24th I was but a mere web 2.0 wannabe. I had dipped my toe into a lot of the 2.0 pools and adopted a few of them, but I hadn't really examined any in real depth, or had the time or the reason to.
13 weeks later, it is August 19th and I find myself with a Blog and 23 blog posts. I doubt this would ever have happened without Cam23 to push me over the blogging edge. I'd thought about blogging before, sure. But I didn't really think I had anything to say. I wouldn't say that Marsh's b(l)og has changed my life, but it has definitely given me an outlet to order my thoughts and get them down on (virtual) paper. After all, thoughts aren't much good to anyone if they stay in your head are they?I've been genuinely surprised and pleased that people have taken the time to read and comment on my posts and if I have managed to help anyone with anything in the process then that is an added bonus.
I think I will continue with Marsh's b(l)og, even if I am the only one who will benefit from it as a cathartic exercise. In the future I will enjoy choosing my own subjects and not being quite so pressed for time. Writing doesn't come naturally to me but blogging has definitely helped me with my prose and I think I should continue with that.
So which 'Things' have I adopted that I wasn't using before? As I said above, this blog. Also Slideshare and Flickr. I knew about these two Things before but hadn't looked into them in any great depth. I will use the search facility in Slideshare more often and I have created a Flikr account for myself which I intend to add to imminently. I will also try to keep Zotero going in the background.
The jury is still out about linkedin and LibrayThing. These aren't floating my boat, but at least I gave them a go...
I was already using of all the other Things, pre-23 Things, and I will carry on with those as normal. I couldn't live without my Google calendar and I am rapidly deserting Facebook for twitter which is my current Fave!
All in all though, Cambridge 23 Things has been an exercise in getting to know you! (why is this turning into a Sound of Music Fest??) I feel that I have forged some good friendships and links out there in the virtual Cam Lib community, even if some of you are still hiding behind your pseudonyms! I hope we can continue in a similar vein and I will be attending the communication meeting next week. I'm going to be working for libraries@cambridge again as of September 1st and hopefully will be in a position to help with communication across Cambridge libraries. I'm all ears!
See you in the future!
P.s. Big thanks go to the Cam 23 organising team. It's been a big effort as a participant, I can't imagine what it's been like for you guys!
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Facebook. Show all posts
Thursday, 19 August 2010
Monday, 2 August 2010
A Whole New World: Marketing with Social Media. Thing 19.
Marketing. Not something we librarians typically have to put a lot of thought into, or have someone else to do it for us? This might be an outdated point of view with the advent of social media. Meaning, that a library is not just a physical presence in the form of buildings, books and shop paraphernalia, but also a social presence which is all about presentation, coherent image, communication and interaction.
As Mr Priestner says in the Cam23 marketing blog post, marketing is not just about sticking a logo on a pen. We have to anticipate readers' needs and nowadays that involves being where they are virtually, not just physically. We can't afford to overlook social media marketing, but the good thing is that it's mostly free. Marketing for free! Make use of it! It only needs a bit of staff time to keep things ticking over nicely once accounts are set up.
I've been amazed since starting the Cambridge 23 Things programme, how many times I've 'got got' by marketing strategies. Mostly on twitter. There are bots out there actively trawling for information about a product or a company and when they find it, they act on that information. I haven't come across any malicious activity, it's just been rather clever, which is what marketing is all about. For example, a few weeks ago I mentioned in a tweet that my kettle had broken and what would I do without tea in the morning?! A teabot picked up on that and retweeted my tweet, not that tea needs much promotion in my book, but there is obviously somebody or some programme searching for mentions of the word 'tea'. A similar thing happened when I mentioned that I'd like to buy a new camera ; @SLR4u wrote to me with a link to an SLR camera review site. Blinkbox started to follow me when I mentioned them in my blog post for Thing 13. I was 'rickrolled' while listening to last.fm the other day, and Facebook is always suggesting I need laser eye surgery, so they must see from my photos that I wear glasses!
