A-flutter about Twitter? April 22, 2007
Posted by Laura Pearle in : Hot Topics , trackbackA recent post on LM_NET pointed me to Kathy Sierra’s blog post about Twitter. Many of us have heard about Twitter, some of us have used it… the same applies for Ning, Furl, Del.ic.ous and all other 2.0-isms.
The problem for me - and I suspect for many - is the time issue. Does this sound like you?
I’m trying to provide a good program for my students. I’m trying to create passionate learners, independent thinkers and be a partner with my teachers in curriculum. I’ve got to consider budgets and previewing books and websites and databases for student and faculty use. I don’t have all the staffing I could want (or use). There are standards and testing that I need to support. Our website could use an overhaul, not to mention our A/V equipment (which I’m responsible for maintaining). And let’s not forget all the union/district/school meetings and professional development/in-services I need to attend. At the same time, I’m reading blogs and e-lists to connect with other librarians, and reading professional literature.
And then I’m supposed to Twitter and set up IM reference and create a MySpace page and be a real Friendster (or is it Facebook?) and Furl and… and… and…
The problem is that many of us are trying very hard to keep up, but technology expands while time seems to contract.
Sometimes, I wish that people like Michael Stephens, Meredith Farkas and Stephen Cohen could spend a month in my (sometimes sensible) shoes as I try to keep all these balls in the air. And then I wish that they’d look at all the technology thats “out there”, the 2.0 stuff that they say I must use and help create a program where I can do just that. Because, as Kathy Sierra suggests, without that, my head might just explode.
(posted by Laura Pearle)
Comments»
Your frustration is shared by many of us, Laura, and you expressed it well! My reactions are at:
http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2007/4/23/application-triage.html
Thanks for the post!
Doug
I found a practical use for twitter that requires very little staff time. A way for patrons to stay connected to the library via their cell phone.
Jeff, that might be needed in a public library, but I don’t know why that would be needed in a school library.
My school district internet filter blocks twitter, myspace, facebook, blogspot, etc. While this is frustrating on one level, it also absolves me of any feelings of guilt over not taking advantage of all these wonderful technological opportunities.
While helping to run Five Weeks to a Social Library, I was tying up one job in preparation for a cross-country move to another. I was also putting together a conference presentation and a few other things.
Point being, we’re ALL busy, including the luminaries you name. Does social software cost time? Initially, perhaps — but like all good software, it makes simple things simple and hard things possible. I couldn’t have managed everything without it.
I couldn’t keep up with my subfield without blogs and RSS. That’s just life. If I had to go back to combing through new journals — well, I’d be behind, that’s the long and short of it.
So how much time are you losing by *not* using social software? Where are the efficiencies you’re missing out on? Believe it or not, these are valid, useful questions to ask yourself.
It’s not useful, however, to imply that other librarians must be slackers because they use these tools.
Gosh, I don’t know about Michael or Steven, but I’ve never told anyone that they MUST use any technology.
Believe me, I walk in shoes that aren’t so different from yours. We’re ALL busy. I, do reference work, teach information literacy classes, create tutorials for our online graduate students and our on-campus undergrads, teach course developers how to use our databases (over the phone, one at a time), manage our Website, do electronic collection development, manage our Web server, create article-level links for all of the readings in the online courses that our in our databases, troubleshoot database access problems, serve on committees, and I’m a liaison to 10 graduate programs. And I use social software with my patrons.
No one needs to use all of these social tools, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to give them a quick test drive and see if you see any practical use for them in your work (or personal life). You should only implement this stuff if it is useful! I use a blog because it’s the best way for me to communicate with students since I can syndicate the content (via RSS) into WebCT. I use MeeboMe for IM because it makes it easier for students to contact me with questions (since a lot of my students do not have IM accounts — many are over 40). A wiki at work gives me and my colleagues a space to collect our knowledge, which benefits everyone. I’m thinking about using a social bookmarking tool like del.icio.us to create annotated Web subject guides because it will allow each of my colleagues to add content instead of me (the Webmaster) doing it all the time. The distance learners I serve are mostly not using Facebook or MySpace so I don’t use it for work. I don’t see myself using Twitter professionally, though I have a great time Twittering with my friends and it isn’t bad for getting help when you have a stumper reference question. I only use social software as a tool, just like a citation manager or a database or a hammer. You choose what works in your setting, what works for your patrons, what works for you. No one is saying anything different.
Seeing reaching young people through technology as something that is auxiliary or not important worries me. Sure, you shouldn’t implement every little thing that comes into vogue, but everyone should at least consider using the tools their patrons use to provide library services. That’s not a new thing; librarians have always been thinking that way.
Oh dear! I can agree with your frustrations…definitely…but I can’t agree that good educators shouldn’t be making clear choices about some web 2.0 and getting on with it. It’s a matter of grasping what can improve the learning experiences for your students, and working with students with specific objectives. Maybe Twitter is not for you, but basic tools like Furl/Delicious or Photobucket/Flick or some wiki MUST be considered as essential items for you to integrate. I’m sure you have made some choices, and they will be good ones for you! From my point of view, I am grateful that people like Michael, Meredith and Stephen are doing the groundwork - I learn from them, share knowledge with others, and can make my choices with a clear mind. Let them play with the Web 2.0 balls (or join in sometimes and catch and share.)while you juggle your daily teaching. Read with an open mind, share with an open mind. I know lots of teachers who have been able to create some very nice programs by being selective - then sharing with others. In fact - thank goodness for the power of networking - Twitter or not - otherwise learning and teaching wouldn’t be half as much fun, nor half as valuable for our kids.
There are a lot of 2.0 tools that I have no interest in or a need to use them. Regardless of how some folks get excited about shiny things, you should never feel like you have to do everything in order to be a good librarian.
I like Jessamyn West’s interpretation of Library 2.0 as being a philosophy rather than the technology that comes from it. As long as you are doing what you can in the time you have with the resources available to you to make your service and library relevant to your users, you’re doing well.
Twitter is just the latest shiny. It probably isn’t useful for you at your library, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be something someone else will want/need. Folks like the ones you mentioned serve the purpose of informing the rest of us when new shiny gadgets are available. Yeah, they can be a little too strident sometimes, and I’ve learned to take it with a grain of salt.
Do you buy every book that is reviewed in Library Journal or Booklist? Probably not, since many of them wouldn’t be relevant to your user base. Think of 2.0 stuff that way, and try not to feel too overwhelmed by it.
I can understand your frustration and can really relate to the ‘exploding head’ feeling! I know it’s particularly difficult in schools, where so many tools are blocked and it’s hard to find a block of time to devote to testing new tools. I’m sure even the folks you mention in your post have felt that way. Michael Stephens, Meredith Farkas, Steven Cohen and many,many others have been great advocates for the use of web 2.0 tools and for the ideas behind library 2.0. I count on them all to help me keep up to date, since no one can keep up with all this on their own. But I don’t feel they’re telling us that we have to use all the tools that are out there. They’re just sharing their experience and enthusiasm.
I know the students in my web/library 2.0 classes experience this same brain overload! To help quell the pain and panic, I encourage them to focus on taking away a basic understanding of the tools we’re using and maybe one or two ideas that they may want to implement. Of course, chocolate helps too!