Librarian by Day » Social Networking Sites

Control is an Illusion You Need to Let Go

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:38:41 +0000

CC image courtesy of Bill Gracey - Gone to Mexico on flickr

The issue of control comes up over and over again when we talk about the online world. It recently it came up at Internet Librarian in many different ways, including:

How do I stop a staff member from wasting time on Facebook?
How do we control what staff are saying online?
Management wants everything posted online (Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc) to go through PR.
We don’t want employees to be able to access social networking sites?
What about privacy?
We can’t allow just anyone to post a comment without approving it first.
How do we know a student is who they say they are?

I have answers to all of these questions, but these questions aren’t what this is about, what they represent is, control. Or the illusion of control.

The desire for control comes from fear. Fear of change, of the unknown, of doing things differently, of a situation not created by us, of taking risks. It is human nature to fear these things, it’s how we’ve survived. So is adaptation and times are changing, just as they always do, and we need to adapt.

In the internet age your image/brand no longer belongs to you. It belongs to your customers. The things they have always been saying are now online for the whole world to see. The content and commentary they post about you may rank higher in search engines than your site or content. You can’t stop them. Every attempt you make will be like fighting the Hydra, cut off a head, two will grow back. I promise.

Prevent comments on your website? They’ll start their own blog or Twitter account or website. Implement a filter to block social networking sites? They will find a way around it (and you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face).

Stop wasting time trying to get control, you might be fooling your boss or the board or yourself, but you are not fooling your staff or more importantly your customers. Better yet, when you stop spending time trying to get control or pretending that you have it, it frees you and your time to address the real issues.

Still not ready to let go? Think about these questions from Andrew McAfee :

Are you ready and willing to let more internal voices communicate and shape your brand over time?
If not, why not?
Is it that you don’t trust your people, or your customers?
Is it that you don’t want any negativity at all to appear on your digital properties?
Or is it that you’re afraid there might be too much negativity?

Still not convinced? Or need to convince someone else? Try reading these:

*Up Next – What you can do after you’ve accepted control is an illusion.Similar Posts:

How social media can hurt your library

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:38:49 +0000

photo by DCvision2006 on Flicrk

We’ve all seen warnings and stories about people getting fired from their jobs because of status updates or photos on social medial sites like Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

CNN is has a new one with some social networking don’ts

1. Don’t announce interviews, raises or new jobs

2. Don’t badmouth your current or previous employer

3. Don’t mention your job search if you’re still employed

First I think number 2 should include – “or coworkers”, really nothing good can come of that either. But the point I want to add for librarians (library workers) everywhere is

4. Don’t badmouth your customers.

We all get frustrated, we all have bad days, I understand that, but venting on social media sites isn’t the solution and it could cause real problems for your library. Your customers may read what you wrote, they are more tech savvy than you give them credit for. In addition to some old fashioned hurt feelings this can lead to some real problems for your library. They could complain to someone at the library, which means staff will need to spend time dealing with this issue. They could email it all their friends or maybe the newspaper, this is bad PR no library needs. Or they could just never come back, which is contradictory to the mission of libraries, and loosing patrons is never good for libraries. Libraries don’t need bad PR, especially not now when so many are facing funding cuts.

If you don’t care about how it will affect your library keep in mind your boss may read what you wrote, there are endless ways this could happen. I can’t imagine a library manager anywhere being happy that an employee is publicly badmouthing patrons. There are a wide range of outcomes depending on what was said, how the library handles custom service issues, but being fired is a possibility.

Think being anonymous will protect you? think again. Think having a private account will protect you? It might, unless there is a glitch & its made public, even briefly, or until you *friend* the wrong person.

Your best plan is not to put anything online you aren’t prepared for the whole world to see. Just don’t do it. Think twice before you post that next Facebook or Twitter update or write that next blog post.

Additional Reading

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10 Golden Rules of Social Media

Bobbi Newman — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:08:20 +0000

Webworker Daily has a great post on the 10 Golden Rules of Social Media Read the full post to get defitions of each

Respect the Spirit of the ‘Net

Listen

Add Value

Respond

Do Good Things

Share the Wealth

Give Kudos

Don’t Spam

Be Real

Collaborate

Social media tools are only that — tools. The real energy, spirit and power of social media is people. We are social media.

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Eternal September: Be Ready to Repeat Yourself. Again.

Bobbi Newman — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:24:12 +0000

Last week I read this post on Seth Godin’s blog and loved it. I tweeted it hoping other people would pick it up. After reading Stephen Abrams post – What is Cloud Computing where he states

I’ve given a few talks lately and I was surprised to get a few questions about “what is cloud computing?” I guess I really do live in the bubble. Then again I have had my share of what is YouTube? eBay? iTunes? questions lately too.