There's a whole new world of marketing out there, cue cheesy Disney Aladdin music (or even worse, Katie & Peter). If we are not part of it we risk falling badly behind. I'm not saying that we have to go all out and set up software that will trawl the web for us looking for mentions of our libraries. All it takes is a couple of clever searches on twitter or Facebook or Delicious or Blogger.... you get my drift. See what people are saying about you and react. If it's positive, great. Be positive back and THANK people. A little thank you goes a long way. If it's negative, don't worry. Think about what people have said and see if you can improve on that. Don't whatever you do go in guns blazing reacting to a negative comment. Take time out to think about how and if to reply and reply in a positive, constructive and helpful way.
There's a lot we can learn from social media and a lot we can do to market ourselves in the social virtual world. Like I said before, it's all free, you just need to invest a bit of time.
As Mr Priestner says in the Cam23 marketing blog post, marketing is not just about sticking a logo on a pen. We have to anticipate readers' needs and nowadays that involves being where they are virtually, not just physically. We can't afford to overlook social media marketing, but the good thing is that it's mostly free. Marketing for free! Make use of it! It only needs a bit of staff time to keep things ticking over nicely once accounts are set up.
I've been amazed since starting the Cambridge 23 Things programme, how many times I've 'got got' by marketing strategies. Mostly on twitter. There are bots out there actively trawling for information about a product or a company and when they find it, they act on that information. I haven't come across any malicious activity, it's just been rather clever, which is what marketing is all about. For example, a few weeks ago I mentioned in a tweet that my kettle had broken and what would I do without tea in the morning?! A teabot picked up on that and retweeted my tweet, not that tea needs much promotion in my book, but there is obviously somebody or some programme searching for mentions of the word 'tea'. A similar thing happened when I mentioned that I'd like to buy a new camera ; @SLR4u wrote to me with a link to an SLR camera review site. Blinkbox started to follow me when I mentioned them in my blog post for Thing 13. I was 'rickrolled' while listening to last.fm the other day, and Facebook is always suggesting I need laser eye surgery, so they must see from my photos that I wear glasses!
There's a whole new world of marketing out there, cue cheesy Disney Aladdin music (or even worse, Katie & Peter). If we are not part of it we risk falling badly behind. I'm not saying that we have to go all out and set up software that will trawl the web for us looking for mentions of our libraries. All it takes is a couple of clever searches on twitter or Facebook or Delicious or Blogger.... you get my drift. See what people are saying about you and react. If it's positive, great. Be positive back and THANK people. A little thank you goes a long way. If it's negative, don't worry. Think about what people have said and see if you can improve on that. Don't whatever you do go in guns blazing reacting to a negative comment. Take time out to think about how and if to reply and reply in a positive, constructive and helpful way.
There's a lot we can learn from social media and a lot we can do to market ourselves in the social virtual world. Like I said before, it's all free, you just need to invest a bit of time.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
The Lighter Side of Libraries? Exploring Library Facebook Pages, Thing 16
This Blog post is going to be short and snappy. To the point.
I think there IS a space for Facebook and libraries IF you go about it the right way.
Exhibit A. Library FB Groups and Pages that work:
Why do they work? It's a simple formula: keep it light-hearted, post regularly, interact, make it visual. Put a face(book) to your library, add pictures of staff and events, invite readers for cookies and juice, or to complete a stress-busting jigsaw puzzle during the exams, post interesting/amusing links. Why not? It's a bit of fun and shows that you care and are approachable.
What you shouldn't do is use your FB page for your serious and/or extensive announcements. There are other and better ways for exchanging this kind of information.
Exhibit B: Library FB Groups and Pages that don't work (yet!):
Interestingly, I know that Cambridge University Library did have a FB page, but I can't find it anymore. My guess is that it was of a similar nature to the links above and they did the right thing and pulled it. By a similar nature, I mean too textual, irregular posts and no interaction.
I'm not saying a FB page is for every library. It's not even for life. But, if you can make it work and have the time to make it work, it can become a great space for your readers and staff to interact. However,if it's not working, forget about it. Just beacuse 'everyone is on Facebook' doesn't mean you have to be too.
