INF506 - Module 4 - Making web 2.0 work

This module has made me rethink what I thought this subject would provide. While I thought I would be exposed to a range of social networking tools to teach the students for them to use in the learning. However, it has provided the additional bonus of learning how to develop a strategy for using social media as a way to improve library services and promotion.

 

OLJ – Social networking to meet organisational needs

Bernoff (2010) recognised in his research that the majority of people fill the role on mere observer online rather than conversationalist which I would’ve assumed. Perhaps this study is already showing its age and if updated today would show a larger proportion of people engaging in online conversation through Facebook and Twitter. However, once reviewing an updated version of these statistics it shows very little change in the categories of conversationalist and observer. So while there may be more people using social networking technology, the roles that they are taking have not changed.  It cannot be ignored that apparently so many users act as only observers online and do not often contribute to the conversation. This means that when planning a social media strategy for the library, it needs to be taken into account that more people may observe action on a social network than participate and contribute.

These are important findings to take into consideration when planning a social media strategy for my own library. While there is a socially active parent community at our school, it is likely that their online social networking role adoption would reflect in some way the results of Bernoff. Therefore, while it would be beneficial that there is some level of conversation that is part of our social network presence, it is also necessary that sufficient information is provided or accessible for those that are simply going to access our service as observers.

This has larger implications for our school as a whole. As we are having communication issues due to parents not reading out fortnightly newsletter, it may serve us well to consider a web 2.0 solution, enabling our parent community to access our school news and event information in smaller parts but at more regular intervals.

Reference List 

Bernoff, J. (2010). Social Technographics: Conversationalists get onto the ladder [January 19]. Retrieved from: http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2010/01/conversationalists-get-onto-the-ladder.html

 

Bernoff, J. (2012). The Global Social Takeover [January 4]. Retrieved from: http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2012/01/the-global-social-takeover.html

 Brown, AL. (2009). Developing an Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy [July 30]. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com