I decided to devote a blog post to Eternal September, its the idea that every fall new freshmen show up and you need to teach them the ropes, rules, guidelines, etiquette all over again. New people show up on the internet everyday. People who don’t understand how blogs work or what Twitter is or why they would use an aggregator & RSS. It can be easy when talking amongst your cohorts to get caught in a bubble, when most of the people you interact with know what the cloud is and use Twitter everyday (or almost every day) you can forget that the majority of people don’t. If you’re like me, you like (or even love) the web and all the awesome things it can do. You probably want other people to do them too. It can be easy to forget how much you’ve learned, how far you’ve come and how much you know that others don’t. What you take for granted can be amazing, intimidating, daunting, foreign or just plain scary to new people. When you’re talking about the web, stop and explain The Cloud or Twitter, even if you think everyone already knows what it is and how to use it. People often feel dumb for asking. Do it with patience and understanding. Don’t just say how awesome it is, explain it in terms that matter to them, how they can use it, how it will save them time, how it will make their life better.

If you’re a leader or an expert or a presenter or even just a blogger you need to be prepared to teach the freshmen. They are looking to you for explanations and guidance. After all you are a senior. Similar Posts:

My Problem with LinkedIn

Bobbi Newman — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:55:53 +0000

and online reputations in general.

I have a profile on LinkedIn (as I do on many social websites) because many people and blogs I think highly of have recommended it. Now I’ll be the first to admit I’m probably not using it right and therefore not taking advantage of it properly. Here is something I noticed recently while updating my profile.

This is a section of my profile showing my position at MRRL. Three people wrote me recommendations (which I appreciate but I’m not sure what good they do)

After these kind people wrote wonderful things about me I can change my position anyway I like. In this case I made myself Princess of Georgia.

I know what you’re thinking, there is no Princess of Georgia and if there were it certainly wouldn’t be me. ;-) That isn’t the point. I can change my job description, title or any part of the position at any point on LinkedIn and those recommendations stay right there.

This is my problem with online reputations. As more of us establish an online identity, we interact more with others we meet online and we base our opinion of them on who they are telling us they are. Why does this matter? Because people have always been dishonest from the small tweaking of facts to outright lies. There is no one following me around the web ensuring I’m not fabricating facts. Even if someone suspected I was not the Princess of Georgia, what could they do? Maybe blog, maybe contact me, maybe tell their friends but those are pretty aggressive and don’t necessarily put the person doing it in the best light and most people just aren’t going to do it.

Because more professional opportunities are based on online reputations, this is important. We come to think of the people we interact with as colleagues and friends and we make recommendations or offer opportunities based on this relationship. Unfortunately there are some things you just can not know about someone unless you’ve worked with them.

I’ve received recommendations on my reputation and I’ve given them too. I’m not saying don’t do it and everyone you meet online is lying to you. I’m just reminding you of the old saying – “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog“.Similar Posts:

Social Media Periodic Table

Bobbi Newman — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:37:11 +0000

Check this out – I would seriously love to see someone with more talent than me make a just for libraryland version! See the lists of blogs & people that are included.

Here are what some of the appreviations stand for you, you can see the rest at on Eye Cube

Social Media Practices: (Do these to maximize your Social Media experience)

Fl = Follow

Ht = Hashtag

Po = Post

St = Status Update

Sp = Spread

Se = Search

Hp = Hat tip

Fd = Feed

Rt = Retweet

Ud = Update

Cm = Comment

Jn = Join

Up = Upload

Tg = Tag

Tc = Tag clouds

Dm = Direct Message

Rx = Remix

Ln = Link

Mu = Mashup

Sb = Subscribe

Rf = Refer

Sr = Stream

Re = Reply

Rc = Recommend

Sn = Syndicate

Pk = Poke

Pm = Promote

Ib = Imbed

Blog People: (Consistently intellingent, thought-provoking & educational)

Sy = Shoe Money

Ar = Ad Rants

Mp = Micro Persuasion

Aw = Ads of the World

Sj = Search Engine Journal

Cf = Common Craft

Cp = CopyBlogger

Ba = Brand Autopsy

Sd = Search Engine Land

Dd = Dosh Dosh

Gv = Gaping Void

Ma = Mashable

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I’m not narcisitic, you’re eavesdropping

Bobbi Newman — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:59:56 +0000

In many of the articles I read about the Social Web, especially Twitter, the author laments that they don’t care that I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich for lunch, or what I thought of the latest American Idol. I’ve long felt that these writers are missing the point and this week I came across two sources that articulate this better than I could have.