I think there IS a space for Facebook and libraries IF you go about it the right way.
Exhibit A. Library FB Groups and Pages that work:
- Central Library, Cambridge
- People for a Library-themed Ben & Jerry's Flavor
- Jerwood Library, Trinity Hall
- English Faculty Library
What you shouldn't do is use your FB page for your serious and/or extensive announcements. There are other and better ways for exchanging this kind of information.
Exhibit B: Library FB Groups and Pages that don't work (yet!):
Interestingly, I know that Cambridge University Library did have a FB page, but I can't find it anymore. My guess is that it was of a similar nature to the links above and they did the right thing and pulled it. By a similar nature, I mean too textual, irregular posts and no interaction.
I'm not saying a FB page is for every library. It's not even for life. But, if you can make it work and have the time to make it work, it can become a great space for your readers and staff to interact. However,if it's not working, forget about it. Just beacuse 'everyone is on Facebook' doesn't mean you have to be too.
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
My social media potted history
This is Thing 3, part of the Cam23 programme, and my obsessive compulsive side is telling me I really should be starting with Thing 1, but hey, I am going to fight it!
My social media potted history:
I've been using social media for a good 10 years now. It started way back in 2000 when I got into Friends Reunited. Anyone remember them?? They are still around and I get the odd email through my uber-retro Talk21 address (which I am very proud of). I've had that since 1998!! Anyhoo, I have a feeling that the info. about me on FR is sooooo out of date that I would cringe, so I'm not even going there....
Then I think I started using Facebook in 2007. Relatively late I guess. I really fought against it to start with. I ignored request after request to join but then I caved in and have been what I call a fair user since. I don't post an awful lot but I find it an incredibly handy way to keep in touch with friends all over the world. Without FB I would never have been able to do that. I'm not worried about security. I just check my settings on a regular basis. Never been hacked or stalked or anything like that, touch wood.
Then came Pageflakes at about the same time. Didn't get on with it at all... more about that in Thing 1...
Followed by the Google suite: Igoogle, Google Reader, etc. etc. about a year ago and Delicious .
Yum yum!
Started the @libatcam Twitter account in January this year which was my first real foray into Web 2.0 for work.
So, you see, I'm a bit of a 'wait and see' gal. I don't jump on the bandwagon from the word go, but if I find something I like, I stick with it (love you Talk21. Mwah!). I'm not an early adopter and I'm much more a social social media user. The work and library 2.0 thang has, relatively speaking, only just started and that is what I hope Cam23 will help me with. I'm also a bit reluctant and need a bit of a push from time to time to try new things. Don't we all?
My social media potted history:
I've been using social media for a good 10 years now. It started way back in 2000 when I got into Friends Reunited. Anyone remember them?? They are still around and I get the odd email through my uber-retro Talk21 address (which I am very proud of). I've had that since 1998!! Anyhoo, I have a feeling that the info. about me on FR is sooooo out of date that I would cringe, so I'm not even going there....
Then I think I started using Facebook in 2007. Relatively late I guess. I really fought against it to start with. I ignored request after request to join but then I caved in and have been what I call a fair user since. I don't post an awful lot but I find it an incredibly handy way to keep in touch with friends all over the world. Without FB I would never have been able to do that. I'm not worried about security. I just check my settings on a regular basis. Never been hacked or stalked or anything like that, touch wood.
Then came Pageflakes at about the same time. Didn't get on with it at all... more about that in Thing 1...
Followed by the Google suite: Igoogle, Google Reader, etc. etc. about a year ago and Delicious .
Yum yum!
Started the @libatcam Twitter account in January this year which was my first real foray into Web 2.0 for work.
So, you see, I'm a bit of a 'wait and see' gal. I don't jump on the bandwagon from the word go, but if I find something I like, I stick with it (love you Talk21. Mwah!). I'm not an early adopter and I'm much more a social social media user. The work and library 2.0 thang has, relatively speaking, only just started and that is what I hope Cam23 will help me with. I'm also a bit reluctant and need a bit of a push from time to time to try new things. Don't we all?
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