Group items tagged

Report on research by Pew Research Center on use of social media by teenagers.

UBM Tech's 2013 Social Media @Work research report researched the role social media plays in the business technology market.

I was happy to find a relevant and recent article advocating the use ofcial media for voluntary organisations. Abstract: There is potential for nonprofit organizations to increase effectiveness by mobilizing social media to help achieve goals. However, the sector is only just becoming aware of the possibilities for social media and lags behind other sectors in its use. We report a New Zealand initiative to enhance the capability of nonprofit organizations through action research that has implications for nonprofit organizations elsewhere. Borrowing from resource mobilization theory, we introduce the concept of resource mobilization chains to explain the requirements for and obstacles to taking advantage of social media. A survey and two in-depth case studies found that nonprofit organizations demonstrated extremely limited familiarity with and use of social media. Participants were enthusiastic about the potential of mobilizing social media to achieve organizational goals, but struggled to take concrete steps to implement their aspirations. Lack of resources was a key obstacle identified in both survey and case study research

Smeaton, K. & Davis, K. (2014). Social technologies in public libraries: exploring best practice. Library management. 35(3), 224-238. Retrieved from www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=17107477 A report of a research project that explored social media best practice in the public library sector using two Australian public libraries. Five themes were extracted from the interview: creating communities, connecting with users, inviting participation, organisational culture and staffing. Only one library had a a social media policy, though this had been developed at the local council level.

The latest from Pew looks at 'Public Perceptions of privacy and security in the post-Snowden era'. An interesting take on the findings appeared in the UK's The Observer recently, in a piece by John Naughton: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/16/why-internet-has-turned-us-into-hypocrites the pew research shows that while Americans are more wary of the internet and more concerned about their privacy, they still use social media in much the same way as before.

"The NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Library Edition, examines key trends, significant challenges, and emerging technologies for their potential impact on academic and research libraries worldwide. Following the publication of the report, the New Media Consortium hosted a virtual symposium on The Future of Libraries which includes 4 videos on the following topics: Emphasis on mobile Content management & technical infrastructure Increasing access & discovery opportunities Rethinking roles & relationships of librarians"

Taylor & Francis sought to address some of these questions by conducting research into how the library community is currently using and applying social media. Libraries have been particularly prevalent in their uptake of social media, and use it as a key medium for engaging with their users.

INF208

Abstract: "Social media is now widely used by librarians to fulfill a variety of objectives. Taylor & Francis has collated a range of opinion and data within this white paper to provide an overview of how social media is currently used by librarians, for what purposes, and to what effect. Our research program comprised focus groups in the UK, USA and India."

Why study social media in the library? Social media has the potential to facilitate much closer relationships between libraries and their patrons - wherever users are based, and however they choose to learn about and access library services and resources. Current usage of social media by the library community generally remains ad hoc and somewhat experimental, but the uptake of these tools is accelerating, and they will likely play an increasingly important role in library service provision and outreach in the future. This white paper has been researched and compiled by Taylor & Francis to provide an overview of current practices relating to the use by libraries of social media, from a world-wide perspective, against which individual institutions can benchmark their own activities and be inspired to try new approaches. This white paper is just a start - we plan to build from this a central web-based resource on social media for the library community that will provide ongoing updates, in-depth case studies and best practice guides. We hope this will become a valuable, developing resource that librarians will access and contribute to, so the entire community benefits from sharing ideas and experiences.

Needs research into how the extrapolate their data. Are the conducting the surveys? Are they extrapolating and if so where from...

Social Media usage statistics

This is another case study that looks at why nonprofit organisations may utilise social media and how they may build a social media policy. In the resulting research, the study outlines how NPOs view social media, what they use it for (i.e. marketing, awareness, etc.) and the barriers it presents. Also, it examines how social media can be used as not only a means of communication, but also as a means to interact with stakeholders in a deeper conversation.

The guidance argues seven main points to write social media policy: examine the school culture, organize team, research phase, draft document and incorporate feedback, make sure school attorney and school board to see the draft, introduction to the school community, and review periodically. It is crucial the policy is supported by school board and promote the policy so that community knows well the policy.Policy should be review periodically to ensure it meets school culture.

Harmon, Charles; Messina, Michael (2013). Using Social Media in Libraries : Best Practices. http://primo.unilinc.edu.au/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=CSU Chapter 8: Implementing an online social community as an extension to our physical libraries.. A great review re Halifax Public Libraries implantation of their new social catalogue, aptly named Discover. Covers many practical topics such as: features of a social catalogue planning and research for the project objectives of implementing a social catalogue/tie in with mission statement technical issues staff training communication and marketing feedback It concludes with some practical and professional advice for potential users of such a catalogue.

The best link is via CSU library, not the eblib.com link. http://primo.unilinc.edu.au/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=CSU

Some interesting stats from Pew Research

more fascinating insights from Pew - what does your conversation look like?

While teaching a workshop on digital project management at last year's Association of College and Research Libraries conference in Seattle, I began by asking the participants to describe to the class a project for which they were responsible. One librarian explained that her supervisor asked her to design a library website.

An accidental project manager is exactly how I feel prior to commencing uni assignments. These tips can be applied to nearly everything we do. Thanks for sharing.

In a pilot study the author found the approach to social media access for school students and teachers differed according to sector. State schools had a "walled garden" approach while independent schools "empowered and managed". The differences were attributable to either risk aversion or bandwidth management or both. This was found to contribute to the digital divide between "information-rich and information-poor" with state students disadvantaged in the development of digital literacy.