The first is Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody, he makes the point that with new advances in technology people mistake broadcasting media (1 to many) for communications media (1to 1). New tools allow people to use broadcasting media for communication. He gives this example – if you read a blog of someone you don’t know and see that they got wasted last night and today when shopping for clothes you think what’s the point? Who cares? Yet if you went to a food court in a mall and eavesdropped on the same conversation it would be clear that you are the weird one. We’re so used to the old web that we think if we can read it, it’s targeted towards us and with the new Social Web this just don’t hold true anymore.

The second is this article from The New York Time Magazine.

“It’s an aggregate phenomenon,” Marc Davis, a chief scientist at Yahoo and former professor of information science at the University of California at Berkeley, told me. “No message is the single-most-important message. It’s sort of like when you’re sitting with someone and you look over and they smile at you. You’re sitting here reading the paper, and you’re doing your side-by-side thing, and you just sort of let people know you’re aware of them.” Yet it is also why it can be extremely hard to understand the phenomenon until you’ve experienced it. Merely looking at a stranger’s Twitter or Facebook feed isn’t interesting, because it seems like blather. Follow it for a day, though, and it begins to feel like a short story; follow it for a month, and it’s a novel.

Both of these illustrated the point that just because you can read it, doesn’t mean it’s intended for you. If you precieve something as blather, you’re probably not the target audience. This is a new occurrence that has developed with social web tools. The line between what’s public and private becomes blurred. If you come across the blog of someone you don’t know and start reading it are you violating their privacy? It’s out there for anyone to read. What if they only started writing it to keep their family updated, and you’re not the intended audience?Similar Posts:

Is Library 2.0 and/or Web 2.0 really serving our patrons?

Bobbi Newman — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:14:10 +0000

I saw and participated in a discussion on this on one of my email lists last week. I thought I’d take more time to write out my thoughts and responses on my blog. Sarah posted this over in MaintainIT but it looks like she didn’t open it up for comments so I’m going to.

Here is part of the email I sent the list

One of the problems I’ve seen with 2.0 is the library runs out and gets a blog or facebook page or whatever and declares themselves 2.0. They don’t consider who they are trying to reach, what they are trying to accomplish, how they will accomplish it or measure success. We need to take the same approach to 2.0 that we’ve taken to library services for years. Not every tool will work for every library and community. Some libraries have wildly successful film programs or extensive tools for small businesses, but not every library does. We look at what our community needs and what works best for them. The same approach should be taken with your web tools.

My answer is yes. I think there are many aspects of Library 2.0 (and web 2.0) that are providing better service to our patrons. Right now I’m using a blog to create a new Readers Advisory service for our patrons. Learning 2.0 & Learning 2.1 teach our staff about technology and terms our patrons are using that they might now have known about before.

I can go on and on with examples and arguments, but what I really want to know is What do you think? Do you have some great examples of Library 2.0 or Web 2.0 is helping (or not helping)? Is the objection to 2.0 that we’re placing a value judgment on it that we don’t apply to traditional services ( and by that I mean when we order the latest romance or horror novel)? Are we doing a disservice to our patrons by having a blog? Are gaming events a waste of our valuable time? What should we be doing with our time?Similar Posts:

Joshua M. Neff’s big announcement

Bobbi Newman — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:09:37 +0000

wow, blogging before I’ve finished my second cup of coffee. It takes something pretty exciting to make that happen. Well this IS exciting! Josh has had us on pins and needles for the last couple of weeks, waiting for his big announcement. He finally made it this morning! Library Society of the World has a new website, head over to Josh’s site to learn more and join up! Not a member of LSW? You should join, it’s a free, it’s causal, and you’ll meet some great people. Josh kicked off the group with the goal of being an equal place for all people interested in libraries and doing some good in libraryland. In his own words.

By joining the Society, you are joining a world-spanning group of library professionals and library advocates, dedicated to furthering the role of librarians, archivists, information professionals, and information educators through communication and collaboration. The LSW is about people, not buildings (although some of us think architecture is sexy). It’s about friendship, not organization. It’s about creating and fostering opportunities, not building barriers and divisions.

Go join! Yes, even you people outside of the US, it’s Library Society of the World!Similar Posts:

LibraryThing adds Find Friends feature

Bobbi Newman — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:16:56 +0000

It’s 7 am and I haven’t even finished my first cup of coffee but I’m already excited! LibraryThing has added a Find Friends feature! Sweet! One of my favorite tools, as a librarian, a book lover, goes even more social!

It has the usual option to find people using your email contacts, but also a way to search for friends using your “also on” connections. Which is awesome because there are some people I’ve never emailed who are in my Twitter account (Facebook isn’t supported yet). I have to say as someone who has, more than once, accidentally spammed all of my contacts with an invitation to some new site, I’m thrilled to see the precautions they’ve taken against that sort of thing. LibraryThing, I gotta say it, you guys rock!

Be my friend

Read the post on the LibraryThing blog
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